How to Analysis a film?

Within films there are two types of analysis. The two different ways are Genre analysis and Auteur Theory. Genre analysis is when a director follows the codes and conventions of films this can be seen in such films at Quantum of Solace. This follows conventions of a Bond film because it sexually objectifies women which create negative gender representation, they also have lots of gun fights and have expensive cars such as Aston Martins. Where as an Auteur director does not follow the codes and conventions. Apocalypse Now, directed by Francis ford Coppola is a good example of this because it shows what really happened in the Vietnam War, so it is not showing off the American army in a good way, it shows women and children being killed. This does not follow codes and conventions because in a Genre film they would never show women and children being killed.

Within a Bond film there are certain codes and conventions that are followed, for example guns, sports cars and girls are used. Girls are sexually objectified in Bond films, they use young attractive girls in the film that James has to rescue and normally at some point in the film they will be in a bikini or not in much clothing again creating negative female representation. Aston Martins are used by Bond because they represent him, fast and sleek, Aston Martins are also very expensive which keeps with the theme of his expensive taste. Eg: his Omega watch and suit. As the protagonist James Bond always wears a suit and has ‘rugged good looks’ this follows the conventions of an Action movie. Furthermore another iconic thing to a James Bond movie is the Omega watch which all the Bonds wear.

Leon is a film directed by an auteur director Luc Besson. This is an action movie like James Bond with the guns and a protagonist that is the ‘hero’ but apart from that they are quite different. In Leon the protagonist is tall and skinny who always hides his face behind tinted glasses, which is unconventional for a protagonist in an action movie. Furthermore there are no girls in this movie that are sexually objectified, but there is a 12 year old girl called Matilda who fancies Leon which is not conventional at all, it differs greatly from how females are represented in the action genre which follows an auteur director. Also in a conventional movie women and children are not killed because most people who watch these movies don’t want to see this, but in an auteur movie this is done openly in a big scene where we see a whole family get killed one by one.

We also looked at the film Mean Girls. This follows the codes and conventions of a romantic comedy, because there is a new girl that starts the school who doesn’t make any friends, but falls into the ‘popular group’ of girls where they try and make them ‘cool’ and ‘popular’ like them. Also Mean Girls follows the conventions of where the film is set, for example high school canteens/classrooms, parents house and the high school sports field are all places where this sort of movie is set, this is because they are showing where most teenagers spend there time with their friends. At the start of the film configures to other chick flick films are used, for example the film is edited and cuts to all the different social groups that are in the canteen, this is a good way by the editor to show the viewer the different social groups. Furthermore in chick flicks there are a lot of different themes for example Love, acceptance, friendship, sex, individuality. But mainly the new girl always ends up

falling in love with one of the ‘jocks’ of high school, and in mean girls when Candy is in maths and this ‘jock’ turns around their eyes meet, soft music is played and it is in slow motion. The director is trying to show that Candy has fallen in love by doing this.

Quentin Tarantino has a distinctive style that makes him an auteur director, for example in Pulp Fiction he doesn’t show the film in chronological order what time disordered narrative style constructs. This means that the whole film doesn’t make sense fully until the end of the movie. Quentin appeared in the film which is a crime thriller, this also backs up that he is a auteur director.

In the different scenes throughout the movie we learn more about each character. John Travolta and Samuel Jackson are the main characters in the film, and in a conventional movie the main characters do not die, but because this is a unconventional film John Travolta dies breaking conformity. This film is set In LA, but no in all the nice famous/glamours places, they go to the dirtier less wealthier parts of LA which they do not normally do in conventional films