1. PR3 how we respondtomediaproductions
Leon
P1 we respondto mediaproductionsinmany ways,some of the
approachesmaybe inthe mannerin whichwe analyse.Such asgenre,
narrative,semiotics andrepresentation.
Genre –Genre was originally aFrenchword meaningakindbutwas
adaptedintocinematography meaningastyle orcategoryof art ,musicor
literature .Genre inafilm sense isusedtoshow the style of the filmfor
example action,horror,drama. Inthe case of Leonthe genre isan action
thrillerwithhintsof adrama .Thisisshownby recurringthemesthroughout
such as guns,violence andvengeance theseare all commonthingsthatare
foundwithinthe actionmovie genre.
Narrative- The definition narrative meansaspokenorwrittenaccountof
commented eventsora story. There are a few waysthat narrative isusedin
films.The firstone isa 3 act structure thisoriginated fromGreek theatre
whichstatesthat there mustbe three acts ina filmact 1 exposition,act2
risingactionand act 3 fallingaction.Thiswayis the most common formof
narrative inmovies. Anotherformis Characterarc thismeansthat the charactersthat appear in the
filmmustgrowin some way as the movie proceeds .Thiscanbe splitupintotwo formsuphill arcs
and downhill arcs. Uphill arcsare whenthe character improvesthroughoutthe movie anddownhill
arcs where the character decreasesthroughoutthe film. There isalsoepisodicnativewhere the
storyis splitupintoepisodes.There are also linierandnon liniernarrative. linieristhe traditional
formof filmmakingwhere the moviehasa beginmiddleandendandnon liniermaynotfollow this
Patton.The narrative structure of Leon isa 3 act linierstorythisissplitinto3acts withact 1
expositionthenfollowedbyincitingincidentthenact2 risingactionthenthe climax thenthe final
act beingfallingactionfollowedbythe denouement.
Semiotics –Semioticsisthe studyof signsandsymbolstofindthe hiddenmeaningbehindthemfor
example thisisusedalotin colours;the colourblue couldbe lookedatto represent loyalty,wisdom,
confidence,intelligence,faith andtruth. Onthe posterof Leonthe colourson it are red and black
.These coloursare meantto symbolise things.The redmeansbloodandviolence thisshowsusthat
it isprobably goingtohave action involved.The colourblackcanbe usedtosymbolise death
darknessandmisery.Thisshowsthatit probably won’tbe ahappy movie .InLeontheyuse semiotics
throughoutthe movie toshowa constanttheme of life and death. Forexample akillerLeoncarry’s
arounda plantwinchisrepresentation life. Soakillerisprotecting life.
Representation- Representationmeansto portraysomeone of something. Leonuse Representation
well inthe movie forexamplewithgender.Inalot of actionmovies womenare representedasbeing
goodlookingwomen whoneedtobe savedbythe main character thisis considered asbeingthe
conventional wayof actionmovies .ButinLeonwentforan unconventional approachthe female
protagonistisa strongconfidentyounggirl whowantrevenge forher father’s death.
P2 I will be talkingaboutthe topics above andhow theyeffectedtomovie.
2. Leon(The Professional international release) isa movie thatwas released in1994(1995 in the
UK)thiswasdirectedbythe Frenchdirector Luc Besson .There wassome star actors that wasin this
movie JeanReno whoplaysthe mainprotagonistLeon, Gary Oldmanplayedthe role asthe
antagonistStansfield.Thismovie wasalsothe debutof Nataly Portmanwhoplayedthe role of
Mathildawhenshe was12 years old.
The story line of Leon wasas followed.
act 1 the expositionwe see LeonanMathildabeingintroduces.WithLeonitshowsof himusinghis
skillstokill agroupof gangsters.We henlearnaboutMathildafamilylife andhow she hasa
desorbingfamilylife. Thenthere issome incitingincidentthattakesplace inthis act. The incident
that happens isthe murderof Mathilda’s mother,Father,sisterandher8 year oldbrother .
Act 2 In thisact we start to see the risingactionof the movie the firstthingwe see is Mathildagets
takeninby Leonin orderto protecther fromthe crockedcops that killedherfamily.Onceshe found
out whatLeon’sjobisshe askhimto train herin “cleaning”the reasonfor thisis because she want
revenge forherbrotherwhichisa veryconventional plotline inactionthrillers.At firsthe denies her
trainingbutinthe endhe starts to showherhow todo it .
Climax thisissetupby Mathildagoingto try to kill Stansfield inordertoavenge herfamily’s death
but she failstodo so. This leadsLeontokillingone of Stansfield’scolleges andbrakes Mathildaout
of police custody. Because of thisStanfieldgetsthe SWATteamto attack the hotel where Leonis
stayingin. Thisbecomesashootoutwhich isthe main part of the climax whichendswithLeonkilling
Stanfield alongwithhimselfwithagrenade.
Act 3 FallingActionthisisthe part where MathildagoestoTonyLeon’scontractor whogivesher
some of the moneythathe has heldontofor Leon thismeansthatshe isprettymuch setforlife .She
alsostarts to gether life backontrack bygoingback to a private school.
Denouementthisisthe endingof the movie inthispart MathildaplantsLeon’splantinthe ground
thisshowsthat althoughitisa movie aboutdeaththere isstill new life inthe end.
P3
3. Setting– The settingforthismovie IsNew York citywhichis
very conventional foranactionmovie because theyare
alwayssetinlarge cities.It’salsousuallyinaplace witha large
populationof peopleit’salsothe type of placeswhere the
mostcrime takesplace thismeansthat it wouldbe a perfect
place for an actionmovie totake place .It’sa veryiconicplace
that people willknowthe lookof itandguessthe locationof
the movie withinthe first30 seconds.Itisshownbythe iconic
skyline. Butwhatisunconventional aboutitisalthoughitwas
setin New Yorkthe main locationwaslittle Italy whichisa
locationnotseena lotin films.
Character - the charactersis inthismovie isconsideredto be
unconventional thaninmostotheractionthrillers.Forexample withthe
maincharacter Leonin mostactionmoviesthe mainheroisusuallya
smoothtalking,goodlookingguyjustlike Jamesbondis.WhereasLeon
dose nottalk muchduring andyou barelysee hisface duringthe firsthalf
of the movie because itiscoveredupbyhisglasses.Alsoinalot of these
typesof moviesthe maincharacteris usuallyagoodguy fighting against
evil whereasLeoncouldbe consideredasbeinganantiheroconsidering
that he “cleans”.The othermain character female isa unconventional
character .Inmost actionmoviesthe female tendstobe a young
attractive womanwhousuallyfallsinlove withthe maincharacter.WhereasMathildaisa12 year
oldgirl whowants revenge afteragroupof corrupt police officerkilledherbrother.HerandLeon
developedafatherdaughtertype relationshipbutthere were hintsthroughoutthe movie that
suggestthatMathildawantedsomethingmore .Thisis somethingthatisstrange to see infilmsa
relationshipbetweenaman anda minorjustthe throughof thishappeningmayputpeople off from
watchingLeonthismay be one of the reasonswhyLeondidnot dotoo well atthe box office
Iconography –these are thingsthatare seenonthe movie thatare iconicto the movie genre for
example inthe first10 minutes of the movie we see agunfightwhichisveryiconicto these typesof
movies.There isalsoascene inthe movie thathas Leon holdingagunto a gangstersheadandhas
the gangstertryingto call the emergencynumberthissymbols life anddeathwhichiswhat the
moviestheme is.Life beingthe phone withthe police onthe otherendgivinglife .Andagunonly
usedto bringdeath.Thisisalsoused withLeonplantwithsomebody whoonlyusedtotake life is
protectinglife withinthe plant.At the endof the movie Mathilda plantsLeon’splantinthe ground
to symbolise thateventhoughLeondiedlifestillgrows .
Style- Thismovie keptaconstantstyle of havinga theme of life
and deathand theydidthisbymakingLeonsomeone who’sjobis
to kill andremove life ,help protecttwolife’swithMathildaand
the plant.One of the stylesof the movie istobe unconventional
withthe characters that are in the movie .Antherone isthatwe
don’tsee Leonface much inthe movie thisisdone because the
directorwantedtoadd some mysterywithhischaracter.Because
of the directorsstyle thismovie becameknownasbeinganauteur
4. movie whichgave the movie stylisticcreditwhichis one of the reasonswhyithas stayedaroundfor
all thistime and still consideredtobe apopularmovie .Because of Luc Bessonuse of style the movie
didnot do well shorttermbutmanagedto prevailedinthe longtermandstand the testof time
Troy
P1
Genre- The genre of thismovie isan action,adventure andhistorical movie.There are several
ongoingthemes thatshow thatit isthisgenre such as swords spearsand horse.
Narrative- Justlike Leonthismovie keepsthe same 3act linerstoryline withexposition,rising action
and thenthe fallingaction Ishall showthe 3 act structure inp2.
Semiotics- The firstsignthatwe see thatthisisan historicactionmovie isthe title “troy”thisshows
us whattype of movie itwouldbe andwhere itissetit alsogivesusthe insighttoHomers Odyssey
so those whoknowabouthisstory of troy withthe woodenhorse .There are alsoa lotof mentions
to the Greekgods andgoddesswiththe movie mentioningApollothe godof light,Athenathe
goddessof wisdomandPoseidonthe godof the sea.Thisshowsusthe time whenthe movie wasset
and where.
Representation- Inthismoviegenderisrepresentedquite badlythere isonlyreallythree important
female rolesinthe movie compared tothe large castof males.Andeventhe three womenare only
reallyusedasromance towardsthe three main characters . Alsotwoof themcouldbe considered as
beingprisonersPariscousinwasbeingheld captive in the GreekcampandHellencouldbe
consideredasbeingacapturedof troywitha whole armytryingto take her back to Sparta .Thiscan
be representedasbadviewof female ,butconsideringthatthisisa historical filmthe representation
of womeninthe movie mayhave beenwhatitwaslike inthe time whenthe movie wasset
P2
Troy was received onthe 14th
of May 2004 and wasdirectedby
WolfgangPetersen withmusicby JamesHorner.The movie isa
historical actionmovie whichstarsOrlando Bloomwho playsone of the
protagonists,EricBana the otherprotagonist,BradPittwho playsthe
anti-hero and Diane Krugerthe female protagonist.
Act 1 exasperationthisishow the movie startsoff byexplainingthe
characters I wouldsaythat troyhad two partsof the exposition.The
firstpart was withParis(prince of troy) sleepingwithMenelaus wife
Hellenandrunningoff withherleadingtoawar betweenGreece and
Troy .We also see Achillesfightingasachampionforthe Greeksina
battle whichshowsusthat he isthe bestwarrior inthe whole of Greek.
Act 2 rising action duringthispart of the movie alot happensfirstthe
GreekArmadaassemblesandattacksthe coast of troywhichallows
themto camp of the beaches of troyfor theircampaign.Achilles
5. capturesa Trojan priestesswhoisalsoPariscousin.Thenthere isaduel betweenParisand
Menelaus overthe love of Hellenandtoendthe war althoughAgamemnon plannedtoattacktroy
weatherhe wonor lost.The inexperience Parislostthe battle with Menelaus butwassavedwhen
Hector (price of troy) intervened bykilling Menelaus .The Greeks thenfoughtandlost againstthe
Trojan fours’ withHectorkillingAjax the great.afterthe battle the Trojanssuggestedacounter
attack at the Greekscamplaterthat nightduringthisthe Trojans beatthe Greeksintheircamp
.Hectorfoughtand killedsomeone whohe thoughtwas Achilles butturnedoutthe be Achilles
cousinPatroclus.Because of thisboththe Greeksandthe Trojansagree to endthe battle there.
Climax – because of the deathof Patroclus Achillesheadstowardsthe cityof troyanddemandsthat
Hector fightshiminsingle combat.HectoragreesandgetskilledbyAchillesaftertheirbattle Achilles
tieshisbodyto hischariotand ridesof showingdisrespecttowardshim.
Act 3 fallingaction– Onthispart we see thatthe Greekswas meantto leave Troy andleftbehinda
woodenhorse asa giftto Poseidon .The trogonscome upon thisandsuggestthat theyshouldtake it
intotheirtemple asa giftto the gods.Parisdisagreesandsaysthat theyshouldburnit.The Trojans
go againstParisjudgmentandbringsitto theirtemple .LaterthatnightGreeksolderscome outof
the woodenhorse andopento gate to allow the Greekarmyin .Thisleadstothe sackof the city of
troy .ParisandHellentryto escape troughundergroundtunnelsalongwithothers.
Denouement- thisisthe endingof the movie where ParisshootsAchilleswitharrowsmultiple times
until he shootshiminthe heel andkills him.
P3
Setting– The settingof the movie can be quite conventional with
actionhistorical movies.For example we see aGreektemple which
showsusthat it is obviously setinGreece .Thiscanshow the viewer’s
where thismovie issetsince thisissuchan iconic building. We also
see the some otherGreek locationlike Spartaandthe city of Troy
these are bothvery conventional locationstobe foundinhistorical
actionmovies especially those thatare basedonthe ancientGreeks
Character – the characters withinthismovie are very conventional
inthe waytheyare actedout .For example the twoof the main
characters hectorand Achilles.Bothshearsimilarcharacteristics
.Theyare bothstrongand powerful characterswhoare
consideredasthe strongestwarriorfromboth sides.This canbe
consideredasbeingconventionalinhistoricactionmovieswith
havingstrongcharacters that can’t be defeated. Inhistorythey
are bothknownas beingheroesof theircountry’s andboth
nameshave gone downinGreek legends. The femaleprotagonist
isalso considered tobe conventional becauseshe isseenasbeing
a damsel indistressthatpeople needtoprotectthiscouldbe
givenasbeinga bad message towards the female audience .Thisiscompletelydifferentto Leon
who’scharacter are very unconventional anddon’tfollow the commonthemesthismaybe the
reasonwhy Troy has not stoodthe testof time.
6. Iconography – There are several thingsthatthismovie hasthatare iconicto the genre of the movie.
For startersthe weapons thatare usedduringthe movie gladius,javelinsandchariotsthese are
considered asbeingiconictoolsthatare relatedtothisera that the movie isset in. Alsothe use of
the Greek Gods (evenif theydidnotgetthementirely accurate). Byaddingtheminitgivesthe
viewersaclearunderstandingof the settingof the movie andalsothe time periodthatitwasset in.
Thiswill thenshowtoitsaudience thatit isa historical action movie.
Style- throughoutthe movie theykeepaconstantstyle .One of the themesthatthismovie dose is
love and war. Duringthe movie there are three love interestgoingonina time of war thisIs a way of
sayingthat evenIwar love canstill provable .Theyalsokeeptothe same theme of a Greektragedy
theydidthisby killingoff maincharactersandthe endingwhenthe Greekssetfire tothe cityof
Troy. Thisalsoshowsthat itis historicallyaccurate tothe real events.
PulpFiction
Pulpfictionisa crime drama thrillermoviethatwasdirectedbyQuentin
Tarantino.Thiscame outin 1994 some of the main cast are as follow Samael l
Jackson,JohnTravoltaand Bruce Willis.the movie isanon-linerepisodic
storythis meansthatthe movie istoldin episodes andmightnotbe toldin
the right orderwhichmeansthatsome characters mightdie onone part of
the movie butthenreturnon anotherbecause Ithas notbeentoldinthe
correct order.So one of the goodthingsaboutthismovie istryingto piece
out the orderof the movie.
I shall nowtalkabout the storyline asif itwasset ina normal narrative story
line.
The expositionof the movie isBruce’s dad’sfriendgivinghimawatch. Alight
thisIs the beggingof the movie it doesnotshow thisscene for abouta hour
Intothe film.There isalsothe partwhere John Travoltaand Samael L Jackson
goesto take back the brief case .
Thisis where the risingactionstartsJohnscharacter shootsomeone andtheyneedtodispose of the
evidence. Sotheyringupa fixertohelpdeal withthe problem. Once thishappenstheygotoa
dinnerwhichtwopeople are aboutto rob. Althoughinorderthispartof the movie shouldbe inthe
middle. Inthe filmthispartisshownat the beginandthe end.theypaythe robbersto leave after
threateningthemandthis isthenconsidered tobe the endof the movie butif we didit inthe
correct orderthenthe movie carry’son
Theythengo and returnto case to theirbossmarcel. Thisiswhere theymeetthe characterButch
playedbyBruce Williswhoistoldto fake a fall inone of hisboxing matches.He doesnotdo thisso
marcel sendsjohns characterto kill himthiscouldbe considered asbeingasecond risingaction.
Butch goesback to hisoldhouse where Johns characteriswaitingforhimwhichleadstoButch
killingJohnscharacter,thisscene happensbefore the dinerscene thismakesjohnscharacterdie
and thencome back ina laterscene .
7. Thisis nowwhere the fallingactiontakesplace .butch try’sto kill marcel butfailsandendsupbeing
capturedand takento a sex dungeon.Butch mangersto escape fromthe sex dungeonandsaves
marcel fromthemwhichmakesmarcel say that theya evenandtellshimtoleave the city
Thisleadsupthe final Denouementwithbutchandhisgirlfriendleavingona motorbike .Although
thisisthe endingof the storythisonlyhappenshalf waythroughthe movie
Althoughthatwashow it happens if the storywas setout inthe right order,butsince Quentin
Tarantinowantedto make the narrative style of the movie a nonlinearepisodicstoryline .This
meantthat the orderis mixedup.Forexample whenplayingthe movie JohnTravolta’scharacter
archerydiesbefore the dinnerscene whichwasthe lastscene inthe movie .The intercedingstyle
worksverywell andI thinkthisisthe reasonwhyboth PulpFictionandQuentinTarantino have done
so well.
Post modalism
Pulpfictionusesalotof postmodalism tomake referencestootherpartsof the media. For example
the directorusesmultiple differenttypesof intertextualitytolinkthismovietoothersousesof
media.Anexample of this isthattheyuse the same mise en scene asin Grease theyhave done this
by havingthe same car scene as grease as well ashavingreferencestothe pinkladesformGrease .
Thiscouldalso be seenasbeinga pastiche since itiscloselycopyinganotherartistworkthisis
differenttoa parade because insteadof mockingthistheyare more celebratingit. Tarantinoused
people dressedupasoldstars from the 50s to 80s to make references tothemand theirtime .For
example theyhadthe famousMarylynMonroe ventscene fromthe filmsevenyearitch.Thiswould
be playinghomagestowards the directorof thatmovie Billy Wilderthiswouldbe aPastiche. These
are quite good reference because peoplewhowasborninthisera to see tie in’stostarts that may
have beenaroundintheirchild hood.
There isa scene withinpulpfictionwhichmakes a
parodyof John Travoltadancing. Thisis because in
one of hisearliermovies Saturday nighthe hada
majordancingroll. But now as he hasgottenolder
and more out of shape he makesa parody of him
doingsome baddancinglike whatand oldman
would. Thisisalso Self-referentialitybecause John
Travoltamakesreference tohisownworkon
SaturdayNightFeverwiththe dance scene inthis .
Thismovie alsousesReflexivitythisisdone onthe
part where she drawsa square on the screen. This
breaksthe 4th
line andshowsthatthe camerais there.
QuentinTarantino alwaysmakessome selfreferentiality inall of his moves. He doesthistogive the
audience hintsabouthisnewmovesandoldones.Forexample inthe case of Pulpfiction Tarantino
giveshintsabouta movie thathe had not made at the time Kill Bill. Thiswasdone whentheywas
talkingat the restaurantJohnTravolta’saskedmiaabouther the time she dida pilotandshe started
talkingaboutassassinwomenthatisa reference toKill Bill .
