This document summarizes and compares four films from different eras: - Way Down East (1920) is a silent American melodrama about a poor country girl, Anna, who is tricked into a fake marriage and becomes pregnant. She is later rescued from a storm. - Cinderella (1950) is Disney's animated adaptation of Charles Perrault's fairy tale about a kind girl who is mistreated by her stepmother and sisters but finds love with the prince. - Captain Avenger (1980) is a romantic comedy about a struggling actor who decides to become a superhero for a film role but finds it more difficult than expected. - Bridget Jones' Diary (2000) follows the

1. Film Genre

2. 1920 Way Down East
This is a American Silent romantic drama, which is one of four adaptations of the
melodramatic 19th century play Way Down East by Lottie Blair Parker. There were
two prior to this and one with sound that was made in 1935.
The rich, typified by the handsome man-about-town Lennox, are exceptionally selfish
and think only of their own pleasure.
Anna is a poor country girl whom Lennox tricks into a fake wedding. When she
becomes pregnant, he leaves her. She has the baby, named Trust Lennox, on her
own.
When the baby dies she wanders until she gets a job with Squire Bartlett . David,
Squire Bartlett's son, falls for her, but she rejects him due to her past. Then Lennox
shows up lusting for another local girl, Kate. Seeing Anna, he tries to get her to
leave, but she refuses to go, although she promises to say nothing about his past.
Finally, Squire Bartlett learns of Anna's past from Martha, the town gossip. In his anger, he tosses
Anna out into a snow storm. Before she goes, she fingers the respected Lennox as her despoiler and
the father of her dead baby. Anna becomes lost in the raging storm while David leads a search party.
In the famous climax, the unconscious Anna floats down an icy river towards a waterfall, until
rescued at the last moment by David, who, in the final scene, marries her.

3. The character stereotypes then were
similar to what they are now, the girl
(Anna) who is poor and shouldn’t be
found with one of the rich men
(Lennox) but they have a child
together. Visually Lennox looks very
wealthy because he dresses in
expensive looking suits and lives in a
large manor house and Anna looks
poor because she wears a very worn
looking dress which is very plain
compared to the common heavily
embellished dresses that the rich
women wore at that time.
This stereotype has changed
because it is usually the male now
that is forbidden to be with the girl,
not the woman is forbidden to be
with the man. The clothes would
stereotypically be the same where
one wears old ragged clothes and
the other wears fancy and
expensive clothes.
The setting is very old fashioned, set in
1920’s America. Which is different to what
the locations would look now, the houses
would be allot more modern and the city itself
would be more busy and technological.
The editing is very simplistic, using just simple
cuts from the dialogue scenes to the actors.
The film is also in sepia because of the
technology in that timer was allot more simplistic
that what it is now.

4. 1950
Cinderella
This is an American ‘fantasy’ Romantic film made by Disney based on the film “Cendrillon" by Charles Perrault.
Cinderella is the child of a widowed aristocrat. Deciding Cinderella needs a mother, Cinderella's father marries Lady Tremaine, a cold and cruel
woman with two daughters from a previous marriage. After Cinderella's father dies, Lady Tremaine and her daughters take over the estate and
begin to mistreat Cinderella, ultimately reducing her to being a maid in her own home. Despite this, Cinderella becomes a kind and gentle young
woman, befriending the animals in the barn and the mice and birds who live around her home.
At the royal palace, the King and the Grand Duke organise a ball in an effort to find a suitable wife for his son, the prince. Cinderella asks her
stepmother if she can go to this and Lady Tremaine agrees but only if Cinderella finishes her chores and finds a nice dress to wear. Cinderella's
animal friends, led by Gus and the other mice, fix up a gown that belonged to Cinderella's mother using beads and a sash thrown out by the two
step sisters, When Cinderella comes down wearing her new dress, angered by the apparent theft of their discarded items, the stepsisters destroy
the gown.
Just as Cinderella is about to give up hope, her Fairy Godmother appears and turns the remains of Cinderella's dress into a new ball gown with
glass slippers. She also transforms a pumpkin into a carriage, the mice into horses, her horse Major into a coachman, and her dog Bruno into a
footman. Cinderella's godmother warns her that the spell will break at the stroke of midnight.
At the ball, the Prince rejects every girl until he sees Cinderella. The two fall strongly in love and dance alone throughout the castle grounds until the
clock starts to chime midnight. Cinderella runs to her coach and away from the castle, leaving one of her glass slippers behind. After her gown turns
back into rags, the mice point out that the other slipper is still on her foot.
Back at the castle, the Duke tells the King of the Prince’s meeting with the unknown girl. The King, thinking that the Duke was "in league with the
Prince all along," goes into a rage and tries to behead him. Fortunately, the Duke is able to calm him down with news of the girl's glass slipper and
states that the Prince will only marry the girl who fits that slipper.
The next morning, the King proclaims that the Grand Duke will visit every house in the kingdom to find the girl whose foot fits the glass slipper.
When news reaches Cinderella's household, her stepmother and stepsisters prepare for the Duke's arrival. Overhearing this, Cinderella dreamingly
hums the song played at the ball. Realising that Cinderella was the girl who danced with the Prince, Lady Tremaine locks her in the attic.
When the Duke arrives, Jaq and Gus steal the key to Cinderella's room, but Lucifer catches them before they get to her, they chase him out the
window and Cinderella is freed. As the Duke prepares to leave after the stepsisters unsuccessfully try on the slipper, Cinderella appears and
requests to try it on. Knowing the slipper will fit, Lady Tremaine trips the footman, causing him to drop the slipper, which shatters on the floor.
Cinderella then produces the other glass slipper, much to her stepmother's horror. A delighted Duke slides the slipper onto her foot, and it fits
perfectly.
Cinderella and the Prince celebrate their wedding and live happily ever after.

5. 5
Stereotypically Cinderella is visually the most beautiful
character in the film but is undermined by her two step sisters
who want the attention, but she lives happily ever after.
The male is the prince who she falls inlove with, who wears
formal suits and lives in a palace.
The stereotypes in this film are not too different
to the stereotypes that are used in todays film.
I think this is because allot of films today are influenced by the
narrative of this film.
The film is set in an estate and a
castle, films in this genre today, aren’t usually set in this type of
environment.
They are usually in more casual places such as cities. Romantic
films now tend to be more realistic so that the audience can
empathise with the character more.
The editing and sound was allot more simplistic then to
what it is now, also because it is animation
foley sound will occur allot more and the music is mostly
just vocals, but allot of static is in the background of the
song.
The editing just includes simple cuts mostly throughout and
sometimes text over the top of certain scenes.

6. 6
1980
Captain Avenger
This is a romcom about An idealistic but struggling actor finds
his life unexpectedly complicated when he stops a robbery
while wearing the costume of Captain Avenger, a superhero
character of a film he is hired to to promote. He decides to try
his hand at being a superhero only to find that it is more difficult
and dangerous than he thought.

7. The narrative isn’t a stereotypical
romcom because the focus isn’t just on
the couple, it is also on the main character
being a superhero, which is where most
of the comedy is based around rather than
focusing on his relationship.
7
Visually he is a stereotypical character in this genre
because he is made to be good looking which then
attracts the female characters.
(and the audience.)
The film is set in 1980’s America in
the city, this is commonly where a film of this genre
would be set. The fashion and technology such as
cars appear to be different but there isn’t allot of
difference from then to what it is now.
The editing is more playful, using a range
of different transitions, such as this, it makes it
more lighthearted and comical like this and also
gives it a comic book feel, which relates to the
super hero character.

8. 8
2000
Bridget Jones Diary
This is a romcom about Bridget Jones an average woman
struggling against her age, her weight, her job, her lack of a
men, and her many imperfections. As a New Year's
Resolution, Bridget decides to take control of her life, keeping
a diary in which she will always tell the complete truth about
her life. It begins when her charming though disreputable
boss takes an interest in Bridget.
She is accompanied by a band of slightly eccentric friends and
an acquaintance who Bridget cannot seem to stop running
into or help finding attractive.

9. 9
The narrative for this story is stereotypical
because there is a woman who is interested in
a man and visa versa but there is a twist in this
because she is also drawn to someone else
even though throughout the start of the film you
are lead to believe that he is one of the bad
characters in the story.
She is a stereotypical character for this
genre because she is someone that
the audience can relate to. It is
targeted at a female audience who are
also around her age and likely to be in
the same situation.
The film is set in London, showing
common british weather which it is
known for and using pros such as back cabs,
this also shows the busyness of the location.
It is also largely set in her flat, which again
is something that the audience will be able]to
relate
because this is the kind of life style they are
likely to have.
The editing in this film is more
modern. It frequently uses voice overs,
has text look as if it is being written
onto the screen in one scene and
uses better cuts and transitions
throughout. There is music that has been
edited and it of good quality, using
popular songs from this time
and the film uses different edits
such as slow motion.

10. 9
The narrative for this story is stereotypical
because there is a woman who is interested in
a man and visa versa but there is a twist in this
because she is also drawn to someone else
even though throughout the start of the film you
are lead to believe that he is one of the bad
characters in the story.
She is a stereotypical character for this
genre because she is someone that
the audience can relate to. It is
targeted at a female audience who are
also around her age and likely to be in
the same situation.
The film is set in London, showing
common british weather which it is
known for and using pros such as back cabs,
this also shows the busyness of the location.
It is also largely set in her flat, which again
is something that the audience will be able]to
relate
because this is the kind of life style they are
likely to have.
The editing in this film is more
modern. It frequently uses voice overs,
has text look as if it is being written
onto the screen in one scene and
uses better cuts and transitions
throughout. There is music that has been
edited and it of good quality, using
popular songs from this time
and the film uses different edits
such as slow motion.