How does ‘The Walking Dead’ make the character Negan look powerful?

In The Walking Dead, the character Negan is presented as a powerful antagonist who has a love-hate relationship with the audience. He is presented as this through different types of sound such as contrapuntal and different shot types and camera angles, such as a candid angle. As well as motifs.

To begin with, the use of contrapuntal sound during the ‘Easy street’ scene makes Negan seem powerful. In the shot the character Daryl is surrounded by darkness and is alone and isolated from everyone else as he is held hostage by Negan. The scene has chiaroscuro lighting which foreshadows the darkness that lies ahead for the character Daryl which, in itself, makes Negan seem powerful. However, as the scene plays the soundtrack’s tone is very joyful and the rhythm is very upbeat. This is to represent Negan’s character as very dark, but crazy at the same time. The idea that on the screen there is nothing but darkness accompanied by a happy soundtrack shows that the character Daryl has entered Negan’s leir and is under his control. Which creates tension and puts the audience on the edge of their seats.

Another way in which Negan is made to look powerful is the use of a PoV shot. In the scene Negan is deciding who’s head he is going to bash in with a baseball bat. The audience are unaware of who is going to die and by putting the audience in that characters perspective they are made to feel helpless towards the victim and as if they themselves are being controlled and manipulated by Negan. Also, the PoV

shot makes the audience feel as if they are about to be beaten, which creates an element of fear making the character Negan have power of the audiences, as well as the characters. This shot is a PoV, but also a candid angle. Not only are the audience in the position of the victim, they are also looking up at Negan as he stands above everyone else. This is a clear visual representation of the power that the character has over all the characters, but is also a clear warning to the audience that he has power over them as well as he is about to kill off one of the protagonists. This candid angle matches with the idea that everyone must bow down and respect the character (as shown in the screenshot.)

In The Walking Dead motifs are used to make Negan powerful and dominant over everyone, and overall a character who is not to be messed around with. The most recognisable motif is his barbed-wired covered baseball bat that he calls “Lucille”. The baseball bat is a symbol for death and misery, from all the death it causes. The baseball bat is associated with Negan, which makes him seem more powerful as every time he is seen with it, the audience know something bad is about to happen.

In conclusion, The Walking Dead uses a variety of camera angles and shot types to make Negan seem powerufl as well as contrapuntal sound. But the most effective is the use of motifs and how the baseball bat brings fear to the audience and makes Negan posses more power over the characters as well as the audience.