The introduction to Dexter is put together in ways that portray many themes, such as thriller, drama and mystery.
The credits start out with us in a room next to Dexter, the main protagonist. A magnified close up of his arm directs us to a mosquito helping itself to a meal. However, as swiftly as it starts Dexter ends it with a prompt slap. This signifies a simile: the disease carrying insect is referring to Dexter and the slap can be seen as the authorities, indicating how easily, if he's caught, he can be eliminated and his actions stopped. Continuing the titles we see Dexter shaving. As he cuts himself we see another indication to his way of life. The tissues he uses to clean himself represent the power he holds as a Police officer to cover things up and the blood, his victims... By using close-up shots for the sequence the brutality of everyday actions is enhanced greatly. When it comes to cooking breakfast, the slicing of meat and cracking of eggs can appear to represent the flesh and bones of Dexter's victims being destroyed as he murders them. Even there flossing of his teeth can represent garrotting someone.
The filter used for the credits can be described as a sephia-like one, colour is faded and murky but the prime ones, red, blue and green are more vibrant. This is representative of how Dexter's world is dirty and plagued but is ruled by one main colour he may encounter everyday, red. By having red as a more dominant colour we see the main themes of the show, blood, flesh and danger. We see this in the opening because the director wants to emmerse us in the show straight from the word go and see things as Dexter does. The titles are also in red which indicates danger and attracts our attention. The lighting in the opening is usually from a high angled source, looking down on the subject in frame. This ensures that we get a good look at all of the item and the form is obvious. By giving it a 3D feel, we are again immersed into Dexters life, seeing as he does, feeling as he does.
Clothing, hair and makeup are very well used in this sequence to highlight the life of Dexter. We first get a closeup of this whilst he is shaving, this shows that he probably has a job and wishes to look presentable. We also see that his skin is slightly shiny and sticky looking. This says that he is in a hot climate and may not have access to air conditioning. It can also relate to his victims in the way that they may wake up to be sweaty, but not because of heat but due to the fact they are fearful of Dexter hunting them. As we move on we see Dexter dressing. He is wearing a smart/casual outfit which could indicate he has a budget job, or is the opposite and is a much more important individual, of course we find out he is in fact the latter. This says that he again wants to be presentable but also wants to feel comfortable whilst doing his job.
By starting the credits with him in bed just waking up we get a feel for his life and can relate it to our own. The subtle residue on his skin indicates he is in a hot place and the mosquito shows he's in Southern North America, like Louisiana or Florida. This links straight away with Miami 5.0 and gets us in the mood for a police thriller. The sweat might also be due to nightmares or stress he has from murdering people and trying to conceal his actions, forever worried he may be caught. Moving onwards, the small apartment he seems to own makes us question his job and wonder why, with such a good job, he owns such a small property. He may do this to think and feel like normal person, relating to the criminals he chases, or to stay more concealed away.
Another feature we see is expression and body language. Although we don't see much of his whole face or body, the parts that are revealed to us are crucial. Straight away we are presented half of his face as he is lying on his bed. His eyes are focused on the mosquito in front of him and his body is poised. After he strikes and the bug is dead we see a brief smirk from him. This shows that he takes joy from ending somethings life. This links to how he must take joy from killing human beings, and the reason as to why he continues to do it. Throughout the rest of the sequence we see that all of his hand movements are slow and precise which could reflect on how he kills. He may like to take his time and do everything correctly, after all he doesn't want to be caught. This would mean that by taking care with everything he does, he enales himself to know what he's doing accurately and control things. At the very end we see him look straight into our eyes and show us that he means business, striking fear and probably showing the face his victims last see. Then walking off and smirking, knowing exactly what he's done and is doing.
Going back to the credits themselves we can interpret a few things from them also. The font is very bold and all in capitols, this represents the importance of the people and grabs our attention. By having them in red they also indicate danger. Again with the font being tall and close together we see that Dexter has no room for error and must be cautious. The titles are always located around the main points of interest in the scene which directs us to the key features as to not allow us to miss anything.
As for Goffmans theory the title sequence of Dexter cannot really link with this. However we do see Dexter as having lots of stubble which indicates his masculinity and testosterone, making him a 'real' man. We also see him topless with muscles out, this could indicate that as he is a key male figure he has to be strong and powerful. Finally we see his large hands and knuckles, indicating he's masculine and powerful.
