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How do we analyse film
1. Paige Ward
How Do We Analyse Film?
There are two main types of analysis when studying film these are genre analysis and auteur theory.
Genre analysis is the codes & conventions of a filmthese include the themes, narrative, character,
setting, iconography and ideological message of a film. Applying genre analysis allows the audience
to understand and predict factors which make a film a particular genre. A good example of this is
โQuaturn of Solace directed by Marc Forster in 2008โ, the genre of the film is Action/Spy thriller when
watching this film it is predictable from the start. .Auteur Theory can be applied to unusual ideas and
challenges genre conventions by doing something different.A good example of autheur theory is
โLeon directed by Luc Besson in 1994โ, it is an example of an unconventional film therefor the director
is regarded as an auteur.
Codes and Conventions:
Codes are something which is meaningful and conventions are the accepted
ways of doing something. An example of a film which follows the
conventions of thegenre is โQuantum of Solace directed by Marc Forster in
2008โ the genre of this film is Action/Spy thriller. This doesnโt break any
codes and conventions because the audience knows that James Bond
(protagonist) will succeed with any task he is given and will get women
during this. In this genre of film the women are used as sex objects,
Quantum of Solace sticks to this throughout the film the camera focuses on
the female bodies quite a lot and the women arenโt always wearing
unravelling clothes. Also the film has props and settings which are used in
most films within this genre that follow the codes and conventions.The
props which are used in this film which make the genre predictable are
guns and sport cars.
Setting:
The Setting is where the film is set, this is usually a different variety of
places and can include things like different times of the day, different
weather types and buildings depends on the location. The setting also
includes the mise en scene of the film. A good example of this is โKick Ass 2
directed by Jeff Wadlow in 2003โ the genre of this film is โSuperhero Action/
Comedyโ and it doesnโt break the conformity. The setting which is mainly
seen during this film is different parts of the streets in Mississauga, Canada
and London. Another setting which is used a lot throughout the film is the
front of a High school. There is also a lot more settings than these for
example old factory, roof, hallway of school and alleys.
Characters:
Characters in any story allow the audience to engage with events in the
narrative, a variety of films have characters who are protagonists and
antagonist, a protagonist is when the character is a hero who ends up in conflict
because of the antagonist. The antagonist is a character or even a group of
2. characters which are completely opposite to the protagonist. A good example of films which includes
both of these types of characters is James Bonds films for example Sky fall, Quaturn of Solace, Casino
Royale and live and let die, in all of these films Bond is the โheroโ and is pitched against the โvillain.โ
These genres of films are Action/ Spy Thriller, in each of them James Bond always succeeds and gets
the girl at the end.
Themes:
The themes are things that cover different parts of life for example love, revenge, friendship,
acceptance, individuality, jealousy and longing to be accepted. In the thriller and horror genre the
themes are usually Alienation, death, contagion, demonic possession, entrapment and survival.
When considering the horror genre a good example of this is โRec directed by James Balaguero in
2007โ the genre is horror. The film uses a theme of satire this is when something is mocked in a
critical way. The film starts off looking like a reality TV show but then completely changes, the film
breaks away from the conformity of reality TV and conventional horror. Another good example
which doesnโt break away from the conformity is โMean girls directed
by Mark Waters in 2004โ the genre of this film is teen comedy.It has a
variety of different themessome of these are love, friendship,
acceptance (within love and friendship), Relationships (sex), Jealousy
and individuality. These themes are similar to โNapoleon Dynamite
directed by Jared Hess in 2004โ but are approached in a different
manner.
Narrative:
The narrative of a film is the beginning, middle and end of a film, for example โLeon directed by Marc
Besson in 1994โ starts off with introducing the main characters (Leon, Tony and Mathilda) and some
settings (New York City) in different scenes. Once the main characters have been introduced to the
audience theirs an inciting incident when Mathildaโs family gets killed by a
corrupt drug enforcement agency officials and Leon rescues Mathilda. There
then follows rising action which makes the audience more interested,
Mathilda discovers Leon is a hit man, he agrees to train her to become an
assassin for revenge on Stansfield. Then Leon ends up rescuing Mathilda
when Stansfield captures her, Leon kills some of Stansfieldโs men. The climax
makes the audience want to know whatโs going to happen, Stansfield
discovers where Leon is and after a huge battle Mathilda escapes but Leon
dies, killing Stansfield in the process. At the end of the film Tony
(donor/helper) helps Mathilda โfind her rootsโ symbolised by the planting of
the Leonโs plant in the playground. This film has a really good narrative and creates a narrative
enigma but it breaks the conformity of the Action/ Thriller genre.
Iconography:
The iconography can be aspects that come to mind when youโre watching a
film, it represents something as soon as you think of it. A good example of
the use of Iconography in a film is โRec directed by Jaume Balaguero in 2007โ
the genre of this film is horror. A crucifix is used in the film this shows the
audience it has something to do with hell which shows the audience the film
is a horror. It does break the conformity with the Iconography for example
3. they use reality TV in the horror film, this is obvious because of the microphone and the interviews.
Also the female main character introduces her TV a variety of times. Reality TV isnโt part of the horror
genre. An example of a film which doesnโt break the conformity is โQuaturn of solaceโ they use Aston
Martin cars in the film which represents British power and the British military. Also yellow taxis and
world trade centre is used as being iconography of NYC.
Ideological message :
The ideological message in films are the ideas and beliefs that certain people share and believe to be
right and true, they are usually meaningful. Every film has one or more ideological messages, some
films have the same or similar. For example โKick Ass 2 directed by Jeff Wadlowโ and โQuaturn of
Solace directed by Marc Forsterโ has two ideological messages which are the same these are โall will
end wellโ and โGoodness will triumph over evil.โ Both of these films have the genre of Action and
there are some other conventions which are similar.
James Bonds films always consist of attractive women in beautiful
clothes capturing the attention of mainly men but definitely of all of
those around her. The women in Bondโs films always fit the criteria of
a โperfectโ body, beautiful hair, and โstunningโ features and wear
hardly any clothes this is in all of the James Bonds films from the past
to the newer sequels. This sexual objectification of women is a generic
convention of character in action thriller and can be seen as negative
representation of women. The women add a sexual context to the
film. The films have changed over the years, the women have taken a
more active role in the film, for example working with the lead male to combat the antagonist and
help succeed but Bond still ends up sleeping with these females and they still fit the criteria. The
women arenโt as โsimpleโ as they use to be theyโre now smart and feisty characters. These
representations have been moved with the times, women now are more valued than they were
previously and this has reflected in the James Bonds films.
In other genres such as crime thriller, the women are represented differently because there is often
โfemme fetaleโ who is a woman. The women are usually rich and attractive and can be quite
dangerous. This occurs in โPulp Fiction directed by Quentin Tarantino in 1994โ with Uma Thurmanโs
portrayal of Mia Wallace as the โfemme fetale.โ
One of my favourite film genres is Fantasy because I like the way how some of the
films are edited. The genre is obvious in some films because fantasy films should
involve magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures or monsters
e.g. vampires, fairies and dragons, or exotic fantasy worlds. There is a
variety of typical conventions of this genre of films for example the
trailers are all very โdream alikeโ in the sense that the plots do not
appear realistic. One of my favourite film directors/ producers/ writer is
Tim Burton, โhe is known for his dark, gothic, macabre and quirky horror
and fantasy filmsโ some of his well-known fantasy films are Edward
Scissorhands (1990), The nightmare before Christmas (1993), Alice in
Wonderland (2010), and etcโฆ The genre is obvious in Tim Burtonโs
fantasy films because of the make-belief creatures for example โAlice in
4. Wonderlandโ not only does this film have make-belief creatures the setting of the film isnโt realistic,
he created this film using anexotic fantasy world with over-grown mushrooms. Even though a lot of
fantasy films are usually for children and teenagers some of these films have themes which not many
people take notice of for example the themes of Alice in Wonderland are the tragic and inevitable
loss of childhood innocence, life is a meaningless puzzle, death as a constant and underlying menace.
There are also films that have different ways of showing the fantasy genre for example the Harry
Potter films, it is mainly filmed at a school but it also includes train stations and the streets. The
characters in these films make the genre obvious for example wizards and witches.
โQuantum of Solace directed by Marc Forster in 2008 โ and โLeon directed
by Luc Besson in 1994โ are both the same genre of film but โLeonโ breaks
conformity to this specific genre. In โQuantum of Solaceโ theirs a
protagonist (James Bond) who is smartly dressed and good looking and
thereโs an antagonist (Mr White) who is feeble and the complete opposite
to Bond, in Action film theirs always these types of characters. The film
doesnโt use women as strong characters theyโre used as sex objects which
makes the film conform to the genre. The props also make the genre of
the film obvious for example guns, sport cars and etc... Sometimes certain genre of films can break
the conventions for example โLeon directed by Luc Bresson in 1994.โThe film establishes the serve of
action thriller but it breaks the conventions. Action films usually use women as sex objects, โLeonโ
doesnโt one of the main characters is a strong independent young female โMathildaโ. An action film
like โJames Bondโ doesnโt have any young children as their characters but in โLeonโ Mathila is only 12.
Also this genre of film creates a narrative enigma within 20 minutes of the film starting usually this
doesnโt usually appear early. Even though โLeonโ breaks the conventions in a variety of ways the
genre is still clear because it still has some codes and conventions for this specific genre for example
the props, there are guns, knives, drugs, money and etc... Some of the themes and ideological
message in both of these films are the same for example revenge and good triumphing over evil. Luc
Besson is an โauteurโ because he made his own individual styles and broke away from the conformity
of a specific genre.
โMean girls directed by Marc Waters in 2004โ and โNapoleon Dynamite
directed by Jared Hess in 2004โ theyโre both the same genre โteen comedyโ.
Both of these films are obvious in what genre they are, especially โmean girlsโ
because it sticks to the conformity of the specific genre whereas โNapoleon
Dynamiteโ doesnโt. Both of these use some of the same themes these are love,
friendship, acceptance, relationships, Jealousy and individuality. In both of
these films there is the same type of characters for example Pedro and Cady
theyโre new students, summer and Regina both the popular girls and etcโฆ The characters are used
different in each film in Mean girls the characters are how a โteen comedyโ film usually is for example
Cady (new girl) has no friends when she first starts school, she becomes friends with the โgeeksโ Janis
and Damien and they decide to ruin Reginaโs life (Queen Bee.) The โQueen Beesโ notice her and ask
her to eat lunch with them every day. As the film goes on Cady will do
anything to be part of the โQueen beesโ and slowly forgets about Janis
and Damien. The main characters in this film are the popular girls
(Queen Beeโs) and the new girl. Whereas Napoleon Dynamite is
5. completely different and breaks away from the conformity with the characters, the film is about
Napoleon โgeekโ usually the โgeeky kidsโ arenโt the main characters, also Pedro is a central character
and he hardly speaks. Usually in this genre of film the main characters are the โpopular kidsโ but in
this film the โpopular girlโ Summer is hardly seen in the film and isnโt the main character.
In my opinion Quentin Tarantino is an auteur, he has directed 11 films and has acted in 9 of these
some of these films have their own distinctive style. He often includes parts of other directorโs work
as a way to show he has been influenced, these influences are clear in a variety of his work for
example in his film โReservoir dogs in 1992โ has obvious reference to โCity on Fire directed by Ringo
Lamโ it also has reference to โThe killing directed by Stanley Kubrick.โ Also โKill Billโ obviously pays
attention to the โ1970s Kung Fu exploitation films and his latest release Django Unchainedโ. He also
has introduced a variety of his own stylish creations to some of his films, his films are instantly
recognisable by their mixture of humour, violence and madness, this mixture is rare with most
directors. He writes dialog which is just as entertaining as the visuals, in reality no one would ever
talk the way his characters do. The dialog he uses is old fashioned and racist. For example in Pulp
Fiction โColonel Hans Lanaโ uses โInglorious Basterdsโ , this character speaks in riddles and uses
different languages at the same time. In every one of his films he
introduces a new entertaining character for example in โReservois dogsโ
theirs Mr Blond, who Quentin plays, as an ear removingpsychopath. In
โPulp Fictionโ their Jules, a murderous gangster preparing to embark on a
religious journey and there are many other characters. In my opinion
Quentin Tarantino is an auteur director because in all of his movies he uses
the same fundamental themes and techniques that put signature to his
work.
An example of Tarantinoโs work is pulp fiction this film includes the theme
of racism and over use of the โn-wordโ. A technique that he uses in this film
is violence, he uses it to add to the narrative for example the protagonists
are retrieving a briefcase for their employer during this they kill three of the
four people in the apartment on purpose. They end up killing the last by
accident on the way back from the job. The reasoning behind the violence is to show more of the
character than just listening to a long monologue by them and it is also sometimes used for comedy
and entertainment. This also positions the audience in an unconventional manner, Tarantino
develops the characters throughout the film so the audience end up liking them all, but then they
commit acts of violence or are racist challenges the audience. Unlike most films Pulp Fiction doesnโt
have any disliked characters by the audience. The narrative of this film isnโt clear because it is time
disordered this creates a narrative enigma, for example the film starts with two lovers discussing
whether they can rob the restaurant and make money from itwhich having their breakfast there. This
is the scene which conflicts the expectations of the audience and they canโt make connection with the
film until the end. As they decide to rob the restaurant the scene breaks off and the movie title credits
roll. Once the title credits end the films goes straight to the scene where the two protagonists are
retrieving a briefcase.