I am analysing the scene in Romeo & Juliet (1996 version) where Mercutio is murdered by Tybalt. The scene is set at a funfair, which is instantly a juxtaposition as we associate funfairs with innocence, good times and fun; not murder. However, at this funfair there is conflict, violence and death.
The weather starts off pleasant and the sun is shining, indicating all is well while Mercutio playfully waves his gun around with his friend. We can tell things change when Mercutio's friend says "Here comes the Capulets" and a single rumble of thunder sounds while the camera cuts to a shot of the Capulets getting out of their car - this sound of thunder tells the audience things are going to change like the weather is changing, perhaps things are going to get aggressive like a storm.
When the Capulets step out of the car, they are dressed all in black. The connotations of the colour black are mysterious, dangerous, powerful, evil and death. The colour black is mainly associated with death and grief as it is the colour most people while at a funeral or in mourning. By having the Capulets dressed all in black it instantly tells the audience that they are the bad guys, compared to Mercutio and Romeo who are both wearing white.
White has positive connotations such as innocence, purity, goodness and light. By having the two opposing teams in the fight The Capulets in black vs. Romeo and Mercutio in white it tells us the good guys from the bad guys visually. These contrasting colours instantly give us as an audience a preconceived idea as to which team is evil and which team is innocent.
The fight starts during sunset, at the end of the day. Sunsets generally represent the day coming to an end, however it is significant in this scene because it also represents the change of day to night and also the change from life to death, as while the sun is setting Mercutio gets murdered and goes from living to dying.
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