One of George Lucas' greatest achievements in THX 1138 is his use of technique, both auditory and visual, to create an omnipresent and overwhelming sense of claustrophobia. Further, he turns the claustrophobia into agoraphobia when shots occur in wide-open white spaces, demonstrating Lucas' mastery of frame composition. Lucas uses several different methods in order to emphasize the claustrophobia: frame composition, repetition, and editing.
Lucas specifically frames his shots in, especially in hallways and the like, to emphasize the box-like shape and confinement of the space. Further, the hallways are all a glowing white, full of twists and bends giving the illusion of a faceless, endless maze. The characters and residents of the world scuttle around like white mice. Lucas also shoots the hallways in such a way that they seem smaller then they are. Lucas uses a telephoto lens to emphasize the character in the frame, making it seem as though the character is surrounded by a literal box.
To emphasize psychological claustrophobia, Lucas rarely uses mirrors. The only mirror in the movie is the pill-dispensing mirror which spies on characters. Thus, the entire identity of the characters is erased. When they view themselves in the mirror, others are watching as well. In that manner, the characters probably never identify a mirror as something used to examine oneself. All identity is completely erased.
This physical and mental claustrophobia is present within the confines of the entire society--that is, their very behavior is a mirror the confinement that engulfs them. The need to constantly be observing one another, the need for regularity and conformity are all reflections of the inherent insecurity in the inbred confinement.
Lucas also uses repetition and editing to emphasize the claustrophobic feeling in the world of THX. The repeated shots of LUH opening and closing the mirror, the number of similar shots of THX working at the robot factory all represent a society confined by rules and regulations. Lucas uses jump-cuts and interspersed cuts of security cameras to further emphasize the confinement of the society. LUH and THX ultimately react as many claustrophobic do; a desperate act--in this case, sex.
Is THX 1138 a premonition of things to come? I think not. However, Lucas definitely presents an interesting spin-off of Huxley's Brave New World that raises many interesting questions about societal constraints and its effects.
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