Duel (1971) and Environment

By: Vic, Liv, Katerin and Louis

Introduction
• How the environment represents/influences David's mental state.
• The design of Chuck 's Café.
• Steven Spielberg and Escapism.
• Location.
Duel – Mental State
Paranoia • Paranoia - "Paranoia is thinking and
feeling as if you are under threat even
though there is no (or very little)
evidence that you are. Paranoid thoughts
can also be described
as delusions. Paranoid thoughts can
make you feel alone. You might feel as if
no one understands you, and it can be
hard when other people don't believe
what feels very real to you.
• Paranoid thoughts are more common if
you live in an urban environment or
community where you feel isolated from
the people around you rather than
connected to them." (Themind.org, 2017)
Environment's • "As Dave Mann drives farther and
effect farther away from home, things become
more remote, more terrifying, stranger." (
Page, P. 2018). Being away from his
home and driving alone for hours in a
desolate place emphasizes the fear he
feels when he sees the trick.
• The desert is a place with no distinct
beginning or end, thus meaning he has
nowhere to escape to when he is being
chased after. This isolating environment
only fuels his delusion and paranoia,
Figure 1, Desert, 1971 therefore allowing the desert to serve as
a catalyst for the story.
Primal Fear • "This is a film about primal and modern fears
embodied by the predatory truck, and amplified
at Sally’s Snakearama Station, a gas station
with rattlesnakes, iguanas, tarantulas, even a
coyote on display, all of them set loose when the
truck speeds toward Mann in the phone booth.
The truck driver not only hunts Mann, he toys
with him throughout the film." (Page, P. 2018)
• This primal and prehistoric mood is emphasized
by the desert and canyon like environment.
• "The truck looks and sounds more like a
Fig 2, Truck and Dave's prehistoric beast than a truck." (Espinosa, C.M.
car, 1971 2013) It's almost as if Dave's car is prey
wondering into the habitat of a prehistoric
predator. This location instils fear and paranoia
into Dave, as it's an environment he doesn’t
know, yet the truck finds him wherever he tries
to hide.
Duel – The Phone Booth
The Phone Booth
• In the Film Spielberg allows Mann to have a
sense of escape as he is driving further into
the desert. Form the Café to the Phones
Booth before the end of the film.
• The booth is important because it gives
Mann a sense of security but is also a trap
for him set by the environment, he is in.

“the individual isolated in a threatening world, attempting

to survive” - Bradley, 2010.
The Phone Booth

• In the Scene We see cages scattered around the booth with

animals inside, and Mann is in the Middle of this.
• For him this is a sense of hope that he will get away from the
situation he has found himself in, But for the Truck driver
point It’s a Trap. Mann has become the animal and the Truck
driver is the predator that he is about to catch.
Duel - The café
The Café

Chuck's Café is set on the

Sierra Highway, Agua
Dulce and is called Le
Chene.

Figure 1 – Chucks Café

"Along with Mann, three
There are various props around the café which
things dominate the frame, all have significance;
designed to weaken him: a
bunch of flowers, the
shadow of the cafe’s neon
Bunch of Flowers – Often given as gift to
OPEN sign, and the pink of females and represent beauty.
the paint on the wall." [Paul
Bullock, 2018]
Café Neon sign – Can draw attention towards
Figure 2 – Chucks Café
a certain place, can cause vulnerability/
exposure.

Pink paint on the walls – The colour pink is

often associated with flowers, babies, younger
children and is typically a symbol of femininity.
"Framed in a pink room to emphasize his effeminacy,
Mann orders a cheese sandwich and milk, then ponders
what he might say" [Smith,2012]

Effeminacy – is the manifestation of traits in a

boy or man that are most often associated
with feminine nature, behavior, mannerism
or style. - [Wikipedia] Figure 3 – Chucks Café

"He’s as visually torn as he is emotionally

Therefore having the pink walls in the Café
represent how fragile his character is
mentally. It could also represent David's
insecurities he has as a male.
torn, and the pink walls that surround him
confirm him as a coward who’s giving into
the fear. Both he and us remain dangling on
the thread Spielberg has created." [Bullock,
2018]
 How Spielberg filmed the scene

"to confirm his discomfort Spielberg frames him in the

background of a wide shot that positions the pool
table in the foreground. The pool player moves around
the table and prepares a shot as Mann takes a seat with
a sense of desperate resignation" [Bullock, 2018]

Spielberg use of the camera and props in this scene

Figure 4 – Chucks Café
"Spielberg captures our hero’s
passage through to the rest area
with a hand-held long take that
reflects his disorientation and
allows us time to understand
how grubby and cramped the
place is" [Bullock, 2018]
also help to reflect his mental state and his
paranoia. Choosing to film in a long take also
allows the viewer to acknowledge more details and
elements of a scene.
Focusing on these props and elements add more
depth to the scene and give the audience and
element of David's POV.
 Conclusion
The Desert acts as a catalyst for the story as it isolates Dave in a place
where he can't escape, yet is constantly chased, thus fueling his ever-
growing paranoia.
Chucks Café in the film Duel can represent David's insecurities as a
male, as well as his paranoia.
Katerin – The Phone Both is metaphone for how Mann has become an
animal in the situation he has found himself in
Bibliography
Mental state - Desert

• Espinosa, C.M. (2013) Spielberg’s Masterful Duel: Man vs. Machine, Women and Himself.
At: https://fiufilmclassfruitvale.wordpress.com/2013/09/08/spielbergs-masterful-duel-man-vs-machine-women-and-himself/ Accessed 07/02/19

• Page, P(2018) Road rage in the rearview: Looking back at Spielberg’s frightening Duel. At: https://www.hagerty.com/articles-
videos/articles/2018/04/20/road-rage-in-the-rearview-rewatching-duel

• The Mind.org(2017) About Paranoia. At: https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/paranoia/about-

paranoia/#.XFwPy1z7SUk Accessed 07/02/19

Cafe

• Bullock, P. (2018). Recommended Reading – From Director Steven Spielberg. [online] Fromdirectorstevenspielberg.com. Available at:
https://fromdirectorstevenspielberg.com/recommended-reading/ [Accessed 7 Feb. 2019]

• En.wikipedia.org. (n.d.). Effeminacy. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effeminacy [Accessed 7 Feb. 2019].

• Smith, D. (2012). Duel. [online] Reverse Shot. Available at: http://www.reverseshot.org/symposiums/entry/630/duel [Accessed 7 Feb. 2019].

• The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations. (2018). Filming Locations for Duel (1971). [online] Available at: http://www.movie-
locations.com/movies/d/Duel.php [Accessed 7 Feb. 2019].
Bibliography
The Phone Booth
• Philiplevy (2017) Duel 1971) As environmental Parable
At: https://remnantology.com/2017/08/22/duel-1971-as-environmental-
parable/ Accessed 07/02/2019
• Bradley. R. M (2010), Richard Matheson – Storyteller: keep On trucking'
At: https://www.tor.com/2010/11/16/richard-mathesonstoryteller-keep-
on-truckin/ Accessed 07/02/2019
• Awalt. S (2014) Steaven Spielberg and duel The making of film career
At: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yjsfAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA104&lpg
=PA104&dq=duel+film+environment&source=bl&ots=z_hlZv-
D2_&sig=ACfU3U3CIdG9thyu8C5FDTEof9UVSeSQpQ&hl=en&sa=X&v
ed=2ahUKEwiElOn1n6ngAhVQyhoKHYiCDfI4ChDoATAGegQIAxAB#v
=onepage&q=duel%20film%20environment&f=false Accessed 07/02/2019
Illustration Reference
Mental state – Desert

• Figure 1, Desert, 1971 [still] At: https://robbinsrealm.wordpress.com/2012/12/14/duel-spielbergs-portrait-of-road-rage-2/ Accessed

07/02/19

• Figure 2, Truck and Dave's car, 1971 [still] At: https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2018/04/20/road-rage-in-the-rearview-

rewatching-duel Accessed 07/02/19

Café

• Figure 1 – Chucks Diner [image] Available at: http://www.movie-locations.com/movies/d/Duel-Le-Chene.jpg Lasted assessed: 7th
January 2019

• Figure 2 – Inside Chucks Diner [image] Available at: https://fromdirectorstevenspielberg.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/vlcsnap-

2018-08-13-21h00m29s317.png Last assessed: 7th January 2019

• Figure 3 - Inside Chucks Diner [image] Available at: https://i1.wp.com/lecoindescritiquescine.com/wp-

content/uploads/2018/06/MsgjNxX.jpg Last assessed: 7th January 2019

• Figure 4: Inside Chucks Diner [image] Available at: https://fromdirectorstevenspielberg.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/vlcsnap-

2018-08-13-20h44m02s155.png Last assessed: 7th January 2019

• Figure 5 – Phone Booth, 1971 [Still] At: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/473018767092779132/ Accessed 07/02/19