Unit 26 Film Studies

1. The word ‘genre’ means ‘type’ or ‘category’, the aim of genre is to organise films into groups so
it’s easier for people to easily access genres of filmthey like and enjoy and used is by media
analysts to define a genre. Each genre has its own conventions which change over time which
makes it easier to notices the difference between films. Nick Lacey is a genre theorist who uses a
repertoire of elements to define a genre. The elements are Character, Style, Setting, Iconography
and Narrative these can be applied to all genres of film. For example, in an action film you would
expect to see; iconography – fast cars, guns and explosions. Style – explosions(diegetic), fast paced
music (non diegetic), Character – male hero saving female victim and also actors/actresses who
have done work involving this genre in the past eg tom cruise is an expected action actor as he’s
worked many action films in the past. Setting – action films are generally set in big cities such as
New York or other big cities all around the world as they help the film be more realistic by adding
special effects to make the city look destroyed. Narrative – Hero saves the female character,
disruption is made, the villain dies and then there is a happy ending. Another genre example is
Horror where you would expect to see; iconography – blood, pot dolls, cobwebs, rocking chairs,
Style – slow paced music (non diegetic) to build tension for the audience generally used before
something drastic happens in the film, Character – children often play a villain in new horror films
and this challenges the idea of children being innocent and pure for the audience. Also
stereotypically a group of people are targeted and they all end up dying. Setting – haunted houses
are a popular setting and also dark forests as dark lighting is more used for horror. Narrative –
unaware of any danger and then they end up being haunted/dying.
Another theorist is Steve Neale and his theory is that he believes “genres are instances of
repetition and difference” and that “difference is absolutely essential to genre” this means how
much it conforms with a genres stereotypes and conventions and that a film must conform to the
conventions enough so it can still qualify as a film of a certain genre. This theory applies to the film
Leon as it has the qualities of a typical action thriller such as explosions, guns and typical setting
which is the same as the James Bond films. But the difference between the two films is the sexual
representation of women which is juxtaposed in the two, in the James Bond films a very famous
character is ‘the bond girl’ who is typically played by a beautiful woman who has a sexual
relationship with James Bond. In the film Leon this is challenged as the sexually represented
female is a 12-year-old girl who admits her love for the middle aged hit man and they end up
having some sort of relationship. This idea is typical from the auteur Luc Besson, auteur theory is
when the original filmmaker has a personal creative vision which is applied to the film and most of

2. the time can be noticed by the audience so it’s easy to pin the work of a certain filmmaker.
Another difference is the characterisation between the two hit men (Leon and James Bond) as
Bond is very professional; has a posh car, fancy suit and a beautiful woman as a sexual partner
whereas Leon; lives in a rundown apartment, wears a long grey coat and has a relationship with a
young girl.
The way he is cuddlingwith the cushion
showshe is vulnerableand weak which
juxtaposeswith the baby in the shot asthis
is meant to be the otherway aroundwith
the male being the role model. The poster
showsit’s a comedy as all the thingsgoing
on are unexpected andfunny to an
audience.
The tiger symboliseshow
men are meant to be fierce
andstrongbut this animal
juxtaposeswith the
chicken which a weak and
helpless animal which is a
better representationof
the characters in the shot
as by judging from the
mise en scene youcan tell
they’reunreliable and
can’t look after
themselves. By being able
to judge all of this from the
film postertells youthisis
what to expect in the film.
The male character in the poster looksstrong
andserious, he is holdinga gun which is an
iconic propin action films. It is shotfrom a
low angle which makesyoufeel intimidated
by the character andshows he’sthe bossand
is a dangerouscharacter, especially howhe
standsholdinghis gunwith such confidence.
Which showshe knowswhat he’s doing.
The colour palette is dark this is
stereotypical for this genre of film.
The fact his coat is black represents
the darknessanddeath he can cause.
The other colourssuch as the title
represents bloodanddanger, there’s
also lotsof brownwhich is a serious,
downto earth colour.
Their locationlooksvery
high costand this makes
the audience question
how they got there and
this creates enigma so
people want to watch
the film to find out.
The baby in the photois
shownwith a pair of
sunglassesonnext to a
table of alcoholand
other thingswhich could
be implyingthe
stereotypeof thatmen
can’t properly look after
a baby without female
instruction.
Straightaway thiscan be identifiedas
a horror basedon the locationand
propsin the shot.The house inthe
distance isa conventional settingfor
thisgenre

3. Mean Girls
The movie MeanGirls whichwasproducedin2004 by directorMark Waltersisa stereotypical teen
comedy. The maincharacters inthe filmare the populargirlsreferredtointhe filmas‘the plastics’,
these are bitchy,stuckup and meantowardseveryone inthe school includingeachother.
Theyintimidate otherpeoplein the school, eventhoughthe main‘meangirl’ReginaGeorge hasan
innocent,mathsgeekboyfriendwhoisthe completeopposite toher. The othermaincharacteris
the ‘newgirl’Cadywhois the protagonisthasmovedfromAfricato Americaandstarts her
experience ata newhighschool. Othercharactersinthe filmsare jocks,nerdsandteacherswhich
are all typical charactersfor thisconventional teencomedysettingof ahighschool. The narrative is
mainlyaboutCadyand howshe becomesa ‘plastic’,the narrative isveryconventional of teen
comedyandthe eventswhichhappendon’tcome asa surprise tothe audience.The risingaction
occurs inanothertypical settingof a party where ReginahadtoldCadyshe wouldhelphergetwith
Aaron(Regina’sex) butinsteadReginakisseshimandthiscreatestensionandrivalrybetweenthe
twogirls.To get back at Regina- CadygetshelpfromhertwofriendsJanice andDamientoplana
revenge.There are alsomanyotherrisingactionscenesinthe filmsuchas;cady becominglike
Regina,findingthe burnbookandReginabeinghitbya busand all these scenesbuildtowardsthe
pointof greatestinterest. The climax inthe filmissetata school prom, Cady arrivestothe prom
withthe ‘mathletes’asshe’sbecome heroldselfagainandleftthe plastics.She endsupwinning
prom queenanddecidestoshare the crownwitheveryone,whichcreatesahappyendingasshe’s
done the rightthing.In the denouementitshowsamontage of where all the maincharacters are
now,and Cady talksabout the ‘juniorplastics’whoare new tothe school overa slow motionshotof
themwalkingoncampus.Thisimpliesthatthe whole narrativecouldrepeatitself aseveryyeareach
groupof people have newdrama.
The settingsinthe filmare very typical;highschool,shoppingmalls,partiesandbighouses.These
settingsare expectedinteencomediesasthe targetaudience of teenscanrelate tothe
scenes/settingsintheirownlives.Steve Neale’stheoryof “genresare instancesof repetitionand
difference”canbe impliedtothisfilmasthe settingsare verycommonandappearin mostfilms.

4. The iconographyinthisfilmismainlyclothingitemssuchasgirly,revealingskirtsandtopsforthe
‘plastics’andthisistheirlookas all the othergirlsinthe filmseemcoveredupandweardarker
colours,“onWednesdayswe wearpink“isa quote thatthe plasticsgoby thisshowstheir
personality.Anotherpopularclothingitemisthe varsityjacketswornbythe jocks,straightaway
these tell the audiencethata character wearingone of these isa jockand mostof the time theyend
up beingadumb boyishcharacter.
In the filmlotsof differentcameraworkisused;there isa scene where splitscene isusedand it
showsthe audience 4differentscenesonthe screenatonce betweenthe ‘plastics’,thisisusefulas
it helpsexaggeratethe situationasyoucan see the character’sfacial expressionandsurroundings.
Flashbackscenesare usedinthe filmtoshow Cady’spast inAfricaand thishelpsthe audience
connectwithher,anotherwaythe audience feel connectediswhenthroughoutthe filmCady’s
voice oversare used.
The films'meangirls'and 'napoleondynamite'are bothwell-knownteencomedies,these twofilms
have similaritiesbutalsodifferences.The similaritiesof the twoare the settings.bothof the films
are setinAmericanhighschools,Thisisa conventional settingforthisgenre asthe charactersare
usuallystudentsattendingschool withthe typical narrative of 'younglove'.Linkingtothatpast point
each filmhasa teenrelationshipbetweenthe maincharacterineachof the filmsanda studentfrom
the school,inmeangirlsit's a populargirl fallingforanerdin napoleondynamiteinthe beginningits
a girl fallingforthe maincharacter whois nerdyandunpopularwhothenalsofallsforthe girl.
Anothersimilarityisbothfilmshave talentshow scenesinwhichmaincharactersperformtoan
audience,adifference beinginmeangirlsit'sthe plasticsdoingawell-rehearsedandloved
performance fromthe audience comparedtothe one manperformance of napoleonthe unpopular
nerdyloner.Anotherdifference isthe juxtapositionbetweenthe maincharactersinbothfilms.in
meangirlsthe maincharacters are popularanda threatto the restof the school,onthe otherhand
innapoleondynamite he himself isthe maincharacterand he isunpopular.He alsogetsbullied
whichalsocontracts withthe fact that inmeangirlsthe maincharacters are the bullies.Steve
Neale’stheoryof repetitionanddifference canbe appliedhere asbothfilmsare easilyrecognizable

5. teencomediesusingthe same settingsandteenlove storybutbothhave differencessuchas
narrative andcharacters.
Auteur Theory
Auteurtheoryisa termoftenappliedtoa directorwhoisseenas the ‘author’ of theirownwork,
theyoftenhave a signature style.
An example of anauteurdirectionisTimBurton whoinhisfilmsdemonstratesaparticularstyle
whichiseasyfor an audience torecognise ashiswork.QuentinTarantinoisanotherauteurdirector
whois the principal creatorof hisownfilms;he writesthe scripts,financially supportsthe filmand
evenstarsin the filmhimself.AnotherauteurdirectorisJamesCameronwhocomesupwithnew
and creative ideasusingspecial effectsthathe developshimself,thismakeshisworkstandoutas its
differenttomostfilms.LucBessonisanotherexample of anauteurdirector,he likestomake films
and add a peculiartwisttothem as he valuesartisticmeritovercommercial success;forexample,in
‘Leon’the female love interestis12 yearsof age.Thiscomesas a shockto an audience asithasn’t
beenusedbefore anditseemssowrongbutit’sinterestingforpeople towatchas it’sa sense of
unrealism. Finally,anotherexampleisMartinScorsese whomakesfilmswithsimilarthemeswhich
are setinNewYork typicallybasedongangstersorone of hismore recentfilmsthe wolf of wall
streetbasedaroundbrokers.
Tim Burtonisone of the most well-known/successfuldirectors.He hasdone filmssuchas;Coraline,
Beetlejuice,The nightmare before Christmas.Allof these filmshave aparticularstyle of beingquite
gothicand beingquite similarinsense of the lookof charactersand settings,bydoingthismakes
himan auteurdirector.
Both of these filmsbyTimBurtonshow the distinctstyle he
putson hiswork.They’re bothquite similarinthe sense of
the colourpalette isverydimand mysteriouswhichlinks
withthe gothic/horrorstyle of hisfilms.Theyalsoboth
show the maincharacter both positionedinsimilar
positionsonthe poster.
QuentinTarantinoisa verycreative andhardworkingauteurdirector.He hasworkedonthe films;
the hateful eight,pulpfictionandDjango unchained.He iswell appreciatedashe putsso much into
hisfilms,thismakeshimanauteuras otherdirectorsdon’tdoall the thingshe does.

6. Both of these are filmpostersfromTarantinofilms,they
are bothverysimilardue tothe colour palette of reds
and blackswhichcreatesa sense of dangeranddeath
whichlinktothe genresof the film.Bothshow the main
characters whoare all male,nofemalesare presenton
eitherone of the posters.Iconographyisusedwhichalso
givesideasof the genre suchas; guns,cowboyhatsand
dark clothing.
JaredHessis an auteurdirectoras he stronglyusescomedyinhisfilmswhichare commonlyfunny
and silly. He alsolikestouse male charactersina way that theychallenge genderstereotypesasthe
mainmale characters don'thave the typical manlyfeatureslike popularityandajock style
personalitylike otherteencomedies.
by looking at 2 of Hess's films posters they are eye catching with a
bright colour palettewhich shows the films are fun and exciting. He
also shows both of the main characters of each film in the centre of
the poster both looking not so 'manly', The way he does this makes
him an auteur director.