Film Language Tag: act 1 (three-act structure)
Act 1 of a narrative is typically devoted to exposition of the facts needed to begin the story such as identity and personalities of the characters, the plot, the location, and the time period. (adapted from Bruce Block, The Visual Story)
Are You Watching Closely?, The Prestige
John Cutter outlines the three stages of a magic trick to a young girl while Angier drowns in a water tank in front of Borden.
Introduction to the Book, The Babadook
Samuel Vanek (Noah Wiseman), and his mother Amelia (Essie Davis) prepare for Samuel's bedtime. Samuel chooses a sinister book for his bedtime story.The scene presents their nightly ritual of reading a bed time story as it crescendos into pure paranoia.
Kwame Ture Speech, BlacKkKlansman
Civil Rights leader Kwame Ture (Corey Hawkins) recites a speech at a local rally hosted by the Black Student Union. Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) attends, going in undercover on behalf of the police as Philip Zimmerman (Adam Driver) and Jimmy Creek (Michael Buscemi) listen in. Ture speaks on the need to embrace Blackness and Black beauty, police brutality, opposition to the Vietnam war, and the fight for racial equality.
Little League Coach Abuses Neil, Mysterious Skin
Recollecting a past trauma, Neil (Joseph Gordon-Levitt voicing, played by Chase Ellison in childhood flashback) recalls a time when, after a game, his little league coach (Bill Sage) flatters, plays with, and finally sexually abuses him.
Peter Confesses to Michael , An Early Frost
After Michael Pierson's (Aidan Quinn) diagnosis with AIDS, Peter, his partner (D.W. Moffett) admits that he may have transmitted the HIV virus to him. Michael responds angrily, eventually telling him to leave their apartment