Unit 10 - Assignment A

Mise en scene:

Lighting and colour: lighting and colour can portray different mods to the Aussie de and can have symbolic meaning, for example the use of green for Disney villains implies evil. 
Props and setting: setting gives the film/scenes context. For example, Rom Coms tend to be set in big cities like New York or Paris so the audience can easily relate to them. Props are an opportunity to add more content into the scene as they can be used to do any thing, even something as simple as a phone for a call, a symbolic wand in a fantasy movie Ken a sofa for actors to sit one, such as the symbolic sofa in ‘friends’
Costume and makeup: costume adds context to the film whether it’s set in the 16th century or the 77th. It portrays the personality of a character and what type of person the actor is trying to portray. Costume can also mirror genre of the movie, for example if it isn’t a fantasy movie the characters might be wearing cloaks or poofy dresses, if it is a Rom Com, the clothing is mostly likely going to be bright colours, neat and expressive to mirror the usually quirky main girl’s personality, such as Elle Woods from ‘Legally Blond’  
Positioning: 
Facial expression and body language: facial expression and body language as vital for an actor a spa they must capture the feelings and emotions of the character they are presenting to the audience. In order for an actor to give a realistic performance they must use a variety of facial expression to show when the chatctater they are playing are sad, happy, surprised etc, and body language can also be used to express emotions such as curled up in a ball on the fall out of sadness, but also to get an idea of the character a personality and background. For example, in ‘Clueless’, Cher stands up straight, sort of doll like, to show she is from a rich background and has been taught to present herself in a confidential way. However, in ‘Psycho’, Norman Bates’ strokes the dead bird while talking to a pretty girl; this clearly implies that his character is quite disturbed and lonely. 

How does mise en scene create a genre?

Mise en scene creates a genre by having specific colours in the scene, whether they're light or dark, subtle or flashy, or faded or bold. For example, the music video for ‘Creep’ by Radiohead is dark all around the room, with three subtle colours in the background to reflect the calm, in-depth song. It also helps send a message to the audience by making them listen to the lyrics of the long and not the visual of what is on stage. This reflects their genre: indie/alternative, as it is almost serine and makes the audience feel the same calm, relaxed feeling as the artists. Similarly, in a different music video: ‘California gurls’ by Katy Perry, the artist also reflects her genre through mise en scene. For this, she used bright colours and over-the-top outfits to imply a comedic side to her song, this made her genre, pop, and very clear as it is not a serious, deep genre, but an upbeat, sometimes humorous this. This encourages a specific audience that enjoys which ever genres the song is as they will relate to the song and connect to it. This makes the audience feel happy and relaxed as they can listen to something they are interested and feel like people can relate to how they are feeling. Another example of how Mise en scene creates genre is by the setting. In Radiohead’s ‘Creep’ the band were on a regular stage, implying a regular, steady song. Indie and rock music are known for videos on stage as it doesn’t distract the audience away from the lyrics, which, for this genre, are important and most of the time carry a message. However, in Katy Perry’s ‘California Gurls’, the artist is in a unrealistic setting surrounded by sweets and laying on a cloud. This creates a child-like atmosphere implying the song is either comedic or not serious, which reflects pop music. This attracts the right audience as the artists have made it very clear what they’re music is all about and how they want their audiences to interpret the songs.

Why does genre exist? 

Genre exists so people can make money, because if you make something that you know a specific audience likes, they're going to enjoy, buy and watch whatever you make. it also gives the audience something to enjoy and identify themselves with.

My music video:

Notes on ‘Creep’:

·     Slow moving camera shows a slow song

·     Relaxed facial expression shows calm music, like indie/alternative

·     Dark room with subtle, faint coloured lights shows they want people to pay attention to the lyrics and instruments, not the visual; so, an in-depth song

·     Sudden flashes show the song speeding up and possibly getting louder, like rock music

·     During the chorus people were jumping showing excitement and high energy, usually shown in rock concerts

·     Fast guitar playing movements implies a rock song

·     Having only instruments shows indie/alternative band\song

·     Black clothes imply personal lyrics, like indie

·     90’s hair style shows the time/decade

Camera positions and examples:

extreme closeup







big close up









close up








medium close up









medium
long shot









two shot










Crazy in love -Beyonce and Jay Z

Beyoncé:

In this video, it could be argued that Beyonce is the one in power as she gets most screen time and gets all the attention. However, the fact that Beyonce has little clothing on and is moving and dancing in a sexual way could imply that she is not in power at all.
Costume: Beyonce's clothing is very revealing to the audience which highlights her femininity which then attracts a large audience consisting on envious/admiring women and impressed males. Her costume fits the male gaze theory as a large collection of shots is on her clothing in personal areas.
Body language: when her hands are on her hip it implies her edgy, feminine character. With her back straight she implies power, however, when dancing she is on the floor a lot which could subtract that power and give it to Jay Z, or even the audience as we are watching her.
Setting and props: she is in a rough neighbourhood that matches her rough costume and expressive dancing.
Facial expression: sexual, fierce. She looks very seductive while dancing as if she is inviting the audience to watch her.

Jay Z:

In this video, Jay-Z is only in short clips in the dark where the audience cannot see him clearly. This could imply that he is not the one with the power, only there to 'back-up' Beyonce. However, he is in full clothing and is doing nothing, whereas Beyonce is the complete opposite and doing a sexualising dance. This argues that Jay-Z has dominant power over Beyonce.
Costume: wearing dark clothes, covering a wide range of his skin, not exposed at all. Wearing a hat to cover his face to make him seem 'insignificant'; however you could argue that because he's not exposed and is able to hide that he dominates the video more than Beyonce
Body language: in the car he is sitting back quite relaxed showing comfort. He then moves forward and leans above the camera in an intimidating way, making the audience feel uncomfortable. He then holds his hat on his head to highlight the fact that he is hiden; dominating.
Setting and props: throughout the majority of the video Jay Z is sitting in a dark car, this makes him safer than Beyonce, who is out, exposed, in a rough area. This shows is dominance in the video compared to Beoyonces'.
Facial expression: throughout the whole video you don't see Jay Z's face very clearly due to his hat and the dark lighting, however in the rap scene when he is standing up he shows very little facial expression whist rapping, although smiles a couple times towards Beyonce as she dances around him. This could portray his dominance as he is finding joy in doing little to nothing while she is dancing.



Laura Mulvey's the male gaze theory: seeing and presenting women from a heterosexual male's point of view. This is seen in a lot of movies that involve an actress wearing little clothing and are seen as a sexual object.


The Bechtel test: whether a movie includes a woman who speaks to another woman about something other than a man. Movies that failed this test include The Lord of the Rings trilogy, ratatouille and avatar. Movies that passed this are a star is born, widows, and crazy rich Asians. this test started out as a joke but then showed a real problem with how women are represented in movies. This is a clear example of how, even in this century, we still live in a patriarchal mind set where women are just there for the men to get a story.


26/09/19 sound: 

Today we used audio network to find music for chosen clips of movies. I chose the movie 'it follows'.

Peak Fear 3261/7

I chose this music because it is slow and eerie and fits with the actresses slow movement. It puts the audience on edge as the scene its-self is scary, however the music enhances the fright the audience it set to feel.


02/10/19 different elements of sound:

diegetic and non-diegetic        
                                                             
diegetic: sounds that the characters can hear
e.g. dialogue, footsteps, police sirens

non-diegetic: sounds and music the characters cannot hear
e.g. background music, voice over

The Matrix - movie

diegetic: gun shots, alarm, shouting, dialogue, punching/kicking sound

non-diegetic: music (fast pace, exiting, doesn't make you feel worried for the main characters), base guitar
sound bridge in the matrix when th alarm clock began going off in one scene, then finishing in a bed room with the alarm, implying that it is a dream.

Prisoners - movie

All the people and level of sound/shouting creates tension.
One quiet line makes the audience scared and creates an eerie atmosphere. It makes it more dramatic. the director did this to make the audience think he is guilty and send us in the wrong direction for a surprise.

Star Wars - movie

Electronic beeping, guns, alarms, spaceships: diegetic sounds heard
All these sounds reveal the genre - guns and alarm imply danger, electronic beeping and spaceship imply si-fi.


Sound effects are very important when revealing genre

Sound bridge: when sound caries over a visual transition in a film. connects the mood, as suggested by the music, through multiple scenes.

Voice over: narration used to explain thoughts of a character, important information or develop the narrative.


Synchronous (onscreen): sound that is matched with the actions and movements in the screen


Asynchronous (off-screen): describes sound assumed to be in the space of a scene yet remains off-screen while the action takes place simultaneously. e. g. one scene hearing a gun shot, and in the next scene/shot we see where the gun went off.


Contrapuntal: sounds and music that contradicts the images on screen. e. g. a murder taking place with happy music


Parallel: sounds and music that suits the image on screen



03/10/19 Use of sound in the babadock trailer:


Creating:
I would use eerie, slow sounds in the beginning to create tension for the audience. This will make sure they know it is a horror movie as they feel scared right from the start. when the trailer gets further in, I would speed up the music and make the noises more sudden, like used with jump scares, and add screeching sounds to create more fear. I would have deep music and possibly some happy, childhood music at certain parts of the trailer, most likely when the trailer is focusing on the child or the babadock to contrast the visual and the sound.


Understanding:
screeching sounds were used in the trailer to cause an uneasy feeling in the audience. The high pitch sound gets under the skin of the audience and enforces the horror element.

Knocks on the door are unexpected at first so the audience will be surprised. Knocking on a door is a normal, day-to-day thing for a person to hear and hearing it in a horror frightens the audience because they recognise the sound, make sure it was the noise in the film and not real life, and worries them for hearing the noise in the future.

Scratching noise is unsettling because it' a noise you would most likely hear from a pet from the other side of a door, so not knowing where this note is coming from, and knowing that it is most likely an inhumane creating making the noise makes the audience anxious.

Inhumane sounds tell the audience that it isn't a human being and makes them wonder what the creature could be.

Reading a book, especially a bedtime book, is usually innocent and happy, so when seeing this inverted trope and the audience is suddenly aware of the dangers of this moment and this creates a slight dramatic irony as the audience knows, seeing and hearing all these tropes and obviously knowing this specific genre, that this book may be the stimulus to the horror in the movie.


09.10.11 editing:

Old films:

• black and white
• no sound
• one, still camera in one place
• no cuts

Editing: how you get from shot A to shot B

1) speed of editing: how long does each shot last? what is the effect?
2) style of editing: how each shot joined to the next?
3) juxtaposition: the meaning created through juxtaposed frames

continuity editing: the purpose is to create a sense of logic and coherence between shots

• a sense of reality
• the shots flow together

If you can't see any thing it's a cut (supposed to be invisible)

Pace: how quickly we move from shot A to shot B creates meaning for the audience

Style: the way in which the film moves from shot A to shot B. They also create meaning. The most common editing transition is a cut. Cuts are used to aid continuity and to allow the narrative to flow uninterrupted.

Cuts make you forget that you're watching a film.

10.10.19 Continuity Techniques 

Match On Action: where the editor cuts from one shot to another via that match the action in the first shot
Match on Action example - YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com › watch

Shot Reverse Action: where one character is shown looking at another character and then the other character I shown looking back at the first character

The 180 Degree Rule: a basic guideline regarding the on screen spatial relationship between a character and another character or object within a scene

The 180 Degree Rule in Film (and How to Break The Line ...https://www.youtube.com › watch


16.10.19 

Jump cut: A jump cut is a cut in film editing in which two sequential shots of the same subject are taken from camera positions that vary only slightly if at all. This type of edit gives the effect of jumping forwards in time. 
Good example of jump cuts. - YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com › watch

Graphic Match: used to continuously transition two successive shots, it creates a cut between two shots that juxtapose their graphically similar image 
SFX Secrets: The Graphic Match Cut - YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com › watch

Fade to Black: a transition to and from a blank image
Example of 'fade to black' - YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com › watch

Dissolve: a gradual transition from one image to another.
Citizen Kane - dissolve transition between two scenes ...https://www.youtube.com › watch


Opening scene of City of God:

Analysing: What impact does the editing have on the audience? Which techniques are being used to show this?

 In the intro there are 14 shots of the same knife being sharpened on a rock, each after either a cut with a black screen or a cut with a scene with people and events. This repetition of the use of the knife creates a sense of confusion for the audience as they have no clue what so ever on what this knife is going to be used for. This would then encourage fear to the audience as everyone knows knifes are very often used for crimes.
The audience is clearly looking at the scenes from the living chickens perspective by making it fast pace cuts to seem more shocking and panicky and having some shots pointing up to the people (e.g. the men playing the instruments). This makes the audience feel anger towards the people and sympathy towards the chicken.

27.11.2019 Clueless Macro-analysis

1) What are the conventions (rules) of a romantic comedy?

Tzvetan Todorov's theory claimed narrative is divided into five stages, these are equilibrium, disruption, repair, resolution and new equilibrium. These are mainly fitting to rom-coms as almost everyone follows all stages.

Steps	What happens
1	The narrative starts with an equilibrium
2	An action or character disrupts the equilibrium
3	A quest to restore the equilibrium begins
4	The narrative continues to a climax
5	Resolution occurs and equilibrium is restored

Propp's theory included eight functions. There is almost always a portrayal of the characters of the Hero, Villain, Princess, Sidekick, Princess's father, False Hero, Donor and Dispatcher. Props originally analysed these from fairy tales which is why they're so easily implied. A good example is Notting Hill:
Hero: William
Villain: Anna's boyfriend
Princess: Anna
Sidekick: Spike
Donor: Spike
Dispatcher: Max

Iconography tends to be depicted as mods rather than props, such as awkwardness or embarrassment. Romantic comedies are usually seen as sexist as the problems are usually caused by a male character and so attract a female audience. There is typically a "meet-cute" (a meeting that is cute) which happens when the plot is unraveling. Something like a kiss the in the rain or meeting parents which are both 'young-in-cheek' mocking of romance films which appeal to male audience.

Themes involve not only romance and comedy, but family, friends and resolving problems too. Writers and Directors choose to do this to add depth into their film, just like London at Christmas. An example of this is Love Actually. Christmas is seen as a time where any thing can happen. It connotes love, family and a time to be thankful. Writers usually use connotations i order to explain an idea without actually saying it.

Settings usually include big cities like London, New York or Paris because almost everyone is familiar with these places, which means they're much more relatable. another reason is that people and it easier to believe it when more extraordinary events happen, as it's in a big city.

Costume in Rom Coms tend to be stylish and relaxed so the audience doesn't feel alienated and so the movie connotes a more relaxed feeling. There's usually one character in a rom com who's style is more 'out-there', usually the sidekick. This connotes that they are the humorous character and shows an alternative angle to the film that may appeal to a different audience. The reason for the relaxed style is so the female audience won't feel intimidated and so more likely to watch the film.

Two main love interests usually meet multiple time throughout the movie in a particular, sometimes unusual, place. In the middle there is usually a dramatic climax that involves the couple breaking up or a miscommunication that affects their relationship. The two protagonists usually end up together in the movie.


2) What genre is clueless? 

Clueless is a romantic comedy. It uses humour to make the intense situations such as conflict between friends and peoples' love lives. The majority of the movie is different couples falling in love and trial and error relationships such as Cher and Christian. 

3) Is Clueless influenced by any other films? Which ones? Can you find any references in clueless from any other films?

The movie is based off the book Emma, by Jane Austin. It's a book about a beautiful, wealthy, popular girl whose father is a well known lawyer and whose mother has recently passed.

Mean girls copies the idea of the popular girl meeting the new girl and making them up to be like they are. Mean girls also adds in how the new girl gets 'too big for her boots' and turns against the girls who tried to help her, much like Tai does to Cher.

4) Can you find other media products influenced by clueless?

 Iggy izalias fancy video is completely based around the entire movie and used the costume, make up and Mise En Scene. This creates a slight sense of humour as it is an unusual and clever idea. 


5) When was clueless made? Find out some facts about that time period, give examples with illustrations.

Clueless was made in 1995. During this time technology was big and bulky with very slow internet. People also carried pagers around more than phones. 

A well known, popular model of 1995 was Elle Macpherson. You see the Macphrson's style reflected in Chers costume in certain scenes. This shows how Cher likes to follow trends and look good; like a model. It also attracts the audience as they are being presented to something they recognise and can relate with, even if it is just a style of clothing. Something they recognise could attract them because they feel more embedded in the movie and that time period.



5a) Cultural facts: what did people believe in this time? UK and USA

Looking rich was important to people. Labels and brands were admired. These both are important in Clueless as the main fact we learn about Cher is that she has money. Cher cares about her appearance, having trendy clothes and setting examples. 


5b) political facts: what was happening at the time in politics in the USA and UK? Who was in charge? Key news stories?

The web was introduces in 1990 and the first text was sent in 1992. Texting and the web isn't clearly shown in Clueless but you see the use of mobile phones and pagers very often. Clueless uses what we would call 'old' technology such as big, bulky phones. Although it is really the end of old styles, it sets tropes for future movies such as Mean Girls. An example would be the use of phone calls. Yes, phones are used to most movies regularly, but Mean Girls make a subtle reference to Clueless when using short phones calls to friends. The girly mood makes it more obvious when watching both scenes. 



5b) social facts: what did people do together? How did they relax? What games/TV/films/fashion was popular?

Fashion was 'grunge-rock', loose fitted clothing. This isn't seen as likable to people like Cher in Clueless, where mainly tight, revealing, colourful clothing is worn. If anything, clothing like 'grunge-rock' was worn by the characters looked down on by Cher such as Travis and Tai (at the beginning). This shows a clear divide between high/middle class, and low/middle class. 


Music was described as cringe to us now with songs like 'who let the dogs out'. Again, this isn't shown in Clueless as they use upbeat, 'cool' songs such as 'Rollin' With My Homies' by Coolio. 
People rented movies from shops to watch them.
1995 was when the TV show 'Friends' began. So in this year there was a lot of comedy and pretty women on the 90's audiences screen, so Clueless would be very popular and trendy.

NARRATIVE

6) Outline Todorov's narrative theory below. Think of an example of a film that you know well that fits this theory.

He believes that all films followed the same narrative pattern. They all went through stages called the equilibrium, disequilibrium, acknowledgement, solving and again equilibrium. An example is legally blonde:
Equilibrium: in the beginning when Elle is with her boyfriend hoping to get engaged soon
Disequilibrium: when Elle and her boyfriend break up causes her weeks of upset
Acknowledgement: when Elle accepts the reasons for her breakup and finds a way to solve her problems
Solving (climax): Elle finding school difficult and being bullies by her ex's girlfriend
Equilibrium: Elle studies and strives ahead to eventually win her legal case

AFTER YOU'VE WATCHED CLUELESS

NARRATIVE PART 2


7) Watch Clueless and decide whether it conforms to, or subverts Todorov's narrative theory. Explain below.

Clueless subverts Todorov's theory as in the introduction the main character Cher is feeling lost and failing at school. Which, although it is not the biggest problem in the movie, it is still a downfall for the main character.  Cher then meets Ty and decides to give her a makeover to help herself and Ty, therefore, what would be the acknowledgement would be in the beginning of the movie. There is again a climax where Cher runs into some alteration such as letting her friend down, being robbed and sexually assaulted. However through these equilibrium and climactic points, Cher seems to always have moments with Josh that make her happy. However there is a main acknowledgement near the end where Cher gives her time to help a charity and is kind to Travis, showing how much she has grown. You could argue that this movie has followed Todorov's theory faintly with some moments, however the movie is quite volatile throughout the entirety of it.

8) Outline Propp's character types.

Props characters involve the Hero, Villain, Helper, Princess, Donor, Dispatcher, False Hero.
The hero would be Cher as she really saves herself. When she gets into altercations such as failing her classes or feeling low she helps herself by talking to people, helping people and making new friends. However you could also argue that Josh is the hero as during many scenes he is there to help her; like when she was robbed and needed a lift home, when he danced with Tai at the dance to make Cher happy or when Cher was shouted at by her fathers employee, and so Josh stood p for her and comforted her. The villain could possibly be any body in the movie who underestimated Cher and labelled her to be an air-head or 'clueless'. Throughout the whole movie Cher references famous books and quotes she knows very subtly to show the audience how clever she really is. This makes the audience then feel sympathy towards Cher as she is seen as ditsy rather than smart. The helper is Cher's best friend, Deon, as she accompanies her through all Cher's 'journeys', helping her makeover Tai and helping her get ready for her date with Christian. The princess could easily be argues to be Cher as she seems quite feminine, in need of being saved and appears to not be able to look after herself. However, there's a strong point to be made which is Tai being the princess. When she arrives to the school she seems lost with no friends, only to be saved by Cher and Deon, who make her up and give her a social life. This opened Tai up to a better social life, to learn what loyalty, trust and friendship intakes and helps her to value other people, as well as herself, as before she met Cher, Tai admits that she was all over the place when it came to boys and sexual encounters; however she blossoms when trying to have a real relationship with a genuinely nice person who likes her for her. The donor is Cher's father as he taught her everything she needs to know in order to go on her journeys. This includes the advise and knowledge he shared with her such as teaching her how to get out of things and encouraging her to take her driving test. The dispatcher is Cher as, ultimately, she sent herself on her journeys as a way of making herself feel better. She decided to help someone become better in order to do the same for herself; nobody told her to do any thing except shop. This shows a strong female lead as she noticed herself less happy, and changed for the better.

9) Outline Enigma. What narrative enigmas are created in the opening scene? What questions are planted in the audience's minds to encourage them to hook them into the narrative?

During the opening scene, we see a clearly rich, well-off teenage girl having fun with her friends in the summer. To the audience, this life may seem close to perfect and intimidating, so they may wonder what on Earth this movie is going to entail. Especially knowing that it is a romantic comedy which, if it follows todorov's theory, will have a climax. The audience may be intreged by the fact that this rich teenage girl can have any problems in her life. They may watch the movie hoping to relate to the main character, especially if the audience member is a young teenage girl.
In the opening scene it is unclear as to what the movie is going to be about. There are hints of themes the audience may assume the movie might be about such as friendship, the relationship between Cher and her father, the growing up stage of Cher's life, or possibly money related? This gives a wide variety of topics for many audience member to relate to and proceeded to watch this movie.

THEMES

10) What themes run through clueless? What important messages does the film have?

Social class: social class is a main theme in clueless as the movie wouldn't work quite so well without Cher's high class brands and home. Social class explains how Cher's friendship with Dee started and why she does things like argue for her grades, as her father is a rich lawyer who knows how to argue and doesn't have time to speak to Cher about her school work or help her study.
Love: Love is a continuous theme throughout this movie as it begins with Cher getting two teacher together, followed by the focus of Tai's love life and finishes with Chers' love life. Cher finding love was foreshadowed throughout the whole movie as we can see by her relationship with Josh. In the scene after the party Cher and Josh are watching a movie together. Here we see Cher in comfortable, not overly attractive clothing, putting her hair up with clips as though she was by herself getting ready for bed. Doing this whist talking to Josh shows how close and comfortable they are with each other, and the lack of judgement presented. Cher, a fashion icon, is not bothered to be seen dressed-down by Josh, whereas she spends a whole day trying to perfect herself for Christan, clearly trying to get him attracted to her appearence rather then her personality.
Appearance: Like most rom coms, Clueless has a flawless cast with desirable clothing. The theme of appearance is very important to Cher as she is always trying to look her best. We see this right in the beginning when she is choosing her outfits and brushing her hair. The directors choice of adding her morning beauty routine was to highlight the importance of looks to the movie and Cher; whereas in any other movie they would have skipped to the next scene. The theme then reoccurs when Cher meets Tai and decides to give her a makeover. Makeovers are seen a therapeutic to Cher which may come across as a stereotypical American rom com teen, but this actually is effective on the audience as it shows Cher trying to maintain a good mental health, albiet they make it funny, but it still sends a good message to their larger audience of teenage gitls.
Giving back and doing good: The movie begins with Cher doing a good deed when getting two teacher to fall in love, helping the teachers and the students', who show great appreciation for what Cher did. We then hear in the voice over Cher say “I felt so satisfied, I wanted to do more good deeds.”. This is an important message as it states that doing good for other people can make you feel good also. The makeover, friendship and attempt to help Tai find love are all good deeds which made Cher feel good, but made her want to find love herself; of corse in the end she did. This movie shows all throughout that giving back can do so many things for all factors in your life: mental health, social life, love life, maturness, etc.
Virginity: The constant theme of virginity is very important considering the fact that Clueless' main audience members are teenage girls. We hear Tai speaking about sex, followed by Dee asking questions, later on to be turned on to Cher when Dee tells Tai that she is a virgin, which she replied 'You say that like it's a bad thing'. Cher is presented as a role model through this movie and so what she does, the audience members are likely to copy. So when someone they look up to states she values her virginity, it reminds the audience that something so delicate for some people doesn't need to be rushed. This presents a good influence on teenage girls, especially because, by the end of the movie, Cher doesn't mention it again even after she got with Josh, implying that there are more important things in life to focus on.



AUDIENCE

11) Apply Stuart Hall's Reception Theory to the film

Preferred reading: the director wanted the audience to see Cher as fashionable but also intelligent as we can see by her constant references to famous writers and her valid points in debate which are brushed off as unresearched but actually do make valid points. This shows the audience that you can be pretty and smart, to avoid any stereotypes that a afflicted onto people.
Negotiated reading: Some people may see Cher as spoiled and rich and so may dislike her as a character because of jealousy or stubbornness, however, her good deeds are unmissable as they make the whole movie so an audience member may dislike her for her lifestyle and obsession over looks and clothes, but may agree that she is a good person due to the amount of people she helped such as Tai, Mr Hall and Ms. Geist.
Oppositional reading: some may see this movie as a false representation of rich teens in 1990's and a bad influence on teenage girls see that the only way to get a guy is by making yourself look good. Tai is perfectly happy flirting with Travis in her grunge styled clothing, however she is made over to look like Cher and Dee and convinced to flaunt her looks to get a popular boys' attention. People may argue that Clueless presents a good relationship to begin with appearance rather than personalities.

12) How is a sense on comedy created through narrative, themes and character types?

Intelligence: You can't argue that the characters in Clueless are the most smart, so when the theme of education or cleverness comes about, they use the this as a stimulus for a joke. An example of this is Cher at the house party: when Tai bumps her head Cher recommends that Elton should ask questions. Elton asked Tai 'What's 7 times 7', where Cher replied 'Stuff she knows!'. This creates a comical effect on the audience as it highlights the 'Cluelessness' of the characters and so adds irony to the movie.
Duos: Cher and Josh. Deon and Murray. Cher and her father. Duos in this movie are even more comical than characters on their own. The witty pairs complement each others humor and set each other up for hilarious back chat. A good example of this is Cher's father asking 'What's that?' referring to her dress, where Cher replies 'A dress', 'Says who?', 'Calvin Klein'. This back and forth miscommunication screams comedy, especially because the audience could imagine being in that conversation in their own lives and so are shocked when Cher replies with unintentional sarcasm. The fact that Cher is unaware that she is being funny makes this scene even more comical.
Voice over: Cher does the voice over in Clueless and usually makes some ironic, contradictory quotes such as: "but seriously, I actually have a way normal life for a teenage girl. I mean I get up, brush my teeth, and pick out my school clothes". This is comedic for the audience as Cher does these activities in suhc an unusual, 'rich girl' way as she picks out her clothes from a technology-based wardrobe that no one would ever have unless they were in Chers economic/finacial position. The irony is that most of what Cher says sounds Clueless, which is funny as she tries to convince the audience that Tai is 'clueless', however, we have a wider perspective of Cher's 'cluelessness'.

Damatic irony: there is a range of moments where we experience dramtic irony, but there is one in particular that creates a really comedic effect. The cliche 'GBF'  (to be) Christopher going out with Cher was funny to the audience because he presented himself with the stereotypical aspects we would expect a homosexual man to have, especially in a comedy film. The 'cluelessness' shown by Cher is even more histerical as the audience are aware of something she seems so sure of (although, up until Cher realises, is only implied to the audeince); this makes Cher calling Tai clueless standout.

History of Horror :

Fears 

Fears can be drawn from the realistic side of horror. The audience are likely to be more scared by something such as dolls coming alive or serial killer because they are more likely to be true. This creates real feae from the audience as they imagine being in that scenerio. Another example is 'Freaks' as it based off of real people who are in the world, not fake, made up characters.


Significant Films

• The Fantom 1925 - this horror highlights that point when you know you shouldn't look, but still want to see
• Dracula was the very first horror movie with sound (1931)
• The Night of the Living Dead (1968) - first zombie film/apocalyptic horror, below budget and independent. Apocolyptic horror.
• Bogeyman - includes a man with a leather face, psychological rather than physical torture
• Rosemary's Baby (1968)
• More religin based film like the Exorcist
• Halloween (1978)

Conventions of Horror

 Sound: uses a lot of non-diegetic sounds to set the mood
Victims: a group of people the audience can relate to and a promiscuous girl
Setting: a sacry place where the horror takes place such as a lrge house, usually somewhere isolated such as the woods
Props: weapon duch as a knife, chainsaw or axe (not usually a gun)
Sub-genre: can be very unrealistic to scare the audience a lot as they know it is not real, such as vampires, wolves and monsters. Or a sub-genre can be based on real life topic to scare the audience into thinking it si real such as serial killers, religion, dolls, or masked villains
Characters: the virgin (usually the final girl), the jock, the promiscuous girl, the stoner, the killer, the black guy



How horror has changed over time

• Become more realistic
• More human-like
• Earlier on focus was on monsters and animalistic horrors, however in the 60's the horrors were mostly human-like such as zombies

• Fears change according to politics, changes in day to day life such as new inventions by the 1970's. Horror became more embedded in reality and so low budget films were easier to make
• Political divide between young people and government and police through protests and riots in the 1970's - inspired the idea of domestic children
• What was acceptable has changed over time. James Wales risk-taking was described as 'a little ahead of its time' as, in Frankenstein, the monder killed a little girl. This would be somewhat acceptable in television now, but in 1931, this was too shocking for its audience.

• Creations of Frankenstein and Dracula, to masked mysteries of Freddie Kruger and Norman Bates opened my mind to the type of horror an audience in this century would go for. For example, in the literary years between 1900 and 1920 supernatural was popular, and was the period of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and The Werewolf. Hollywood then began pushing limits and created the unnerving ‘Freaks’ in 1932, however, this film was too much for its time and was cut, banned for 30 years in Great Britain and is now no where to be found. This shows the importance of the time period, the audiences tolerability and the type of movie you make. After Alfred Hitchcock, the 80’s slasher years and the special effects of the 90’s, the 21^st century is well known for their remakes and parodies such as Cabin In The Woods (2012), as well as stomach churning horrors like Saw. 

How are the audience's expectations of Rom Com and Horror different?

When watching both a Horror and a Rom Com, you expect (when looking at Todorov's theory) an equilibrium, a very tranquil, casual beginning where the characters are going about their normal, everyday lives. For rom coms you can expect comedy, and possibly a hint of romance or something symbolic relating to something likely to happen later on in the film. It's unlikely to see any thing scary in the beginning of a horror so there is still mystery between the audience and the movie, however, there could be a shot of an object or person with precise lighting or colour on it foreshadowing its relevance for later on in the movie. In some cases, however, the movie may start with a horror scene as a jump scare for the audience or a flash back that foreshadows the main horror in the movie. An example of this would be the beginning of 'IT' (2017) where we see what is clearly the main antagonist of the movie, the clown, talking to a young boy, Gorgie, followed by the young boy going missing. This dramatic irony puts the audience on edge throughout the first half of the movie as they are completely aware of what the characters should be afraid of and are always expecting this clown to make an entrance. The second part of Todorov's Narrative Theory is the disruption, so a problem happens that can change the lives of the characters. An example of this would be the break up between Elle Woods and her boyfriend, Warner, in 'Legally Blonde'. This disruption changes the journey of the protagonist, Elle, and her motives and priorities the movie. Whereas in horror movies a common problem/disruption would usually be finding the "scary setting" in the movie, whether it's on travels or by moving house. An example of this would be the movie 'Find Me' (2014) when the main couple move into the house the main protagonists twin sister died in years before that, unbeknownst to the characters and the audience, until the twin's spirit haunts the couple. The third stage of Todorov's theory is the recognition that the disorder has occurred. A good example of this would be 'Clueless' when the main character, Cher, feels as though she is selfish and uncharitable. This then begins a series of right-doing performed by Cher to reclaim her reputation as a giving, helpful person. In horror movies it is likely to be the realization of the main horror or monster in the movie, like the Babadook book's appearance in the 'Babadook' (2014). This causes fear for the main character, Amelia, as she realizes the book is causing harm to her son. Todorov's forth stage is an attempt to repair the damage of disruption. This in a horror would usually be the main characters attempt to destroy the dangerous horror/monster by killing it, accepting it or using knowledge gathered during the movie to stop it. In 'It Follows' (2014) there is a scene near the end where the main character effected is bait and her friends are surrounding her ready to destroy their horror creature. Horror movies usually have more characters in the end than the beginning as, throughout the movie, friends or former items of the antagonistic monster want to help the main character. This is allows the director of the movie to add more fright as they can kill characters off, and of corse that can't be the single main character. In rom coms, the attempt to repair is sometimes the protagonist helping either themselves or someone else with appearance, personality or acceptance, or finding love with a character who has most likely been their 'friend-zoned' friend throughout the entire movie. A perfect example of this would be the realization of the main character, Natalie, in 'Isn't It Romantic' (2019) that she is in love with her best friend Josh, who, with no shock to the audience, was in love with her throughout the entire movie. This movie also has the realization that Natalie needs to love herself which is seen as a positive change in rom com tropes as other rom coms such as 'Mean Girls' ends in Caty only ending up with the guy. Overall, audience members expect a happy ending in roms coms, but horror movies are unpredictable. Of course there is the expected 'final girl', however in films like 'Psycho', Marion was the main character and was predicted to be the final girl, however dies right in the middle of the film. Although this movies ends with the killer being caught, Marion still died, which left the audience unsatisfied as they had built verstehen with her character and was ultimately disappointed with her death. This highlights the idea of horror as it isn't supposed to be happy, so in a way Psycho's surprise was an achievement in horror for the movie. Rom coms are also easily predicted, such as the girl getting the guy in the end. Although 'Isn't It Romantic' put a twist on the genre by taking the mick out of rom coms, Natalie still got the guy in the end, which is contradicting the point of the movie, however, if she didn't get the guy it would not be a successful rom com. The director was very clever with this as he could of had different rom com but knew it would backlash when labelling the movie a rom com. The audience would also be disappointed as the characters they rooted for not getting together would make the film incomplete. Horror movies and rom coms also differ from the way the audience want to feel. Rom coms are usually watched when the audience wants to be in a good mood or is in a good mood, however horror movies are watched usually at Halloween or sleepovers as they enjoy the adrenaline rush, being distracted from mundane life, vicariously thumbing viewers noses at social norms and enjoying a voyeuristic glimpse of the horrific from a safe distant. The differ completely but both allow the audience to escape from reality and imagine how they would react to certain situations.