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1. PR3 - CriticalResponsesto Media Products
As an audience we respond to media products in a variety of ways due to the way
we analyze specific elements such as genre, representation, semiotics and narrative.
Leon (1994)
Leon is an English language French thriller, directed by Luc Besson and produced in
1994 and features a number of stars including Jean Reno as Leon, Natalie Portman
as Matilda and Gary Oldman as Stanfield.
In terms of the narrative this movie has a linier narrative due to the fact that it has a
clear beginning, middle and end. The film begins with the exposition, in which both
the setting and the characters are established; which is a crucial part due to the fact
that this can determine whether or not the audience will continue to watch the movie.
In terms of setting the producers have followed the typical codes and conventions of
the action thriller genre by having it set within the big city (New York) and
establishing this setting by having a long shot of New York at the very beginning of
the Exposition. We are then introduced to the protagonist Leon, the producers
specifically chose to introduce this character through an extreme close up of a pair of
glasses, the symbolism of secrecy associated with this particular shot automatically
creates an enigma for the audience and keeps us engaged by making us wonder
who is behind those glasses. This is then followed by the use of an eye line match
editing technique between both the protagonist and another man, in which the other
man presents the protagonist with a photo before cutting to a new scene in which the
protagonist kills a number of people associated with the man within the photo,
therefore making us aware that the protagonist is in fact a hit man. We are then
introduced to Matilda, it is automatically made clear to us that she is not your
stereotypical twelve year old girl due to the fact that she is smoking and comes
across somewhat hostile. We are also made aware that she is from an abusive
family through a close up of Matilda's black eye therefore making us as an audience
feel sympathetic towards her and keeping us intrigued by making us want to know
more about this unusual young girl. We are also introduced to the antagonist,
Stansfield a corrupt police officer.
Following the introduction to the characters we have the inciting incident which in this
case is the death of Matilda's family due to conflict between Matilda's father and
corrupt police officers regarding cocaine, on Matilda's return from the shops she
discovers the chaos and knocks on Leon's door for help and although he is hesitant
at first, he lets Matilda in. The inciting incident plays a major part within the narrative
due to the fact it sets the story and one of the main themes within this movie which is
revenge, it is in this part that we realize that Leon isn't a cold hearted killer and is in
fact a compassionate man, this is anchored in the scene where Leon puts a gun at
Matilda's head whilst she is sleeping but instead of killing her walks away. From this

2. point onwards we see an unusual relationship blossom between both Leon and
Matilda, therefore again keeping us as an audience intrigued.
We then have the rising action in which Matilda wants revenge for the death of her
family and therefore gets Leon to train her to become a killer. Throughout these
scenes we gain a much better understanding of both Leon and Matilda, in terms of
gender representation both Leon and Matilda are represented very unusually in
contrast to other films of the same genre. Within action thrillers we stereotypically
see a male protagonist, who is good looking and well built who's aim is to help the
damsel in distress who is usually an attractive female, however in this case the
damsel in distress is a twelve year old child. Taking into consideration semiotics,
Leon's sunglasses which connote secrecy and his black clothing which connotes
death all create a representation of a cold hearted killer, however binary opposition
has been used by including extreme close ups of a glass of milk which Leon is
constantly drinking, this particular shot connotes innocence and therefore anchors
the more innocent and caring side of Leon. The representation of Matilda is very
unusual due to the fact that she is a child, however her hostility, eagerness for
revenge and the fact that violence and using weapons such as guns doesn't phase
her portrays her as much older beyond her years. However throughout the rising
action there is a scene in which Matilda suggests they play a dress up game, this
automatically reinforces the fact that although Matilda is a dysfunctional pre-teen,
she is still in fact a child.
Leon looks after Matilda and tries to guide her away from violence, however
Matilda's constant yearning for revenge results in Leon being caught up in saving her
life. We then have the climax in which both the protagonist (Leon) and the antagonist
(Stansfield) die and Matilda escapes. We then have the falling action in which
Matilda goes back to the school for troubled girls, which is followed by the
denouement in which Matilda plants Leon's plant. This plant is constantly referred to
throughout the film and plays a major role in symbolising the themes of life over
death, by having Matilda plant the plat during the denouement it anchors the theme
of life over death and moral of the story which is that sometimes you can start over,
wipe the slate clean and have a fresh start.

3. Lucy (2014)
Lucy is an English language French science fiction action film, released in 2014 and
directed by Luc Besson. The film features a number of stars including Scarlet
Johansson and Morgan Freeman.
In terms of narrative this movie has a linear narrative due to the fact that it has a
clear beginning, middle and end. Firstly we have the exposition in which the setting
is established, this movie follows the typical codes and conventions of a action movie
due to the fact it is set in a big city Taipei (the capital of Taiwan) established
thorough a long shot of Taipei, followed by a montage of sped up footage of the city.
During the exposition we are also introduced to the characters, firstly we are
introduced to the protagonist Lucy played by Scarlet Johansson, the fact that the
protagonist is a woman is very unusual for this particular genre of movie due to the
fact that the protagonist within an action movie is stereotypically a strong male
character. Lucy is then tricked into becoming a drug mule by her new boyfriend, and
we are therefore then introduced to the antagonist MR Jang; a mob boss and drug
lord. Through a jump cuts to scenes of a lecture we are also introduced to Professor
Samuel Norman played by Morgan Freeman
Throughout these scenes Lucy is portrayed as the stereotypical female victim, often
seen in this particular genre of movie. Throughout the scenes in which Lucy is
kidnapped the movie jump cuts to scenes of leopards hunting its pray, again
anchoring the portrayal of the stereotypical victim; however also throughout these
scenes the producers have specifically chosen to have Lucy dressed in a leopard
print coat, the fur of an animal which has connotations of being fierce, wild and
courageous due to them being one of the big 5 wild cats, this use of symbolism
automatically creates the idea that Lucy is in fact a strong lead protagonist and that
the mob boss and drug lord is in fact her pray. The exposition is important due to the
fact that this can determine whether or not the audience will continue to watch the
movie.
During the kidnapping Lucy had a package of drugs surgically inserted into her
stomach, following this we have the inciting incident in which one of the members of
the mob attacks Lucy and kicks her repeatedly in the stomach, therefore causing the
package to burst and as a result a large quantity of the drugs are released into her
system and as a result she is then able to access a larger percent of her brain and
therefore develops enhanced physical and metal capabilities. This inciting incident
plays a major role within the movie due to the fact that it sets the story, in this case it
sets the narrative so that Lucy can escape, kill her captive's and then go in search
for the rest of the drugs, whilst throughout the remainder of the film she is able to
access larger percentages of her brain due to the drugs in her system.
Following this inciting incident we have the rising action, in which Lucy starts to
become aware of her enhanced mental and physical abilities, kills her captive's and

4. escapes before going in search for the remaining packages of CPH4 drugs with the
help of Pierre Del Rio a local police officer. This relationship is very unusual for this
particular genre of movie, because usually within an action movie the protagonist is a
strong male character who's aim is to protect a vulnerable female victim, however in
this case we have a regular man accompanying a strong lead female protagonist.
Throughout the rising action we see a number of typical codes and conventions for
this particular genre, including the use of violence, weapons such as guns, death
and a car chase scene due to both the mob and drug lords and Lucy racing to get
the remaining bag of CPH4 drugs.
Once Lucy has retrieved the drugs, she agrees to meet with professor Samuel
Norman and a group of other scientists to share her knowledge. We then have the
climax in which their is stereotypical gun shoot off between the police and the drug
lords due to them wanting to kill Lucy in order to get the remaining CPH4 drugs,
whilst Lucy has been pumped with more CPH4 drugs and has now been able to
access 80% of her brain and is gradually reaching 100%, using her new mental
capabilities to produce a new generation computer filled with all her knowledge.
Therefore it is a race between Lucy reaching 100% of her brain to provide Professor
Samuel Norman with all this knowledge and Mr Jang getting closer and closer to
killing Lucy. The producers chose specifically to use an extreme close up of Lucy's
head with black tar, slowly moving up her head to symbolise the percentage of brain
she is able to access, whilst also having MR Jang's gun pointing at the back of it,
therefore cleverly creating a climax and suspense for the audience as we are
wondering weather or not she will be able to access 100% before MR Jang pulls the
trigger.
After which we have the falling action in which MR Jang pulls the trigger but Lucy
disappears due to her reaching 100%, MR Jang is then killed by Pierre Del Rio and
the new generation computer hands Professor Samuel Norman with a pen drive
containing all the knowledge Lucy held. Finally we have the Dénouement in which
Pierre Del Rio asks where Lucy had gone, and although we do not see her Lucy
uses her mental capacities to leave a message on his phone stating "I'm
Everywhere" therefore informing us as an audience that Lucy is still here however
creating an enigma for us, leaving us wondering where she actually is.
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Pulp fiction is an American comedy crime film, directed by Quentin Tarantino and
released in 1994. The film features a number of stars including John Travolta , Bruce
Willis, Samuel L Jackson and Uma Thurman.
In terms of narrative, Quentin Tarantino has chose to follow a non-linear narrative
structure, therefore the narrative is disrupted throughout because it features various
storylines focusing on different series of events set in different periods of times.
Firstly we have the story of Pumpkin and Honey Bunny who decide there would be a

5. larger profit from robbing restaurants rather than their usual life of crime robbing local
shops. Following this we are introduced to two gangsters Jules Winfield and Vincent
Vega who have been sent to retrieve a briefcase, followed by a storyline in which
Vincent Vega is made to look after his bosses wife which results in her over dosing
on drugs. After which we have the storyline featuring Bruce Willis in which Butch, a
boxer kills his opponent and therefore has to flee town, however he must retrieve his
dead fathers golden watch. Although the narrative isn't in chronological order and
features a variety of different storylines, each storyline connects and intersects in a
variety of ways. Quentin Tarantino chose specifically to follow a non-linear narrative
structure, therefore enabling us as an audience to follow the storyline through the
perspective of a variety of different characters as well as the disrupted narrative
creating an enigma for the audience.
Below I have structured the narrative as if it would follow a linear narrative, in order
to define the exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action and
dénouement;
Firstly we have the exposition in which we see a young boy being given a watch
which belonged to his dead father. We are then introduced to two hit men, Vincent
Vegas (John Travolta) and Jules Winfield (Samuel L Jackson) as they go to retrieve
a briefcase stolen from their boss which results in them killing two men and taking
another man (Marvin) with them. Iconography is automatically present due to the fact
that this film features a wide range of typical conventions of a crime film within the
mise en scene, including the use of guns, the black suits worn by the hit men and the
use of drugs.
We then have the inciting incident in which we see Vincent accidently shoot Marvin
in the face and as a result both Vincent and Jules seek help from a friend in order to
clean the mess up, following this they both go to a diner; therefore introducing us to
Pumpkin and Honey Bunny who attempt to rob the diner which results in Jules
convincing Pumpkin and Honey Bunny to leave. Both hit men then return the brief to
their boss; this scene also introduces us to Butch who is discussing an upcoming
boxing match, and Vincent agrees to keep his bosses wife company whilst he is out
of town.
Following this we have the rising action in which Vincent and his bosses wife Mia
(Uma Thurman) go to a restaurant and take part in a dance competition. When they
return to Mia's house she overdoses on cocaine, therefore Vincent has to seek help
from a drug dealer. After which Butch learns that he killed his recent opponent in a
boxing match, therefore he needs to leave town, however before leaving he realizes
that his dead fathers watch is missing. We then have the climax in which Butch
returns home to find a gun in his kitchen before realizing that someone is in his
bathroom. Vincent Vegas then walks out of the bathroom to be met by Butch holding
the gun and is killed. Butch then heads back to the hotel where his girlfriend is
waiting however he runs into an encounter with Marsellus which results in them

6. fighting in a shop where both Butch and Marsellus are knocked unconscious and
taken hostage. After which we have the falling action where Butch is tied up whilst
Marsellus is in another room being raped, Butch manages to escape killing some of
the men who took them hostage before leaving Marsellus to torture the man who
raped him. Finally we have the dénouement in which Butch picks up his girlfriend
and they both leave.
Throughout pulp fiction there are a variety of postmodernism features present. Firstly
we have intertextuality which refers to a media text which refers to another media
text, within this particular film there are a number of occasions in which it refers to
other media texts including the Jack rabbit Slims restaurant which features a number
of posters from various films, as well as all the waitresses being portrayed as iconic
Hollywood stars. There is also the reference to the film Saturday Night Fever through
Vincent and Mia's dance scene, as well as a reference to the iconic scene in Seven
Year Itch through the scene in which the waitress dressed as Marilyn Monroe has
her skirt blown up, however this could also be considered pastiche as it celebrates
the work of the director of Seven Year Itch Billy Wilder therefore paying homage to
him. Another feature of postmodernism within this film is reflexivity in which the film
maker refers to the film making process within the mise en scene or narrative,
anchoring the fact that it is a film and not real, a prime example of this within this film
is when Mia draws a box in the air and it appears on the screen. Another feature is
self-referentiality in which a producer of a media text or even an actor will make a
direct reference to their previous work, a prime example from this film being when
Mia is discussing the pilot "Fox Force Five" she featured in, in 2003 Quentin
Tarantino produced Kill Bill which featured all the characters Mia described during
the conversation in Pulp Fiction. Although Kill Bill was produced years after, this can
now be considered self- referentality.
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