Me and My MoviesRichard O’Connor

Bill and Ted’s excellent adventure• Date of production - February 17, 1989• Director – Stephen Herek

• The film takes place in an American town where two high school teenagers are on the verge of failing a class that would get them kicked out of school, resulting in their separation and the break up of their band. The only problem is that there is no way they can pass the test and don’t have enough time to learn enough not to fail. Luckily for them, Just when they need it most a strange man named Rufus followed by themselves come back in time with promises of a ‘Most Excellent’ journey for them to go on where they will learn all that is needed for the test the next day.

Dodgeball

• Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber• Date of production - June 18, 2004

• Peter La Fleur is the owner of Average Joes Gym, a gym that takes pride in being perfectly average and fair with both prices and service. White Goodman is the owner of Globo Gym and intends to take over the Average Joes in the interest of competition; unfortunately for him Peter has no intentions of selling. Peter has a short time limit to raise $50,000 dollars if he wants to keep his gym. His only chance to get this money looks like winning a dodgeball tournament with his friends and a little help from ADAA champion Patches O'Houlihan although White Goodman decides he cant let this happen.

Harold and Kumar go to White Castle

• Date of production - July 30, 2004 • Directed by Danny Leiner

• Harold And Kumar is a light hearted comedy about Harold Lee and Kumar Patel who get the munchies and decide to get something to eat. After seeing an advert on TV for White castle they agree that they will stop at nothing until finding a white castle to eat at. They embark on an epic overnight journey filled with freaks, wild animals, Neil Patrick Harris, hang gliding away from the police and even riding a cheetah.

What attracts me to the comedy genre?• I have chosen comedy as the genre of choice for this project because it is one of

my personal favourite genres. I enjoy the comedy genre because it is consistent and can involve so many different kinds of stories that as well as providing humour can also be a powerful and compelling story. For me watching films is about enjoying myself and being able to enjoy the film no matter what the situation I am watching the film in for example, with friends and with most comedy films one hundred percent concentration is not needed.

• Another benefit of comedy is that in film people can often be picky about which genres they do and don’t like; whereas there is a comedy film for almost everyone out there whether it be an overly dramatic film such as tropic thunder, a sketch comedy such as Borat or just a stereotypical comedy for example something like 40 year old virgin.

• An extremely popular theme of comedy is the parody style. This involves intertextual references to other usually very popular films, this is a main reason why people want to see certain comedy films because they enjoy the original. An example of this comedy style would be the film ‘Vampires Suck’ which imitates twilight, another very popular film of recent times.

Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure Trailer Analysis

Area of Analysis Example Technical feature (Camera/sound/mise en scene/ editing)

Conforms to genre? Y/N Breaks conformity? Y/NIf yes, how?

Codes and conventions

High school setting matched with unrealistic plot. Characters and dialogue style match the comedy conventions

Everything from the Props and clothing to the music and setting Conforms to the codes and conventions of the genre.

Yes No

Setting

High school & many different time zones Creates an unrealistic humour and almost mocks films like back to the future.

Overly dramatic music and a hilarious obsession with rock creates comedy.

Yes No

Character

Two stupid high school students

Their style is comical because of how they look and act in serious situations

Yes No

Themes

Time travel The idea of time travel is comical because of how surreal and serious the concept is as opposed to the main characters of the film

Yes The theme is slightly different to that of a normal Comedy but it still conforms to the genre codes and conventions

Narrative

Going back through time to complete a history assignment

The story is comical because it is a very serious idea but the characters are only using it to not fail a test, The camera work and editing works well with this.

Yes No

Iconography

Many different specific time zones

The trailer shows many different historical locations signifying to the audience that the film is a huge adventure

Yes No

Ideological message

Dodgeball Trailer AnalysisArea of Analysis Example Technical feature (Camera/sound/mise en

scene/ editing)Conforms to genre? Y/N Breaks conformity? Y/N

If yes, how?

Codes and conventions

Over the top serious competition at a ridiculous sport. Along with a typical expert vs. underdog story

Epic Voice overs and music as seen in most comedy films

Yes No

Setting

The setting of moving from a rundown gym in a nowhere town to LA

The location at the beginning is made out to look terrible and then the dodge ball tournament is made out to be packed and professional

Yes No

Character

The good guys are the average people against the over the top rich bad guys

The enemy look over the top with comical hair and mannerisms

Yes No

Themes

Love, friendship and rivalry Sound effects are added to exaggerate the rivalry between good and bad. The two characters are also featured in shots that emphasize the hatred between them.

Yes No

Narrative

A group of grown up men have to compete in a professional Dodgeball tournament with their gym at stake

The music clearly supports the underdogs and emphasizes the good and the bad moments along with over the top failed romance scenes. The Camera angles are in the style of action films which creates comedy because of how the narrative is so much different to a generic action film.

Yes No

Iconography

Las Vegas In Las Vegas there are shots of the city and certain well known locations are shown.

Yes No

Harold and Kumar go to White Castle Trailer Analysis

Area of Analysis Example Technical feature (Camera/sound/mise en scene/ editing)

Conforms to genre? Y/N Breaks conformity? Y/NIf yes, how?

Codes and conventions

Two typical characters go on a crazy trip for no good reason and encounter lots of strange things on the way

The soundtrack to the film conforms to the genre with typical American party music and camera shots and edits that conform to add comic value.

Yes No

Setting

On a road trip and at high school parties

The setting is typical for an American comedy film both a road trip and high school parties conform to the comedy genre.

Yes No

Character

Two typical characters, one careful and scared, the other reckless and dopey along with countless other typical characters along the way.

Every group of people they meet are stereotypical in some way, whether it’s the crazy, ugly person or the young group of jocks.

Yes No

Themes

Going on a road trip for a pointless reason

Comical music is played and the characters sing along when they should be embarrassed to know the words.

Yes No

Narrative

A road trip for a whole night just to get some food.

The film drags out the night to make it feel like the audience was really with the character the whole time throughout their adventure

Yes No

Iconography

White Castle White castle is not only mentioned throughout the film but shown at the end which is a well-known fast food restaurant in America.

Yes No

What makes me want to watch a film?• When I hear about a new film that has recently come out, I instantly decide in my mind

whether I think it looks good enough to go and watch or not. The initial stages of my decision are based on the obvious facts about the film, such as the genre, the narrative and the content of the film itself. The trailer is a big part in my understanding of what the film will be like and sometimes it would be possible for me to make up my mind on the film based on the content of the trailer alone.

• These things aside there are a lot of sub factors that make me subconsciously change my mind on a film over a period of time. These include things such as star theory. Star theory basically suggests that if there is one really well known star in a film this will instantly gain the film popularity. For example if I see a comedy film with actors such as James Franco, Seth Rogen and Steve Carrel I will instantly be tempted to watch the film because of the actors credibility. This gives less popular actors a good chance to become famous because they are in a film that is guaranteed to be popular. The marketing is also a big factor when it comes to how good a film looks. If I see a film being advertised a lot everywhere I go, I will assume the film is a high budget and a popular, must see film and therefore will be more likely to see it at the cinema.

• Finally one other thing that would definitely make me want to watch a film is if it was part of an already established and popular franchise such as iron man 3, a recent film that was released as a sequel to iron man 1 and 2. After having already seen and enjoyed one and two i was determined to see iron man 3 without having even checked to see what it was like first.

How do I find out about films? • When a new film is released, the company puts a lot of effort into the marketing of that

film, this is crucial to the company because the marketing is the main reason people know that the film has been released and therefore go to the cinema to watch it. However there are many different ways of film marketing and these are just the few of them that affect me.

• The most common ways for me to hear about upcoming films is through trailers and other film advertisements such as billboards, posters and internet web banners. For me probably the easiest and best way for me to hear about upcoming films and receive opinions is by word of mouth between friends.

• The more popular of upcoming films can be found everywhere such as social networking sites, YouTube, TV adverts, film posters, Magazine covers and many more. However the films that arent being publicised quite so much still have to have advertisements an can always be seen in trailers whilst watching other films, and only a small bit of effort has to be put in to find out every film coming out at any given time so for a real film fan staying on top of what is coming out and when can be a simple and rewarding task.

Reception Theory • Reception theory is a theory developed by Stuart Hall that essentially

suggests that a persons taste in films can be judged just by how that person is in every other way for example cultural backgrounds, hobbies, interests, appearance, dress sense and many, many other things.

• For example somebody age 18, who frequently goes to parties and cares about their image would most likely be interested in most teen comedy films, and someone has been in the army or lived a similar lifestyle they will most likely be interested in war or action films.

• This theory works because people enjoy films that they can relate to. For example somebody who has never experienced the feeling of love wouldn’t usually enjoy a heartfelt film that tells a story about romance because they wouldn’t be able to empathise with the characters and put themselves in their position.

• Personally I am interested in a range of films mainly focusing on the genres of teen comedy and gangster. Reception theory tells others around me that I am interested in these genres because of everything including my age, looks, lifestyle and perhaps more obviously the way I talk and what I talk about.

Active Spectatorship • Active spectatorship is simply the practice of looking at the codes and

conventions of a certain genre and understanding what elements of films make people interested in watching the film.

• This means that, for example gangster films attract people to watch the films because they are seen as cool and lots of people can look up to them and admire the characters because they live, what an audience consider a great life and do what they want. The films also tend to include good looking women that attract people to watch that genre of film.

• As well as this there are also the opposite kinds of films that appeal to a great deal of people such as comedy films that appeal to the audience by showing the life that many teenagers and other people admire involving constant parties and a crazy lifestyle.

• The genres that I am interested in, for example gangster and teen comedy, appeal to me because I can both relate and look up to them. Being able to look up to the characters and storyline of a film makes it a lot more interesting for the audience.