Captain Fantastic church service

Ben and family disrupt church service:

- disruption of present conveys the sacrilegious ideology of the film
- long wide angle shot of ben opening doors with bright natural sun light from behind him- connotations of God/Jesus/religion/saviour
- track back shot as the family walks towards camera- alignment
- family in colourful clothing compared with the typical white and black formal attire of everyone else- contrasting lifestyles/ideals
- long shot of Ben's family on one end of the service and Leslie's family on the other end- conflict of sides
- long low angle shot of ben/camera placed in position of someone in audience- spectator supposed to look up to and listen to what he is saying/respect him as- alignment
- extreme long/wide angle shot of the church with the cross centre frame while Ben condemns organised religion for being oppressive and installing fear- sacrilegious element
- tracking shot of men forcing Ben out of church- hint at the role of religion in suppressing voices which speak out against it
- low angle shot of Ben standing in-between two crosses outside church- restrictions that religion places on people- religious oppression

It is evident through the church funeral scene that the spectator is being persuaded to become an active viewer by questioning religious doctrine as Ben does. At the same time, Ben is seemingly placed in the position of a saviour or spiritual leader, as reflected through certain elements of cinematography. At the beginning of the scene, a wide angle tracking shot shows ben, who is positioned centre frame, and his family disrupting the funeral church service, and this choice of camera framing and movement persuades spectators to align and empathise with them. This along with the bright natural lighting which reflects through the door as they enter, positions Ben as an almost holy figure, who has come to save Leslie from the hands of the Church. furthermore, an extreme long shot is presented while Ben is declaring Leslie's disdain and disillusionment of religious ideology, and this this long shot positions the large cross on the wall centre frame. This enables the diegetic speech of Ben to directly juxtapose and undermine the cross symbol which embodies the christian faith, conveying the sacrilegious messages of the film. The spectator is also placed as a viewer watching Ben talking from the perspective of other mourners, with a low angle shot of Ben. This again places him in the position of a spiritual leader or saviour, who the spectator is persuaded to idealise and respect, in the same way that his children do. When standing outside the church, ben is positioned in-between who crosses and is framed from a low angle. This symbolic placement of Ben subtly hints at the films condemnation of religion restricting individual thought and voices which may oppose it. The spectator is therefore urged to question the power that the church imposes on people, and the inability for organised religions to tolerate or engage with challenging ideals and beliefs.