This document discusses two methods for analyzing films: genre analysis and auteur theory. Genre analysis involves examining elements like characters, narrative, and iconography to determine if a film follows the conventions of its genre. Auteur theory analyzes a director's distinctive style and recurring themes across their body of work to identify them as an "auteur" or author of their films. The document then provides examples analyzing the films Taken using genre analysis and Tim Burton's films using auteur theory.

1. PR4 - How do we analyse a film?
Part One
There are numerous ways in which a film can be analysed, one of which
being genre analysis and another being the application of auteur theory.
Genre analysis involves taking into consideration the genre of the film whilst
deconstructing it, using genre theories such as Lacey's Repertoire of
Elements enabling us to look closely at the various elements such as
character representations, narrative, mise en scene, iconography and
technical codes to determine whether or not it follows the typical codes and
conventions associated with the genre of the particular film. A prime example
of genre analysis would be the film Taken (2008) which conforms to the
conventions of the action thriller genre due to the mise en scene being
constructed in a way which features various things which anchor the action
thriller genre some of which being the setting which is within a big city (Paris),
the use of scenes with low key lighting to create suspense and enigma's for
the audience and stereotypical props such as weapons. Iconography is
present through the use of the actor Liam Neeson who is automatically
associated with the genre action thriller, as well as the film featuring guns,
explosions and death, all of which are iconic to this particular genre. Also the
film follows the typical plot and characters often seen in action thriller genres
due to the protagonist being male, represented as both strong and fearless
who's aim is to save the life of a female victim who is represented as weak
and vulnerable. By deconstructing the movie into elements we are able to see
that the film Taken does in fact conform to the conventions of the action
thriller genre.
Auteur theory is the ideology that a director and their creative vision is the
primary creative force in a film and therefore they are considered an author.
Analysing a film using the application of auteur theory differs from genre
analysis due to the fact that when deconstructing the film, we focus
specifically on the authors creative vision and their stylistic features, therefore
enabling us to determine the conventions of that particular author and as a
result making their work instantly recognisable.
To do this we need to take into consideration whether the author is:
The principle creator of a film
A film maker who demonstrates a particular style
A film maker who demonstrates innovation
A film maker who values artistic merit over commercial success
A film maker who makes films with similar themes
A prime example of applying auteur theory would be to look at Tim Burton
who would be considered to be a film maker who demonstrates a particular
style. Tim Burton uses his own personal experiences to influence his creative

2. vision and has therefore produced a number of stock motion animated films
and regular films within the fantasy genre such as Alice In Wonderland,
Corpse Bride and Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, all of which
demonstrate a unique and often dark approach to the fantasy genre and
feature a variety of unique and quirky characters; as a result this distinctive
style makes his work original and instantly recognisable which therefore
deems him to be a 'auteur'.
Part Two
Throughout this part I will be deconstructing the film "Mean Girls" by applying
the genre theory Lacey's Repertoire of Elements to it in order to define how
each element establishes the genre of this particular film. Mean Girls is an
American teen comedy film, produced in 2004 and directed by Mark Waters,
the film features a number of stars including Lindsey Lohan and Rachel
McAdams. The plot follows Cady (Lindsey Lohan) attending a public school
for the first time after returning to the US with her family.
Characters
The characters within this movie play a major role in establishing the genre of
this particular movie, one of the most obvious conventions of a teen comedy
is the teenage characters due to it being a teen film therefore the intended
target audience "teens" can relate directly to the characters within the film,
hence why the characters throughout Mean Girls are predominately
teenagers. Another convention of a teen comedy is the stereotypical
representations of the characters and the variety of cliques often associated
with teenagers. When thinking about teen comedies, there are a number of
conventional characters all of which Mean Girls conforms to; firstly we have
the protagonist who is often a new girl and clueless in regards to the teenage
cliques and where they will fit in therefore breaking the stereotypes; in this
case we have Cady who has recently moved back to the US from Australia.
We then have the over exaggerated representations of the various teenage
cliques often seen in the teen genre:
The Popular clique, a group of girls who are stereotypically beautiful
represented both fierce and very powerful in relation to the teenage social
hierarchy and often represented in a negative light due to them being mean in
regards to anyone who isn't "popular", within this clique there will be a leader
who is considered to be at the top of the social hierarchy. In Mean Girls we
have 3 girls which make up the popular's Regina, Gretchen and Karen
referred to as the plastics throughout with Regina being considered to be the
queen bee, all of which conform to the stereotypical representation of the
popular clique often seen in the teenage comedy genre due to their
attractiveness, popularity and meanness in relation to anyone who isn't part of
their clique therefore anchoring the name of the movie "Mean Girls"
We then have the stereotypical outsiders, within the teen genre these
characters are often represented as un popular, unusual and refuse to be a
part of any cliques as well as opposing the popular clique. Again the movie

3. Mean Girls conforms to the conventions of the teen genre through the use of
these conventional characters, Janis Ian is portrayed as the typical outsider
throughout the movie through her unusual gothic style and her sarcastic
manner in relation to the various teenage cliques as well as being represented
as both laid back and rebellious along with her friend Damien Leigh.
There are also a number of other typical cliques in Mean Girls some of which
being jocks, nerds, stoners and desperate wannabes, again conforming to the
conventions and establishing the teen comedy genre.
Setting
Mean Girls is predominately set in a high school due to the fact that the teen
genre targets a teenage audience specifically therefore the setting of a high
school will anchor the target audience due to them spending a large amount
of their own time in a high school setting, therefore enabling the audience to
relate to all the themes and events associated with this particular setting.
Within the school their are a number of settings which are conventional to the
teen comedy genre including the class room in which the characters will often
spend their time gossiping rather than doing work, the corridor, the theatre in
which their will be a production of some kind and the canteen which cleverly
symbolises the characters cliques and status due to where the characters sit.
There are also a few other settings such as characters houses for events
such as house party's again a conventional setting of this particular genre in
which the teenage audience will be able to relate to.
Iconography
Within the film Mean Girls there are a number of iconic things which establish
the teen genre. Firstly we have the variety of teenage cliques throughout such
as the plastics, jocks, nerds and wannabees, all of which are represented very
stereotypically for example the plastics are attractive and are often pre
occupied with the way they look rather than there education, in contrast to the
nerds who wear the stereotypical glasses and tend to carry props such as
books. We also have the variety of teen issues throughout the film so that the
intended target audience can relate such as teen romance, bullying and
themes and events which regular teenagers will face on a day to day basis
again a typical convention and iconic for the teen comedy genre. Another
iconic moment within Mean Girls is the scenes which are set in the school
canteen, in which the mise en scene has been constructed in a way which
separates and divides the characters into cliques, symbolising the characters
status in regards to the high school social hierarchy, which is seen in almost if
not all films which fit into the teen genre.
Narrative
Mean girls follows a linear narrative structure due to it having a clear
beginning and end.

4. Exposition; Throughout the exposition we are introduced to the characters
within the movie, this introduction is vital due to the fact that it can determine
whether or not the audience will continue to watch the film. Firstly we are
introduced to the protagonist and narrator Cady, who is starting a new high
school and is oblivious to the cliques and as to where she will fit in, a typical
convention to the teen genre in terms of the narrative events and characters.
We are then introduced to Janis and Damien who inform Cady about the
conventional cliques such as the plastics, jocks and nerds.
Inciting incident; During the inciting incident we have the conventional scene
in which the characters are in the canteen and the mise en scene has been
constructed in a way which separates and divides the characters into their
cliques. Throughout this scene Cady is approaching her new friends when
she faces an encounter with one of the plastics ex boyfriends, the plastics
then step in and invite her to sit with them and join their clique. This would be
considered the inciting incident for this particular film due to it being the event
which sets the story for he remainder of the narrative.
Rising action; Due to previous conflict between Janis and the plastics, Janis
and Damien convince Cady to join the plastics clique so that they can
sabotage the plastics as revenge due to old conflict between Janis and the
plastics. Following which the protagonist gets a make over from the plastics,
increasing her popularity and therefore becoming one of the plastics, again a
conventional narrative event within the teen genre. Janis, Damien and Cady
then continue to sabotage the plastics through the plastics and Cady's
friendship, the rising action features a number of conventional themes relating
to the teen genre a prime example being romance. We also have the iconic
house party often seen in films within the teen genre.
Climax; During the climax their is a conflict between Cady and both Janis and
Damien, resulting in a fallout; again a conventional theme for this particular
genre. As a result during a confession exercise set up by the teachers at
school Janis reveals all about the ways in which her, Damien and Cady
sabotaged the plastics, leaving Cady alone again with no friends.
Falling action; Cady attends a school dance, again another convention of the
teen genre. At which she wins the title of the queen and apologises to all her
classmates, breaking the crown and sharing it with other people.
Dénouement; Cady, Janis and Damien are now friends again and all the
characters got what they wanted.
As you can see by deconstructing the film into elements we are able to
establish that the film Mean Girls follows a number of typical codes and
conventions in relation to the teen comedy genre.

5. Part Three
Throughout this part I will apply auteur theory to the film Napoleon Dynamite.
Napoleon Dynamite is an American teen comedy directed by Jared Hess and
produced in 2004. In some respects the film Napoleon Dynamite does feature
some conventions of the teen comedy genre, particularly through the mise en
scene in which we have the conventional settings such as the high school;
classroom, corridor and canteen, the high key lighting throughout the film
which is always seen within the teen comedy genre and the costumes such as
Napoleon and his brother Kip being portrayed as the stereotypical nerds
through their top buttoned up shirts and glasses in contrast to Don, a jock who
is wearing a casual t-shirt and jeans throughout.
However when producing this film the director Jared Hess took an unusual
approach to the teen comedy genre by choosing to ignore the typical codes
and conventions of the teen comedy genre therefore resulting in the presence
of conventions of this genre being minimal throughout the film. This therefore
suggests that Jared Hess values artistic merit over commercial success,
deeming him to be an auteur.
Films which fit into the teen comedy genre conventionally define the different
cliques within the high school setting, focusing primarily on the popular clique
representing them to be very powerful in terms of the social hierarchy, with
everyone aspiring to be like them. Jared Hess chose to ignore this convention
by focusing specifically on the nerd clique, made up of the protagonist
Napoleon Dynamite, his older brother Kip, Pedro and Deb, representing this
clique as the hero's in contrast to 'Mean Girls' which I previously
deconstructed and other films that fit into this particular genre, all of which
conventionally represent the popular clique as the hero's. Also Jared chose to
have minimal focus on any other clique other than the nerds, with us only
being introduced to one of the popular girls Summer who is only in a few
scenes involving Pedro asking her to the dance and when she runs against
Pedro in the school elections, as well as only being introduced to one jock;
Don, again only appearing occasionally when he torments Napoleon.
The overall representations of the Nerds also breaks away from the
conventions of the teen comedy genre, although the nerds are quirky,
unattractive, socially awkward and wear the conventional costumes often
seen within this genre, their overall aspirations are very unconventional, within
teen comedies the nerds are typically represented as school work driven, high
achievers who's main focus in life is studying, however Jared has chose to
ignore this stereotypical convention by representing the protagonist Napoleon
as un interested in his school work, emphasized by his sarcastic attitude
throughout. His brother Kip is also represented unconventionally due to his
aspiration to become a cage fighter, along with his relationship LaFawnduh
and his over exaggerated effort to become more hip hop in order to impress
her.

6. Jared Hess also decided to break away from the conventions of the teen
genre through the narrative of this film. Teen comedies often involve a
narrative in which the protagonist will be a new girl who moves to a new town,
unsure where to fit in and is recruited by the popular clique who's intention is
to give the new girl a make over, before the new girl befriends the outcasts
and in the end joins their cliques, with this narrative attracting a female
teenage audience as seen in films such as Mean girls which I previously
deconstructed and Clueless. Jared on the other hand decided to ignore this
convention by having the protagonist being a male and not really having one
big narrative, just small simple narratives including both Napoleon and Pedro
both falling for Deb, going to the school dance and Pedro running in the
school elections.
In terms of iconography, this film does feature a variety of teen issues
including relationships and bullying therefore allowing the teen audience to
relate which is iconic of the teen comedy genre. however it does not feature
the variety of teenage cliques iconic of this genre due to Jared deciding to
focus predominately on the Nerds. As well as it not featuring the iconic
canteen scene which is constructed in a way which separates the various
cliques and their status within the social hierarchy which is a iconic scene for
this particular genre, the absence of these iconic moments often seen within
the teen comedy genre emphasizes the fact that Jared values artistic
measure over commercial success.
In conclusion by ignoring the typical codes and conventions of the teen genre
when producing this film, we can therefore consider Jared Hess to be an
auteur who values artistic measure over commercial success, as the film
clearly suggests that Jared had a specific original creative vision in relation to
what he wanted this film to be and therefore in order to achieve this he
ignored the typical conventions of the teen comedy genre which are proven to
ensure commercial success.