This document provides an analysis of the 2004 teen comedy film Mean Girls directed by Mark Waters. It examines the film using Lacey's Repertoire of Elements, which considers aspects like characters, setting, narrative events, iconography, and technical codes. The film is set in an American high school with popular cliques led by the mean-girl "Plastics." The main character Cady is initially an outsider but infiltrates their group for revenge. The analysis discusses character representations and social dynamics portrayed in the film and how they reflect typical high school tropes.

1. Unit 26: FilmStudies
Introduction
Whenit comesto filmthere are manydifferentwaysof analysingit.These are Genre Analysisand
AuteurTheory. A goodexample forGenre AnalysisisBridge toTerabithia. Bridge toTerabithiaisan
AmericanFantasy, DramafilmDirectedbyGabor CsupoandreleasedunderWaltDisneyPictures.
The filmtellsthe storyof howJesse Aarons(JoshHutcherson) andLeslieBurke (Anna-SophiaRobb)
meetandbuildan incredible friendship.Theirlivescompletelygetturnedupside downasthey
create a fantasyworldcalledTerabithia. Atfirstthisfilmwouldn’tseemlikeaFantasydue to there
not beinganysurreal scenesuntil abouthalf wayintothe movie.Thisiswhenthe 2childrenstartto
Imagine andcreate theirownfantasy worldandcharacters. Gabor statedthat he didn’twantto
overdothe visual effectsinthe filmashe didn’twanttoruinthe story’sintegrityandthe novels
integrity. He saidthere wasonlya brief mentioninthe novelof Jesse andLesliefightingimaginary
creaturesinthe forestso withthatin mindhe wantedtokeepitto a minimum.The techniquesused
to create the animationforBridge to TerabithiawasWetaDigital Render3DAnimation.Gaborsaid
he appreciatedthe facttheyrespondedwelltothe designsanddidn’trequestonchangingthem
completely. Whenyoucompare these animationmethodstothatof The Lord of the Ringstrilogy
(2001-2003), they’re completelydifferent. The directorof the lordOf the RingfilmsisPeterJackson
whoI believe tobe agood example of anAuteurDirector. Some of the techniquesJacksonusedin
hisfilmswere amazing.He wasone of the firstdirectorsto use the MotionCapture technique in
orderto create Gollum.TheyactuallyhadAndySerkis,the actorthat portrayedGollumweara latex
skintightsuitand placed964 control pointsontohimto capture everysingle slightmovementand
expressionhe did.Thisiswhatmade itso realisticandunbelievableforthe time. Afterusingthis
method,editorswouldthenhave gone throughthe scenesframe byframe topaintAndyoutand
editthe Gollummodel in. Whencomparingthese techniquestothe onesusedinBridge to
Terabithiaare so differentyetbothfilmsroughlyfall underthe fantasygenre. The editingtechniques
usedinBridge to Terabithiawere veryconventional andoriginal whencomparedtohow complex
Gollumwas.Jackson’screationof Gollum wasone of the most amazinganimationsHollywoodhas
everseen. These were innovative techniquesasnoone haddone anything like itbefore Lordof the
Rings.Thisiswhy at the time of lordof the ringsrelease theywere the mostexpensive filmstohave
beenproduced.

2. The nextis AuteurDirectors.Ibrieflymentionedthistermabove when
speakingaboutPeterJackson.Buta betterexampleisTimBurton. Every
one of TimBurton’sfilmsissimilarwhetheritbe creepyunique
characters inan animationora weirdtwistedreal life situation.He is
knownforhisgothical styledquirkyhorrorfantasyblockbusters.Hismain
featuresare Beetle Juice (1988),EdwardScissorHands (1990), The
Nightmare before Christmas(1993),Corpse Bride (2005), SweenyTodd
(2007) and manymore.As well ashisfilmsall beingincrediblysimilarstyleshe doesalsohave close
bondingfriendshipswithnumeroushuge actorsandactresseswhichfeature inhisworklike Johnny
Deppand hisformerpartnerHelenaBonhamCarter. JohnnyDeppandTim are reallygoodfriends
and like Isaidtheirfriendshiphasexpandedoverthe yearsof themworkingtogether.The Burton
filmswhichDepphasfeaturedinare perfectforhim;he isstared forthe most perfectroles.Depp
has a veryunique wayof actingand is incredible inwhateverhe isin,he justmakesthe film.
As youcan tell fromthe 4 movie postersbellow they’re all done inaverysimilarstyle.Considering
the time variance betweenthe filmsthey’re all still done verysimilar.Thisishow youcan tell Tim
Burtonis an Auteurdirectorasall of hisfilmsare of the same a similargenre/type.Timstillkepthis
style consideringnotall of hisfilmsare animated.Outof the 4 example postersIhave usedone of
themisreal life.The other3are 3D StopMotion Animation. ThisislikeTim’ssignature technique as
he has useditin quite a fewof hisanimatedfilms.That’sone thingIlike aboutTimBurton’sfilmsis
the fact that no matterhowtechnologymovesforwardhe will still produce filmswitholder
techniques.Andpeoplestillreallyenjoythem. Forexample
Frankenweenie wasreleasedin2012 as a re-make of one
of Tim’soldershortfilmsfrom1984. So consideringhow
currentthat filmisand to use stopmotionanimationis
great as oldertechniquesaren’tbeingoverpoweredbythe
technologyof today.Andwhenyoucompare the
techniquesusedinFrankenweenieasyoudoto one of
Burtonsolderfilmslike Corpse Bride;the techniquesare
verysimilar. There are a fewveryobvioussimilaritiesbetweenthe posterslike the use of colourand
iconicobjectsforthiskindof creepyunique style Burtonsgot.Forexample oneveryone of these
postersyoucan see a moonin a dark sky,thissuggestsnightanddarknessalmosta bitof mystery.
As thisisineveryone of the postersitshowsthe similaritiesbetweenthe films.Andwiththe
Nightmare before Christmasthere ispumpkinswhichsuggeststhe filmisaroundHalloweentime.
AndsimilarwithFrankenweenie andCorpse Bride theybothhave similarfactorswhichcanrelate
them.Like onthe Frankenweenie one itisall verydarkandmysteriousasitis blackand white and
youalso getthe Halloweenkindof vibe fromthe angryskyandthe fact the dogis meantto be like
Frankenstein.Also the use of the coloursGreenandOrange,these are iconicHalloweencolours.

3. Part 1
A WalkAmongTombstones(2014) – ScottFrank
A goodway of analysinggenre isusingLacey’sReportroirof Elements.AngoodexampleIamalready
farmiliarwithisone of LiamNeesonsmostrecentmovies;A WalkAmongTombstones.Withanyfilm
Liam Neesonisinyouknowitisgoingto involve alotof actionand fighting.AndwithA WalkAmong
Tomb Stonesitisverysimilartothat of the Taken filmseries.Whenlookingatthe reportroiryou
considerCharacter,Setting,Narrative Events,IconographyandTechnical andAudioCodes. The
settingforWalkAmongTomb Stoneswasa veryconventional setting, NewYork City. It’sa huge city
it’sa conventionof the actionthrillergenre.A blackandwhite shotof a saloonlike barfeaturesat
the beginning,asthough itwasmeantto be referringtosomethingthathappenedpreviouslytothe
currenttime. Asthoughit isshowingyoua flashback.You see the maincharacter in the flashback
whichisLiam Neesonanex private poilice detective.LiamNeesonknownforhis rolesin
action/thrillermovies.Youknowit’sgoingtobe goodbecause he’sa bigstar and it’sa similarstyled
filmtoTaken.Whichrocketed,everyonelovedit!AsLiambeingthe potagonistyougetthe sense
that he is more than capable of handedlinghimself,youcantell thisinstantlyinthe movie.Butyou
do alsosee a softside to him,youcan tell thiswhen the “BlackHole Sun”song coverplaysinthe
trailer.Youknowthat he must have a had a toughcouple of yearsas he istroubledabout
something. The fimdoeshave alinearstoryline.There isastory behindthe filmanditisordered
correctlywhenyou watch it.If it wasn’tlike thisthenitwouldn’tworkaswell.Because it’sanaction
movie itneedstohave certainmysteryaboutit. Whenwatchingthe trialeryousee some quite
unervingscenswhichreallymajkeyouwant tosee more.Andby watchingthe filmyoudofindout.
It isquite creepyinpartsand you findoutthe story andthe reasonpeople dowhattheydo.Inthe
traileryoudon’tknowthe characters and theirstoriesbutwhenyouwatchthe filmyoufindout.It is
structeredasthoughit tellsastory as people come inandyouknow that theywill have significance.
Andthe action picksupmore the furtheryougetthrough the film.Alsoyoufindoutthe basicstory
of the potagonistatthe beginningof the filmwhichhelpsasyouknow whathe usedtodo and what
he is doingnow.thisdefinitelyhelpsstructure the filmdue tothe filmsstoryrunning off the
potagonistspreviousstory.Alsoasitisan ActionThrillerthere isalot of conventional intemsand
places.Foran action thrilleryouwouldexpectthe filmtobe baseduina busycity area.A popular
location,inthiscase it issetin NewYorkCity.One of the mostwell knowncitiesinthe world.Also
withinthe first10 minutesyoualreadysee ascene where there isgunsanda fight.Whenitis the
flashback at the beginningof the movie yousee Alcohol andCigaretteswhichagainare
conventional items.Alsothere isashotwhere LiamNeesonshootsachildduringa chase.He was
meantto getthe adultshe wasfightingwithbuthe missed.Itisquite sadand disturbingbut really
givesoff a shockingvibe.AndalsoLiamNeesonhimself isactuallyaconventionof the genre.Mostof
the filmshe featuresinare thisstyle.Thenthe lastsectionisTechnical andAudioCodes.Because
the filmisreallyseriousandwouldn’tincludesceneswhichwuldhave
animationsoranythingreallyof thatstyle.HoweverIdobelieve that
there issome filtersonthe slipsinthe film.Theyseemalittle darkwer
than whattheywouldbe usually.Especiallywhenthere isthe flashback
clipas that isin blackand white.Ithinktheywould’vewantedthe clips
to have a dull filtertoaddto the emotionandfeel of the filmasawhole.
It addsmore mysteryandmakesita little more depressingalmost.If the clips were brightandin
your face itwouldn’tworkthe same due to emotionnotbeingthe same.Itwouldn’tseemassad.

4. PulpFiction(1994) – QuentinTarentino
Whenyoucompare the difference betweenPulpFictionandA WalkAmongTombstonesthere 2
completelydiffferentfilms.Eventhoughthey’re bothof the same genre,they’re done somuch
differently. PulpFictionhasa nonlinearstoryline.None of the eventshappeninchronological order
inthe film.They’re all mixedupthenatthe endeverythinglinks togetherandmakessence. You
couldntimagine Tarentino’sfilmsbeinganyotherwayas he is charaterizedforhisnonlinearstory
lines. The iconography of pulpfictionare similartoAWATwiththe way that itinvolvesalotof
alcohol andcigarette use. There isfightingandactionscenes.HoweverwithPulpFictionitisdone in
more of a comical way.It isntas seriousasAWAT. But thatis the pointof the filmreally.Italso
glamorisesthe use of heavydrugs.WhichAWATdoesn’t whenuitcomestothe use of drugs/alcohol
inAWAT itis verybrief.Itsas thoughitdoesntwantto pass that overas the rightthingbut it
obviouslydidntphase Tarentinoatall duringthe makingof PulpFiction. Alsothe settingforPulp
fictionissimilarinthe wayitis a bigcity.And alsothe filmwasreleasedin1994 butwas setwell
before thattime.Andhe isreallycleverwiththe wayhe incorporateshiddenmeaningsinpartsof
hismovies.Forexample whenMiaandVincentare eati ng inJack RabbitSlimsMia mentions events
whichhappenddinTarentino’slaterfilmKillBill.Itssocleverbecuase these referencesto Fox Force
Five wouldnthave made sence untill Kill Bill wasreleasedin2003. All of these factorsshow how
unique Tarentino’sway of filmmakingis. CompletelydifferenttoAWAT.There isno where nearas
much meaningbehindAWATasthere isPulpFiction.There isalotof thingsthatrelate between
Tarentino’sfilmswhere asAWATwasjusta one off.Andthe ammountof thoughtthatmustgo into
Tarentino’sfilmsisincredible.Andthe uniquenessof hisfilmsisamazing.
A goodexample of afilmakerthatappreciatesmore ArtisticMeritoverCommercial SucessisLuc
Besson.He isan amazingdirectorand trys to make hisfilmsdifferentfromother onesdone within
the same genre.Anexample of one of hisfilmswouldbe Leon(1994) as there were aspectsof the
filmwhichreallydifferedfromothercompetitorfilmsatthe time.Andevennow there hasntbeena
filmwithrelationshipslikeit.The film overall wasdone
ina similarstyle toaJamesBindmovie.However
rather thanit beingaglamourouswomenbeinghung
on the arm of Leon.It wasa 12 yearoldgirl.The
relationshipbetweenthe 2was reperesentedstrangely
througohutthe movie.Abitsurreal foralittle girl of
that age and a manof hisage.But despite thatthe
storyline wasamazingand touching.Seeingtheir
relationshipdevelopwasamazing.AndBesson
interpretateditperfectly.

5. Part 2
In thissectionIwill be analysingMeanGirls(2004) an AmericanTeenComedy DirectedbyMark
Waters.I will use LaceysRepertoire of elements.SoMeanGirlsisabouta groupof 3 populargirlsin
an AmericanHighSchool calledthe Plastics.Everyone envysthem.ThenCadyHerronmovestothe
school from beinghome schooledinAfricaandjoinsthe plasticsunwillinglyatfirst.Thendecidesto
sabotage the girl group bygoingbehindtheirbacksandplottingrevenge forJanisIantogetback at
ReginaGeorge (headof plastics) forbullyingJanisinMiddle School.
So inMean Girlsthe characterrepresetnationisntlike yourtypical HighSchool movie.If younotice
at the beginningCady(LinseyLohan) wasactaullyatrue outsider.She thenwasbe-friendedby2
unpopularkids,JanisIan(LizzyCaplan) andDamien(Daniel Franzese).These 2were describedas
“Art Freaks”By ReginaGeorge (Rachel McAdams).Itisusuallythe case for the unpopularkidsto be
the nice ones.Inthiscase theirthe niceronesand the funnierones.JanisandDamiensinfluence in
the filmishuge due to themimpactingonthe story.Thenthere is the representationof the Plastics.
In realityyouwouldhate themif theywere atyourHigh School.Buttheyseemtobe the influencing
figuresaseveryone will copywhattheydo,whattheywearwhattheysay etc...The group is
originallymade upof three ReginaGeorge,KarenSmith(AmandaSeyfried) andGretchanWieners
(LaceyChabert).ButthenwhenCadycomesalongtheyrecruither andfeel like theirdoinghera
favor.But reallyCady’sin itfor sabotage.The plasticsare the girlsthat will bullybutgetawaywithit.
Can be reallynastybutpeople still idolise them.They have the pupularbehaviourinthe waythat
anyone wouloddowhatevertheysaidandthe plasticsare aware so are reallybigheadedaboutit
and thinkthey’re higherovereveryone else. Thye wearyourtypical girlygirl clothing,pinkmini skirts
and heals.Have all the bestof everything(mobile phones,cars,houses,lotsof money).Andanother
typical characterfigure isAaron Samuels(JonathanBennett).The typical hotguyineverhighschool
movie.He isolderthaneveryone else,sotypicallythismeans people wanthimmore becuase he is
older.AndobviosulyRegina,QueenBbasicallyownshim.Asone rule of beinga plasticis“ex
boyfriendsare off limits”andasReginapreviosulydatedhim,noone else canhave him.Thenthere
isCady Heron. “Junglefreak”as Reginadescribesheronnumerousdifferentocassionsthroughout
the film.She startsoff beinganunpopular until the plastictake herintotheirstride.She then
becomesone of them.Youknewthiswasgoingto happendue to itbeingLinseyLohanplayingher
role.Justlike anyHighschool ithasitsown clicks.About20 minutesintothe filmJanisandDamien
draw upa map of the cafateriaand handit to Cadyto show her where all the differentgroupssit.
The groups are “Freshman,ROTCGuys,Preps,J.V.Jocks,Asian Nerds,CoolAsians,Varsity Jocks,
Unfriedly Black Hotties,Girls who eat their feelings,Girls Who Don’tEastAnything,Desperate
Wannabes,Burnouts,Sexually ActiveBand Geeks,The Greatest People You Will Ever Meet and the
Worst bewareof the plastics.”In everyschool there isclicksbutyouneverreallythinkaboutitintoas
much depthasthe filmmakesout. Butwhenyouconsiderwhenyouwere atschool there pretty
much wasa groupof people thatmatchedevertribe atNorthshore HighSchool.
Exposition
There isa basicnarrative storyto the film, howeverIdo thinkthe filmwasmore sopeople arounda
similarage couldrelate toit.So the expositionstartswithCadymovingfromAfricaandtryingto
settle intoMainstreamschool.She findsithadatfirstobviouslyasshe doesn’tknow whattoexpect
of school due toher beinghomeschooledall herchildhood.She thengetsbefriendedbyJanisand

6. Damien.She ishappyaboutthisdue to her havingsomeone toguide herthrough. Theystartto get
to knoweachother.AndJanisand Damieninformherof the clicksin the school andremindherto
watch outfor the Plastics.It’s made outas thoughthe plasticsare dangerous,whichin highschool
talka group like the plasticscouldruinyoursocial climate.
IncitingIncident
The incitingincidentwill be whenJanisandDamienshow Cadythe mapof the cafeteria.Itstatesall
of the differentclickswithinthe school.Because Cady’snew she doesn’treallyknow anythingabout
the school or the people init.SoJanisand Damienjusttry andhelpheralongthe wayand fitin.Just
afterJanishas gone throughthe CafeterialayoutwithCadythe shotchangestoCady actually
walkingthroughthe cafeteriaonherwayto the table Janisdescribedas “Thecoolest peopleyou’ll
ever meet”. Whichisthe table Janis,Damienandthe other “ArtFreaks”Sit at. Justas she is aboutto
getto the table Jason,Gretchen’sex boyfriendpullsCadyoverandtriestoask herquestionsto
make herfeel uncomfortable.Whilsthe isinterrogatingherthe plasticsstepinandgethimaway
fromher. Theythenaskher to sitdown.Feelingpressuredshe sitsdownwiththem.She thenlooks
overto Janisand Damienandthey’re soconfused.Whilstshe issatdowntheyaskherwhere she is
fromand what it’slike tobe homeschooled.Yougeta real true view now onwhat the plastics
characters are truly like. HowdumbanddaftKarenis. How self-centredGretchenisandhow strong
Regina’sfigure isin.Aftertalkingforabout5 minutesthe plasticsthenofferCadya one off offerto
eat lunchwiththemforthe rest of the week.AgainCadyfeelspressuredandtheybasicallyanswer
the questiontheyaskedher.Astheyfeel thatyouwouldn’tpossiblyturndownsuchanopportunity
anyone else inthatschool wouldkill forsuchanopportunity.SoafterlunchCadytheninformsJanis
and Damienwhatthe plasticshadsaidto her andthat theyhad offeredherthe 4th
place on their
table.
RisingAction
Thisnow leadstothe risingactionwhichisJanisand DamienbasicallyconvincingCadythatitwould
be fun to messupReginaGeorgeslife.BecauseJanisholdsagrudge againstReginafromhermaking
up rumoursabouther beingalesbianinmiddle school. Atfirsttheystartby gettingCadytofindout
thingsaboutthe plasticsthentheywouldjusttalkaboutall the meanstuff that Reginasaid.Abut
downthe line ReginafindsoutthatCadylikesAaronSamuelsandstartsto try and flirtwithAaronin
frontof Cadyat a Halloweenparty.ReginathenkissesAaroninfrontof Cadyandit reallyupsetsher.
She thengoesto Janis’fromthe party to tell JanisandDamienwhatReginahaddone. They then
decide toplayevendirtierbyconjuring upplansonsabotagingeverythingthatmatterstoRegina the
3 thingsare “Aaron Samuels,HotBody and Army Of Skanks”. Duringthemplanningtosabotage
ReginaCadyhas to act like she wantsto be theirfriend.Soshe hasto abide bythe rulessetby the
plasticsinorderto stay a plastic. EventhoughReginahadreallyhurtherby gettingbackwithAaron
she had to act like nothingwaswrongsothe plansJanisDamienandCadyhad made couldstill
destroyRegina. Theygoon visitsto the mall andRegina’shouse.YoumeetRegina’smumatthis
pointas well.TheystartsabotagingReginabygivingherfootcreaminsteadof face cream.Theycut
the boobsout of her shirts,buttheneveryone copiesit.Sotheyrealise theyneedtouptheirgame.
Cady buys3 candy canesat Christmas tocrack Gretchen.She sendsone toKarenand one to herself
pretendingitisfromRegina.SoGretchenfeelslike Reginadoesn’tlike her.Theythenperformthe
Jingle Bell Rockdance atthe Christmastalentshow.Reginahasaslightargumentbefore theygo

7. ontostage to dothe dance.Sothat makesGretchenfeel like Reginadoesn’tlikeherevenmore.
Reginathensnapsat Gretchenagain.Gretchenthencracks. She’s readingapoemand she getsreally
angry andeventuallycracks.Justafterthese eventsCady throwsaparty at her house because her
mumand dad have gone awayfor the weekendtowatcha show.JanisandDamienwere soldoutby
Cady as theydidn’tknowshe wasat home sotheyfall outwithher due to Cadytellinglies.Then
Gretchenand KarenfollowCadyroundlike alittle puppyandReginaisalone.ReginafindsoutCady
has throwna party and getsso angryshe thengets the “Burnbook”outwhichincludeseverygirl
fromthe school anda nastycomment.Reginathencutsouta picture of herself,sticksitinthe book
thentakesit toMr Devall andblamesiton Cady,Gretchenand Karen.Inthe meantime Aaronhas
fallenoutwithCadydue to herbeinga “clone of Regina”. Reginagoesto Mr Duvall’sofficeinfloods
of tearspublishingthe Burnbooktohim andgrassingup Cady,Gretchenand Kareneventhoughthe
bookwas hers.Thenwhilstthe 3 are gettinginterrogatedbyMr Duvall Reginaprintsoff all the pages
of the Burnbookandpoststhemall around the school so everyone seesthem.Thenwheneveryone
comesout of theirlessonsthe bookisthenseenbyeveryone.Theneveryonestartsfightingabout
the commentsstatedinthe pages.Meanwhile MrDuvall isinhisoffice withCady,Gretchenand
Karenand iscompletelyoblivioustothe fact all the othergirlsare nearlykillingeachotherinthe
halls.Mr Duvall thenstopsthe shenanigansandgetsall of the girlsto confesstobad thingsthey’ve
saidto or about others.Thisiswhenthe dirtytruthcomes out.
Climax
Theyhave all the girlsstand ina crowd and a line of girlsreadyto make a confessionthenthe
confessorwill turnaround,trustthe girlstocatch themand drop.So whenitsJanis’turnshe
confessestoherconvincingCadytomessup Regina’slife.WhilstReginaisstoodinthe crowdshe
publiclyannounceseverythingtheydidtosabotage the plastics.Soeveryoneisall shockedand
Reginalooksabsolutelyraging.SoReginastormsoutof the hall withanger,Cadychasesher to
apologise.ButasReginaturnsaroundto respondto Cadyshe getshit bya school bus. It’sso
unexpectedandsudden. ThenitchangestoCadyand her reallyangryparents.Theytrulydidn’t
knowwhatto believe assome people claimedtheyseenCadypushReginainfrontof the bus.She
didn’tsoobviouslyCadywastryingto fightherbattle alone.Reginahasa spinal brace ondue toher
doinga bitof damage to it.Cady joinsthe mathletesandmissesthe “SpringFling”forthe final
Mathletesmatch.Whentheyreturnfromthe matchshe visitsthe springflingandshe winsthe
springflingqueen.She thendoesaspeechandapologisestoeveryone she hadhurt. She basically
tookthe whole wrapforthe Burnbookeventhoughitwasn’thersandshe onlywrote one thingit.
Dénouement
At the endeveryone isfriends.Regina’sspine recoveredandshe joinsalacrosse teamtochannel her
energyinto.JanisgetswithKevinGthe BadassMC, CadygetswithAaronwhichis whatshe always
wanted.Karenusedherpsychicskillstodothe morningwhetherandGretchenfoundanew Queen
B role to have.So at the endeveryone washappyandgot whattheywanted.
For a highschool movie there are a lotof thingswhichare iconic.Like the typical Yellow school bus.
That is whatReginagetsrun overbyat the end. It’stypicallysetina highschool withitssports
pitchesandtypical cafeterias andclassrooms. There are scenesinthe shoppingmall whichis
significantdue toitbeingamassive place atwhichteenssocialize.Inthe scenesatthe mall there are
a lot of teensinthere fromthe school.Alsowithanyfilmswhichinvolve teenagersthere isgoingto

8. be house parties.Andduringthisfilmthere isafew withconventional thingslike Alcohol,bigred
cups,loudchart music playingetc... All of the above are iconicespeciallywhenconsideringthe films
genre.Itis all typical forthisstyle of film.
So withsettingIhave mentionedmostof the mainlocations.Iwouldsaymostof the filmis inthe
school and initsgrounds. You don’tactuallyknow where itis setdue to there notbeingany
relationstoiconiclandmarksorbuildings.Mostof itisset indoorsatdifferenthouses,the mall and
school. The settingisrelevanttothe genre asyou couldn’thave afilmlike thisdone anotherway.It
wouldn’tworkas well.
As youcan tell fromthe 5 act structure above youcan see itwas editedwithalinearstyle.Itdoes
have a basic storyline toit,it all makessense andrunsin chronological order.There were alotof
Technical andAudiocodesinitwhichwould have beenaddedwhenedited.Throughoutthe whole
filmthere wasCady’svoice narratingwhatwasgoingon inher mind.Andthere wasa lotof music
that played.Itwasall current popularmusicforthe time.It wasmostlyat itsprimmestatthe parties
so wasquite loudandwas almostmeantto be inyour face.
Part 3
In thissectionIam goingto be discussingthe Auteurtraitsinthe filmbyJaredand JerushaHess;
NapoleonDynamite.Thisfilmwasreleasedin2004 underFox SearchlightPicturesandParamount
pictures asa TeenComedy.Itwasoriginallyacquiredatthe Sundance filmfestival.The filmwasshot
ina really suburban quietcountycalledIdahointhe summerof 2003. Basicallythe filmisbasedon
an alienatedteenagerthatdecidestohelpisnew andonlyreal friendPedrowinthe school’s
presidentelection.AsNapoleonisn’tapopularkid,if anythinghe isone of the geekyonesinany
othercliché comedy.He triestobe recognisedandacceptedmore inschool.Thisisone of the
reasonsyoucan stronglyargue that youcan use AuteurTheorywhilstanalysingthisfilm.Due tothe
rolesbeingquite the opposite of whattheywouldbe inanyothernormal teencomedy.Usuallyfilms
inthisgenre are mainlybasedonthe “popularkids”soto speak.And it isn’tdue toNapoleonbeinga
lonelyteenwithnotmanyfriendsbeingthe maincharacter.However,there are partswhichbreak
the conventionsof itbeingdifferentfromotherfilms. LikewhenPedroasksSummerone of the most
populargirlstoprom. Usuallyitwouldbe the popularandreallygoodlookingguysaskingoutthe
prettyand populargirls.Andinthe filmyoudiscoverthatPedrohascousinswhichare Mexican
GangbangersandPedrocan relyonthemif he gets intoanytrouble.Where usuallythe unpopular
kidswouldgetbulliedandwouldstruggle findingsomeone tohave theirbackor evenfighttheir
battles. Whenyoucompare the waythisfilmisto one like MeanGirlsthat I analysedjustabove.
They’re 2 completelydifferentfilmseventhoughtheyfall underthe same genre.ThisiswhyI
believethatJaredHessvaluedArtisticMeritoverCommercialSuccess.Due tothe filmnotbeing
stereotypical andbeingsodifferenttomostotherfilmsdone inthisgenre itwouldn’thave amassive
successinthe market.ThisiswhyI believe thisAuteurTheoryprovesJaredandJerushaHessare
Auteurdirectorsdue tothemwantingthe filmtobe unique andnot justlike anyothertypical high
school movie.

9. Conclusion
So I conclude formthispresentationthat Genre AnalysisandAuteurTheorycandefinitelyleadtoa
widerappreciationfromthe audience.Ithelpsthe Audience tounderstandcertainaspectsof the
filmthattheymay have justoverlookedwhentryingtounderstand.UsingLaceysrepertoire of
elementstohelpanalysegenre isareallyhuge help.Itisthe perfectwaytostructure the
informationforsetting,character,narrative,iconographyandtechnical (audiocodes).Andwith
Auteurtheoryyougeta good understandingof whatthe directorwantedtopassoverthroughthe
film.Youalmostsee the visionof whattheywantedtoaccomplish.Anothergoodbrief example for
AuteurtheoryisRolandEmmericha Germanfilmdirectorandscreenwriter.He is14th
inthe
country’shighestgrossingdirectorsof all time;Due tohimmakingahuge amount of moneythrough
hisHollywoodblockbusters. He producesfilmsof averysimilarstyle.ThisiswhyIthoughtof using
himfor an example.In1996 he releasedafilmcalledthe Independence Day,in2004 he releasedA
Day AfterTomorrowand in2009 he released2012. All filmsdone are a similarwayandall of a
similarbackground.Both2012 and The Independence Daywere underthe Science fictionadventure
disasterfilm’sgenre.Youdon’tevenhave towatchthe filmsto know they’re similar.ThenA Day
AfterTomorrowisunderthe climate fictiondisastergenre.Whichissimilartothe other2 examples
but due to itbeingmore of climate problemsthan“the worldcomingtoan end”due to unrealistic
thingshappeningwithin the film,itfallsunderaslightlydifferentgenre.He hasalsoreleasedfilms
like GodzillaandStargate whichare bothinformative andexciting.Youcanalsoanalyse these films
thoughgenre analysisdue tothemall mainlybeingsetinbigpopulartown areaswhichare
conventional tothisstyle of film. Alsothe use of reallywell knowncharacters, popularactorsand
actressesfeaturinginthe movieswill putbumsinseats.Andwill getpeople watchingthe directors
otherworkespeciallyif theycompare qualitywisetootheramazingworkhe has produced.