This document provides an analysis of the 1994 film "Leon" directed by Luc Besson. In 3 sentences: The film is analyzed using genres of narrative, semiotics, and representation. It focuses on the main characters Leon, a hitman, and Mathilda, a 12-year-old girl who witnesses her family's murder. The analysis examines the unconventional characters, New York City setting, and Luc Besson's stylistic direction that contributes to the gritty yet unique tone of the action film.

1. We respondtomediaproductsinmanyways,some of the approachesmaybe inthe mannerinwhich
we analyse:
• Genre
• Narrative
• Semiotics
• Representation
In thisarticle Iwill be lookingatthe above fourareas whenanalysingfilmtexts.
The firstfilmI will be lookingatis'Leon',Leonwas producedin1994 andwas directedbyLuc Besson,
the cast was a big cast but the fourmainactors was JeanRenoas 'Leon',Gary Oldmanas'Norman
Stansfield',NataliePortmanas'Mathida' andDanny Aielloas'Tony'.The plotof Leonstarts byshowing
Leonhimself gettingahitmanjoband doinghisworkand showingwhathe doesbygoingintoa hotel
and killingalotof menjustto senda message toa highup drugdealerforsomeone,thenitshowsLeon
goingto hisapartmentbuildingandwe findMathilda,Mathilda'sparentsowe drugmoneyandbecause
theyowe thismoneytheirdrugdealerraidstheirhouse andkillsherfamilywhile Mathildaisout
shopping,Mathildacomeshome tosee herfamilydeadbut she goestoLeon'sapartmentinsteadof her
ownso she is safe,Mathildathenrequesttobe trainedtobe a hitmanalongsideLeon,Leontrains
Mathildabut MathildagoesagainstLeon'swordand goesto kill the people whokilledherfamilyina
police headquarters,Leongoesthe save Mathildaandthat putsa target on hishead,andin the end
Leonsacrificeshislife tosave Mathildafromthe drugdealersandso she can leave the cityunharmed.
Act1: Exposition
The firstshots inthe movie are panningshotsof differentareasof New York.Thisisan immediate
establishmentof the setting/location.

2. A narrative enigmaiscreatedduringthe firstappearance inthe film.Leon'sfirstappearance showshim
beingassignedajobbysomeone ina dark roomand it is immediatelyestablishedthatLeonisFrench.
Thismakesthe audience startthinkingstraightawayaboutwhohe is andwhy he isin New York.
In the nextscene we seenLeoncarryingoutthe jobwhichwas given,whenwe see thiswe realize he isa
seriousindividualwhocando hisjobwithease.
In thisnextpartof the article I will be lookingatthe setting,characterrepresentation,iconographyand
style of Leon.
Incitingincident:
The Incitingincidentinthe filmiswhenthe corruptpolice force,ledby the psychopathicNormal
Stansfield,showuptogetdrugs fromMathilda'sfather,however,Mathilda'sfatherhadstolensome of
the cocaine and replaceditwithfloursohe couldsell the drughimself,whenthe drugswasthentested
and there wasa dipfrom 100% puritytoo90% it wasclear to Stansfieldthatsome hadbeentaken.This
leadto StansfieldandhismenmurderingMathilda'sFather,Mother,Sisterandyoungerbrother,
throughoutthe whole incidentMathildawasatthe shop.She returnsand realises whathashappened
and walkspastthe deadbody of hersisterand straightto Leon'sroom where Leondebateslettingherin
but,eventuallydoesonce one of Stansfieldmenoutside of Mathilda'sapartmentstartstobecause
suspicious.
Act 2; Rising Action:
Once LeonletMathildaintohis home he agreestolookafterher,althoughhe initiallycomtemplates
killingherwhile she issleeping.Leonisusedtolivingalone sohe findsitstrange thatsomeone else is
livingwithhim,especiallyayounggirl like Mathilda.LeonandMathilda'srelationshipisalmostfather
and daughteras itshowshimcaring forher,makingher drinkmilk,playinggameswithherandteaches
herthings,however,Mathildashowsalove interesttowardsLeon.Duringthe runupto the climax Leon
teachesMathildabasicweaponskillsbutwhile Leonisoutone dayMathildaarms herself andgoesto
the police stationwiththe intentof killingStansfield.However,he cornersherandthreatensherbefore
he has to leave.She issubsequentlytakentoanoffice inthe station.WhenLeonrealizeswhathas
happenedhe goestothe police stationandkillsseveral of Stansfield'smenbeforerescuingMathilda.
Climax:
A large force of police officerssoonconverge onLeon'sapartmentandtake Mathildahostage.Leonuses
hishitmanskillstotake outmost of the officers,rescuingMathildaandreturningtohisroom.He then
helpsMathildaescape bymakingahole inthe wall forherto escape throughwhile he returnstothe
police atthe frontof hisdoor and engagesina shootout.
Leonendsup escapingthe apartmentbydisguisinghimself asapolice officer,butashe isfeetaway
fromescapinghe isgunneddownbyStansfield,he surviveslongenoughtogive Stansfieldsomething
"fromMathilda"and thenhe dies,Stansfieldthenopensitupto reveal apinfrom a grenade.Stansfield
thenopensLeon'sjacketto see multiple grenadeswhichgooff andblow upLeon'sdeadcorpse and
Stansfield.
Act 3: FallingAction

3. MathildavisitsTonyto collectLeon'smoney.She alsoasksif there are anyjobsthat she coulddo to earn
extramoneyandsays she can 'clean'(kill) whichmakesTonyangryashe throwsherout of his shop.
Denouement
Mathildavisitsaprivate highschool andasks for a place there.Atfirstthe womanisn'tsure but
eventuallyshe acceptsher.Mathildathengoesoutside andplantsLeon'splant.
In thisnextpartof the article I will be lookingatthe setting,characterrepresentation,iconographyand
style of Leon.
Setting:The firstfewshotsinthe filmare aerial shotswhichpanoverthe cityof New York,it iseasily
identifiedasNewYorkcityas the aerial shotsshow iconiclandmarkswhichare foundinNew Yorksuch
as the TwinTowers,Central Parkand the traditional yellow taxi cabs.
NewYork cityhas beenthe locationfora lotof differentfilmswhichinclude manyactiongenre films,
therefore Ibelieve the aerialshotshowingNewYorkisa extremelyiconic settingfora actionmovie.
Character Representation:
Leon - The mainactor in the filmisplayedbyFrenchactor JeanReno,inthe filmhe playsa hitmanwho
isassignedhistargetsbya mobsternamed"Tony"(DannyAiello).Leonbreaksalotof the conventions
whichare normallytiedintomostactionfilms.The normal conventionswhichtie intothe main
character inaction filmsare goodlooking,fancyclothesanda'cool' personality,Leonisthe complete
opposite ashe isn'tgood looking,he neverwears fancyclothesthroughoutthe filmandhe isn'treallya
'cool' character,for example,JamesBondisaperfectmaincharacterin a actionmovie,he hasgood
looks,he alwayswearsa fancysuitwhile he doeswhathe doesinthe movies.
Mathilda - The onlyfemale protagonistinthe whole filmisprobablythe mostunique and
unconventional.The actresswhichplaysMathildaisNatalie Portmanandinherdebutrole she istaken
underLeon'swingafterherfamilyismurderedbycorruptpolice officers due toherfatherbeingadrug-
dealer.Mathildaisattractedto Leonand hasa love interest.Thisisextremelyunconventional asalove
interestinaaction filmwill almostalwaysbe asexy/beautiful olderwomanwhile Mathildais12 years
old.
Thismakes the audience feel extremelyuncomfortable while watchingastheydon’twantLeonto
become the loverMathildawantshimtobe,but, duringthe filmLeonisalsoshowntobe
uncomfortable towardsthe idea,thisisseenthroughmultiplescenesinthe film. The bestexample of
thiswouldbe the scene where MathildaandLeonare playinga'dress-up'game andMathildais acting
seductivelytowardsLeon.
Stansfield- The primaryantagonistisa veryclassic'villan'ina actionfilm, he hasa lotof power,
weapons,drugs,averybig groupof mensupportinghimalsohe hasa strange personalitywhichmakes
himseeminsane.StansfieldisplayedbyGaryOldmanin'Leon'
Iconography - Althoughthe filmgoesagainstalotof genre conventionsitstill hasalotof conventions
and stereotypeswhichare foundinaaction film.There are guns,cops,hitmenandgangsters,all of
these figuresare foundinmostactionfilms.

4. Style - Leonis a highlystylisticandunique actionmovie.Unlikemostactionmoviesthe charactersin
Leonare veryunconventional andthishelpscontribute tothe style of the film.AlsoLeonissomewhat
grittyand doesn'thave the flashyfeel whichmostactionfilmshave.
PulpFictionisa 1994 action-crime filmwhichwasdirectedbyQuentinTarantino.The filmwasproduced
in1994 and was releasedonthe 14th
of October1994.
Exposition:
The expositionof the filmshowsayoungboywatchingTV andhis mothercallshimto tell himthere isa
guessthere tosee him.The guesthas a goldenwatchwhichwasownedbyhisFather,there isa sense of
humorwhenseeingthe watchbecause the watchhasbeenhiddeninmultiple men'sanus'stostop it
frombeingfound.Afterthiswe are introducedtotwohitmen,VincentVega(JohnTravolta) andJules
Winnfield(Samuel L.Jackson).The twoare on theirwayto receive abriefcase from'Brett'whohad
stolenitfromtheirboss.Theykill twoof the three menand take the thirdwiththeminthe car who was
theirinside man.
RisingAction:
VincentandMia go to a retro restaurantcalled'JackRabbitSlims'.Theytalkandtake part ina dancing
competitionwhichtheyendupwinning.LateronMia overdoesesoncocaine andcollapses,Vincent
takesherto his drugdealerforhelpandgiveshera shot of adrenaline torevive her. Theyboththen
promise notto speakof the eventeveragain.The nextnight,Butchisreadyfor hisfightbut,ratherthan
throwingithe KO’sand kills hisopponent.He meetsupwithhisgirlfriendinamotel but,becomes
furiouswhenhe realizesthatshe hasforgottenhisgoldenwatch.He thengoesbackto the apartmentto
retrieve it.

5. Climax:
At the apartment,Butchnoticesa gun lyingonthe side.He thenhearsa toiletflush,sohe picksitup.
Vincentemergesfromthe toiletandisshotdeadbyButch. Happy thathe now has hiswatch,Butch goes
to meethisgirlfriendbutseesMarsellusWallaceinthe street,whoalsonoticeshim.Butchrunshim
downand thencrashes.Butchruns awaywithWallace inquickpursuit.Theyfall,brawling,intoapawn
shop.The man behindthe counterpullsashotgunoutand knocksButch unconscious.
FallingAction:
Butch wakesup,boundandgagged,alongside MarsellusWallace.Theyare beingheldbytwomen,who
have a personnamed‘the gimp’astheirpet-like partner.The twomentakesMarsellusintoaback room
where theyviolentlyrape him.Butchmanagestoget loose fromthe ropestyinghimtogetherand
knocksout the gimp.He thencontemplatesleavingbut,choosestogoback andsave Wallace.He picks
up a samurai swordand killsonof the menand holdsthe otherat swordpoint.Wallace getsup and
shootsone of the men,woundingbutnotkillinghim.He thenagreestostophisfeudwithButchif he
leavestownimmediately.
Denouement:
Butch leavesandgoestopick uphisgirlfriendfromthe motel.Theythendriveoff onamotorbike.
There are manyusesof postmodernmediaduringPulpFiction.Thisiswhere amediatextmayuse or
reference anothermediatextintheirownwork.Usesof intertextualityinclude the 50’sdiner,which
includespostersof manymovies,aswell aswaitersdressedasmanyFiftiesicons includingBuddyHolly,
MarilynMonroe andElvisPresley.The MarilynMonroe waitresshasherdressblownupina direct
reference tothe famous‘Subwayscene’inthe SevenYearItch.Thisisa homage toBillyWilder,the man
whodirectedthe film.JohnTravoltaparodieshisearlierworkinSaturdayNightFeverbytakingpart ina
dance scene and doinga verylaughable/baddance.Whileshe doesthis,she drawsasquare withher
handswhichappearson screen.Thisbreaksthe fourthwall asthe graphic isimpliedtobe knowntobe
there byMia. This part of the filmisa bricolage.Thisiswhere there are referencestoa mix of
genres/historical eraswithinone shotorscene.
Production Technologyand DistributionMethods
Throughoutthe yearsof filmthe ProductionTechnologyandDistributionMethodshave changed,inthe
1950's/60's hadonlyfilmasa productiontechnologyandonlyhadCinema'sandaverylittle amountof
TV's to distribute too,inthe 1970's/80's the technologyaddedFilmandthe distributionmethod
changedand addedVHSVideo,inthe 1990s/2000s technologyaddedDigital recordingandthe
distributionmethodchangedtocinema/TV/DVDthenin2000-2017 'Video'wasremovedfrom
productiontechnologybutStreaming,downloadandbluraywasaddedtothe distributionmethods.This
putsa greateremphasisonparodyandpastiche as there isa widerreferencepointsandgreateraccess
to mediasoaudienceswill understandandreactto those references.