On the Concept of Setting: A Study of V. F. Perkins

The work of V. F. Perkins is sometimes said to exemplify "mise-en-scène criticism," which is attentive to settings as they relate to film characters. It assumes that a setting should not simply sit there but should be charged with meaning for the figures within it. This first premise is often tied to a second, that the setting should be and remain strictly credible. That is to say, the ideal setting is simultaneously credible and expressive, and fiction films can thus be judged by how well they satisfy both. The aim of this article is to show the real difficulty of sustaining this dynamic in relation to characters, who continue to develop and among whom a film shifts. To make their settings somehow always expressive of their habits, thoughts, interests, and feelings is to place enormous strain on the limits of credibility. This strain can be felt in Perkins's writing itself, and we can appreciate the problem by reading him closely. Insofar as we think setting is a fundamental concept, useful for criticism, his problem is ours as well.