This document provides a summary and analysis of the 500 Days of Summer script: 1) The script uses a non-linear narrative, beginning with day 478 and then scene 1, leaving the audience to wonder about the relationship between the main characters. 2) The genre is initially unclear but scenes of the main characters on a bench together suggest it is a romance/drama about relationships. 3) The characters are difficult to categorize, with the female lead taking on roles of both princess and villain, breaking conventions.

1. 500 days of summer script analysis
This is a film script written in 2006 for the film 500 days of summer which came out in
summer 2009.
This film is presented in a non-linear narrative. We begin with on screen text ‘478’
which we can assume from the title of the film that this is day 478 of the 500 days of
summer. The next scene we see after this is titled ‘1’. This is a common theme in many
narratives where we see the end of the story before seeing the beginning. This is
interesting as it leaves the audience with questions ‘what is the relationship between this
man and woman?’ ‘What is their story?’ ‘How did they get here?’
The genre is difficult to tell from the first three pages which say ‘Note: the following is a
work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.’
‘Especially you Jacky Beckman.’ ‘Bitch.’ Tis could possibly suggest that this could be
a drama film as it focuses of relationships and emotions but as there isn’t as yet any
scene description it is difficult to be sure. The Genre is then made clear from the scene
description where we see a man and a woman sat together on a bench which would
suggest that this is a story about relationships, possibly a romance/drama. This is then
confirmed by the narrator who says ‘This is a story of boy meets girl.’
The characters in this film are also difficult to categorise, following Vladimir Propp’s
character types we can see that the Hero is Tom. However Summer seems to fall under
both the princess and the villain. This suggests that this is a film that breaks conventions
and allows the audience to question the characters and relationships more.
The target audience for this film is probably a younger audience in their ‘20’s’ as the
characters are in that ag range and are therefore easier for a young adult to relate with.
Even though romance/drama films are typically targeted at women I think that having the
main protagonist as a male character will reach a lot more male audience members.