This document discusses several ways to analyze films, including genre analysis and auteur theory. It provides examples of applying these methods to the films Cowboy's and Aliens, Inception, and others. The document also discusses analyzing elements like location, characters, narrative structure, iconography, and technical style to determine a film's genre and whether it was directed by an auteur.

1. How do we analyse Film?
There are a number of different ways that film can be analysed. Two such ways are via the analysis
of a film’s genre, or genre analysis, and another method is application of auteur theory. For example,
when applying genre analysis to Cowboy’s and Aliens, it is recognised by the audience as a western,
as within the mise en scene there is use of iconic costumes and locations. When applying auteur
theory to Inception this film is an example of how Chris Nolan’s work has a distinctive, non-linear
style in the narrative, making him an auteur.
We analyse film in many different ways, we can set them apart into genres and use Lacey’s
Repertoire of Elements to dissect the film and see how each element of the film adds to the final
piece of work. Lacy’s repertoire of elements breaks it down so we look at the location of the film, is
it an iconic or common setting for the style of film. We see what’s shown in the shot, and start to get
a grasp of the type of film this is going to be. The characters in the film obvious play a big part, we
see what their body language is like, their behaviour, if they are a stereotype to their gender, age,
sexual preference etc. and then start to distinguish if the film is becoming a very conventional film or
not. Films often create a non-linear narrative to make for an exciting, intriguing or even confusing
aspect for the audience. This is done by showing flashbacks, working from the future and looking
back at the past etc. Tarantino used this in his film Pulp Fiction, he creates a lot different storylines
for different characters and puts them together at different points of the movie to create a very
interesting way of looking at each scene and why things happened.
Many a time films use Iconography; they put in quotes and or create a distinct feature of the scene
or character, which symbolises something maybe in the real world, or another movie which is most
likely very well known by the audience which then creates a connection between the audiences.
Finally we look at the technical style of the film, how the scenes are cut and shot and even if there’s
a filter on the camera, creating a gloomy look, or vibrant and colourful scene.
All of these factors add up to determine which category the film lies in, and if an auteur has directed
it, and also takes into account if all the factors create an iconic or popular film.
An auteur director removes themselves from the conventional way of making a movie. They create
something completely different and quirky caring more about the artistic side of the film instead of
the financial and popularity of it. Films like Leon and Napoleon Dynamite would have been directed
by an auteur as they possess a very different way of looking at things than other media, For example
the relationship between Leon and Matilda which wasn’t conventional to other action movies and
creates a stir and debates in the audience. With the film Napoleon Dynamite it is a very quirky and
funny film unlike other conventional comedy’s or high school films, in films like Mean Girls It is a
conventional plot and follows a standard way of high school life, although exaggerated. The contrast
between the two is that mean girls follows the life of the ‘popular’ people, though touching on the
different groups in high schools we take it from the perspective of the popular. Whilst in Napoleon
Dynamite we very much follow the life of the underdog or ‘nerd’ but what’s different about this is its
not to feel sorry for him or to watch him suddenly become popular, but his personality and quirky
awkward attitude makes us laugh even when he may be getting bullied which we would usually be

2. done in films to make us feel sorry and upset. The movie creates a dry and awkward humour unlike
most conventional comedies where it’s very obvious and in your face.
Auteur Directors portray different styles of making their movies which almost trademark their work
so when they create a movie the audience automatically knows who the director is, for example;
Time Burton. Tim burton animation
movies have a distinct look to them,
when you see a character from a Tim
Burton movie or a scene you know
that’s it’s his which has made his movies
very popular. His movies have a quirky
look to them and even the movements
of the characters like in The Nightmare
before Christmas, aren’t smooth and
highly animated, but give a rough yet
captivating look to his film, this is
created using stop motion.
I think his movies are made to look timely but classic for people to watch in years to come, this is the
beauty of auteur directors creating something that’s not only good to watch the story line, but
creating something with artistic credit in every aspect of the film, this is why people see them as not
only directors but artists in what they do.
Auteurs oose innovation and creative something different to what others have seen before, for
example James Cameron. When creating movies like avatar and the terminator, not realising they
would soon become some of the most popular films made and watched. Films like this with the
amount of creativity put into it become a part of our lives, people still use quotes like “I’ll be back” to
this day, and certain thing from movies like that stick with us and people create parodies and even
paying homage to the films.
Mean Girls.
Mean Girls is a very conventional film, the film is based at a high school in America and creates
stereotypical social groups of people. In the film we have the main characters which include the
‘Plastics’ which are very obviously pretty, confident and popular girls. The representation of girls in
this film are varied throughout but the desired look and the thing that draws the audience in is the
confident ‘girly girls’
wearing pink and are
appealing to the eye
with also being
funny. Some girls
may relate to them
making them want
to watch it whereas
most girls relate to
the other end of the

3. social ladder making them want to watch the plastics get knocked down ; so this film draws people
in from every perspective and creates a big following. We also have the art students which are two
main characters, Janis and Damian, I think the audience relates to these the most because they say
what we all want to say and also are known for some of the well-known lines in the film. At the
beginning of the film we see them give names of all the different groups of people in the school, and
even draw a map of who sits were and who with, it puts all of the different races and nerds and so
on, into very funny but stereotypical group names.
The film has a linear narrative and is told almost like a story. There are a few differences we see, as it
often cuts to the students commenting on what they think of the plastics almost like an interview.
We also see the main character having visions of fights like animals would ‘back home in Africa’.
Other than these differences the film is conventional and has a linear narrative, and although it
makes for a funny and extremely popular film, it’s clear that this wasn’t directed by an auteur. If we
look at the film Napoleon Dynamite in contrast to Mean Girls, even though both High school
comedies, there are clear differences in which way we
Researching it I’ve found that Mean girls doesn’t have any iconography from past films or iconic
buildings etc. However with the film’s success, its one-liners and themes from the film have become
iconic for themselves and are often used in other pieces of media, therefore making Mean girls
quotes, iconography in the other media pieces.
• Technical and audio codes (lighting/editing/SFX/sound)
For each of the above areas, define how the film establishes GENRE