The High Sign: Shooting gallery

• This sequence is a clear example of Keaton's expressionism through the multiple impossible gags.
• The LS of Keaton stood in front of Tiny Tim exaggerates his little man' persona through their drastic height difference and his oversized (expressionistic) suit '

  And as they switch places over the table, and Keaton takes TT spot: this is furthered with their juxtaposing space taken up in the frame: foreshadowing the Keaton does not fit in the modern world + the blinking buzzards.
• In a LS, the first impossible gag comes when he casually hangs his hat (symbolic of Keaton) on the wall, it stays despite there being no hook, his 'stone face' emphasising the silliness of the gag.
• An ELS shows the 'everyman' critiquing / satirizing the modern world with expressionist performance / gag as he points the gun at the target, but fails

  The gag comes when he grabs a makeshift sling shot from his pocket and perfectly hits the target.

  He additionally uses expressionism in his gags when using a dog + meat to perfect his overly bad aim - showing modernisms abstract solutions to quick problems.
• MLS shows the 'Blinking Buzzards' WC 1920s gang occupying the basement of a shooting range in a scarcely furnished and dusty room: contrasting the luxurious home of the UC NickleNursers.

  Realistic to the time period as disillusionment felt by WWI ex-soldiers led to many taking on violent and corrupt lifestyles as they struggled to re-join conventional society.
• Keaton uses the iris effect to move the story line, iris's on a CU of the letter detailing 'must die Sep. 1st', following TT's point, iris's in on the calendar reading 'Sep. 1st.' guiding audience attention so they follow the story line.

  He builds this further with MS of Mr NN, iris effect continued, reading the letter warning him: Keaton using objective camera work to story tell.
• The second impossible gag comes later in this location, when Keaton paints a hook and the hat stays.

  Keaton after the high sign he stopped doing impossible gags since they altered reality too much, Andrew Bazin critique can be applied.
• Keaton uses an intertextual reference when the Charlie Chaplin like character comes into the shooting gallery, with a drunk performance.

  Again, Keaton can be seen blending the film world and real life.
• Third impossible gag is the LS showing Keaton taking the cigar from the display and smoking it, before using this same cigar as a nail for the table.

  His stone face throughout makes the gags funnier, as Keaton says 'the more serious i turned the more laughs i got.'
• This sequence utilizes expressionism: for comedy, through impossible gags and Keaton's stone-face, to story tell through the many iris's drawing connections across Keaton's world and to reflect the context of the 1920s.