PR3: Critical Responses to Media Products

We respond to media products in many ways some of the approaches may be in the

manner in which we analyse - genre, narrative, semiotics, representation.

Leon (1994): Leon was released in 1994 the director Luc Besson, cast include Jena Reno as Leon

and Natalie Portman as Mathilda and Gary Oldman as Stansfield.

The exposition starts off with the New York skyline so you instantly know the setting

of the film it also establishes characters Leon is a very unconventional he’s the main

mysterious character it instantly shows you what sort of man he is and what he

knows, it introduces Mathilda as a trouble child who hasn’t got much of a supportive

family and doesn’t really get on with anyone in the family apart from her little brother,

The inciting incident is the murder of Mathilda family which is an important part of the

movie because it’s the reason she ends up with Leon and the way she acts and why

she wants revenge , the rising in action is when Leon agrees to look after Mathilda

and her wanting revenge it’s the conventional plot element the usual ‘getting back’

and then Leon starts to train Mathilda, Leon starts to help Mathilda with her ‘revenge’

by killing Stansfield’s colleagues bringing attention to Leon and making Leon a target

because of him knowing Mathilda, him catching Stansfield’s attention causes some

trouble and makes it harder for them to get ‘revenge’. The climax of the film is when

Leon and Stansfield finally meet and both end up dying two of the major characters

they die in a dramatic way by Stansfield thinking that he has killed Leon and

everything going his way but Leon is already two steps in front and has activated the

bombs on him whilst Stansfield is stood over him which causes a huge explosion,

whilst this is happening Mathilda has escaped without being noticed and has ended

up on her own she then finds out Leon has died and that he has left the money to

her, Mathilda has then made her own decision to go to school and make it on her

own. The denouement is when Mathilda plants Leon’s plant in the grounds of the

school the whole message of this is that the tree represents ‘life’.

The genre of this movie is action thriller we respond to this by immediately thinking

that it will involve guns, explosions, death etc. The narrative of the movie is linier is

about a hit man who becomes friends and protective of a girl who lives in the same

flats after her family are cruelly murdered they start to work together to get revenge

on the men who killed her family, audience respond to this by routing for them to get

their revenge and seeing their friendship grow but also seeing that Leon cares for

Mathilda like she’s his daughter and that he hasn’t cared for someone like this for a

long time, but you begin to notice that Mathilda might want more which to the

audience this could come across as strange and creepy as she is only a young girl.

Also people feel sorry for Mathilda and notice that she is only a child and as lost her

family including her little brother who she cared for and this is a lot to take on for

such a young age and she hasn’t had a normal upbringing. The semiotics in this film

are things like the plant that Leon looks after and cleans and waters everyday this

represents life he calls it his only friend and towards the end you see that he saves

the plant like it’s an actual person and Mathilda ends up burying it at the very end of

the film she refers to it as Leon to her this is Leon still living through this plant and it

will continue to grow, The representation of the characters is that Mathilda being the

main female role and her being young girl normally in a film like the girl would be

older even though in this film she is quite forward and shows that she like Leon

which is unusual to see. The main ‘villain’ in the movie is the typical crazy

unpredictable man who seems to be on a drug which he takes just before he’s about

to kill someone which makes him seem intimidating he fits the typical role a

character like him would play even though he’s on the police force and he’s got a

undercover drug system going on where he’s using his name title in the police force

as an easy way to know people and not get caught. Leon’s character isn’t the usual

‘good guy’ his job is to kill people which isn’t the normal hero stereotype even though

he’s helping a little girl to get revenge on the villain he still goes out and kills

everyone involved he goes against the ‘hero’ character.

The setting which is New York which is the usual setting the start makes it very clear

it’s about New York it’s a conventional opening to a film the wide shot across from

above the camera moves forward through New York over central park, also it then

goes to a dark looking café place very dim lighting where you first see Leon you then

see where he lives which again isn’t grand looking it’s just a normal looking sets the

scene that he doesn’t spend all his money and go all out on a fancy apartment, the

characters in the movie are very opposite to the usual stereotypes there’s a lot of

iconography in the movie with guns, cars, drugs people being killed these are what

you would usually see in an action thriller this makes this the a action thriller there

are also a lot of explosions. The style of the movie is very long scenes but then they

cut to another day or someone else’s story, the mise en scene is in the downtown

looking part of New York in a rough looking apartments not the best quality and very

run down the people living in the apartments as you can see the family of Mathilda

the dad deals drugs and gets himself in trouble and Mathilda always spends her time

outside the room on the stairway bit she also is seen smoking which is a good

example of her family not being very stable if she can be left on her own to smoke

without her parents knowing this shows that they aren’t always looking after her

making sure she’s okay, also her dad has a gun and money hidden in his house

which again shows he’s up to something and doing something dangerous which

clearly shows this is the thriller genre, The editing is the usual editing style when

there’s an action scene the shots are quick and a lot of changing angles and different

point of views. Also shows far away shots of the locations like New York and the

front of the building its about to be in.

Pretty in Pink (1986): Pretty in Pink released in 1986 the director Howard Beutch and the writer John

Hughes, the cast included Molly Ringwald who plays Andie known from the popular

group of actors called the ‘brat pack’ also John Cryer who plays her best friend

Duckie, Harry Dean as her dad, Andrew Mccarthy as her love interest Blane and

James Spader who is one of Blanes rich friends Steff the movie is about a girl

named Andie who lives with her dad who’s struggling to get a job, she has a best

friend named Duckie who is in love with her but finds it hard to tell her, she likes the

popular rich boy in school called Blane but his friends don’t agree with them being

together because she’s from a poor family and he’s rich, she is in her last year of

high school, Andie is really into fashion and having her own style mostly pink

referencing the title of the movie ‘Pretty in Pink’.

The exposition of the movie is several shots around where Andie lives its shows

shots of a rough looking street as it follows a street cleaner around it then moves

onto introduce the main character Andie as she’s getting ready in her room, it shows

her waking up her dad establishing characters Andie being the girly girl with her own

style using the little amount of money she has to buy second hand clothes and turn

them into something she likes, her dad Jack having to be woke up by his daughter

for her to tell him he has a job interview and that she doesn’t want him to have a part

time job forever wanting him to do better for himself this shows that Andie has to be

the mature one in the house and be the one to make her dad breakfast and get him

up when stereotypically it should be the other way round. It then introduces the high

school and introduces Blane you first see him smiling back at Andie and then to be

approached by a girl asking him how he is whilst he is still distracted by Andie this

shows who the ‘love interest’ is going to be, then straight after it introduces Duckie

showing him wearing rough clothing similar to Andie as its unique and different like

Andie having his own style. The conversation they have shows that Duckie is a

‘joker’ and shows his character as funny, he also compliments Andie several times

shows that he likes her.

It then shows Andie in class where she gets nasty comments from the other girls in

class this shows that she’s not the most popular person in school. It then introduces

Steff one of the popular rich boys it shows him as flirty and tells Andie that he likes

her but when she rejects him he’s also shown as horrible and the ‘typical stuck up

rich boy’. The inciting incident when Blane comes into Andie’s work at the record

shop when they first have their first conversation this shows that he likes her, she

makes a slight comment on him being rich by asking him if he wants to use his

‘American express platinum card’ but he gives her a confused look. The rising action

is when Blane asks Andie out on a date he goes to the part of the school where she

hangs out where all the ‘out casts’ go he makes a comment saying that he’s not into

what they are into he says it in an offensive way Andie looks offended but doesn’t

say anything this shows how different they are also when Blane asks Andie where

she lives so he can pick her up she says she will be in work so he doesn’t see her

house because she’s embarrassed. Blane then bumps into Steff after he was out

their with Andie and Steff then pretends not to know her name saying ‘I saw you out

there with that Eddie chick’ and when Blane asks him if he thinks Andie as got

‘anything’ he says no even though earlier on in the film he tells Andie he’s liked her

for four years it shows that he’s trying to put Blane of Andie because Steff is jealous

and doesn’t want Blane with her.

When Blane comes and picks Andie up from her work Duckie is also their and gets

upset when he finds out she’s going out with Blane he then tells Andie that Blane

and his friends look down on everyone and that he will just use her then throw her

away and that he would of died for her Andie still seems to not notice how much he

likes her he then says when she gets her heartbroken he wont be there for her

anymore, Blane tells Andie that he’s taking her to a party with his friends she doesn’t

want to go because she feels like she doesn’t mix well with his friends because of

how they’re rich and she’s not, Blane makes a comment about her friends living

under a rock but Andie doesn’t say anything, when they arrive there you see that

he’s embarrassed at the way they are acting he says that he doesn’t even know why

he hangs around with ‘these people’ they then bump into Steff who pretends that he

doesn’t know Andie, you see that Blane’s embarrassed by his friends behaviour.

They then go to a bar to meet up with Andie’s friends but Duckie is there and makes

it awkward by talking about Blane whilst he’s sat right there shows how jealous

Duckie is so they leave and cant think of anywhere to go he asks Andie if she wants

to go home but because she’s embarrassed about her house and doesn’t want him

to see it Blane gets confused she finally tells him and he gets annoyed at her for

thinking he would judge her, he then drops her off at home and they kiss.

The climax is when Blane starts to ignore Andie after Steff’s comment he tells Blane

that it was un cool of him to bring Andie to the party but Blane says he was annoyed

at the way they treated her Steff still seems like he doesn’t care he calls Andie trash

and that’s she’s low grade and that Blane’s parents wont be happy and will be

disappointed when they find out he’s with her Steff then says he has to choose

between his rich popular friends or Andie, Blane then meets up with Andie and tells

her he really wants it to happen Andie looks really happy and when Andie looks

away Blane looks un sure about what he’s just said he then starts to ignore her

phone calls and blanks her, Andie confronts Blane in school and shouts at him in the

hall way Blane acts like he’s been busy and acts really stuck up towards her he then

says that he’s going to take someone else to prom she says tells him that he’s just

ashamed to be seen with her and that his rich friends wont approve he doesn’t deny

it so Andie leaves.

Duckie then overhears Steff talking to Blane saying that Andie is nothing and always

will be because Duckie cares for Andie he starts a fight in the corridor. The fall in

action is when Andie decides that she is still going to the prom even if she has to go

alone it then shows her making her own dress in the style she wants since she cant

afford a brand new dress it then shows everyone getting ready for prom the big build

up, she arrives at prom on her own and as she is walking up she sees Duckie who is

there already to meet her so she doesn’t have to walk in alone and that they are still

friends with him after the argument about Blane, she runs up to him and hugs him

they walk in together and she sees Blane and his friends.

The denouement is when Blane tells Steff that he’s realised why Steff doesn’t want

him with Andie he says that he knows that Steff knows Andie thinks Steff is rubbish

and that she doesn’t want him and that Steff knows that she’s right, Steff doesn’t

answer and then Blane goes up to Andie and apologies for being horrible and tells

her that he loves her he walks away and Duckie tells Andie to go after him so she

does and leaves Duckie on his own Andie and Blane end up together.

The genre of this movie is romantic comedy/teen film this tells us that its going to be

the typical love story where the two attend high school. The narrative of the movie is

liner its about a boy and a girl who are in completely different friend groups ones

poor and ones rich and its about how they come together but both of their friends

don’t agree with them being together the boys rich friends says he should be

ashamed to be with her because she’s poor whilst the girls friend says she will be

used and she will end up being hurt, the two end up finding it hard and things

happen and the boy leaves the girl to then finally say sorry in the end. It’s a

stereotypical high school movie and the popular and the not so popular being

together. The Semiotics with the characters Andie is always wearing her own unique

clothes that she’s put together and made herself and she has a very different style.

Duckie is similar because he wears very unusual and different styled clothing to

everyone else, Blane is the stereotypical rich boy who has a nice car and nice

clothes and popular rich friends, Steff is similar with his car and is big house also

having parties and smoking and drinking taking his parents for granted.

Representation on the characters with Duckie its that he’s the best friend of Andie

and he is in love with her it shows this straight away when he’s first introduced and

also several scenes in the movie like the part when he’s sat waiting for hours outside

talking to the bouncer at the bar because he wont let him in to sit with Andie and his

friends inside also when the drive home form their when she’s talking about the big

houses he says that the first billion he makes he’ll buy her one and when she calls

one beautiful he says that if she wants beauty she should look in the mirror, also

when she’s helping him with his work she tells him that he needs to focus on work

and that he must be scared about his future when she leaves to get some food he

says that he loves her and that her needs to tell her, and when he talks to her dad

saying that he wants to marry her, you see that he loves her but Andie doesn’t feel

the same way back and doesn’t see how much it’s hurting him.

Andie’s character is the one who dreams about living in a big house and is

independent with she has to wake her dad up in the morning and makes breakfast

for him and tries to get him to go out and get a job you also find out in the film what

happened to her mum that she left 3 years ago without saying anything so her dad

struggles, also she’s always wearing pink and has a pink car referring to the name of

the film. Blane and Steff’s characters are both the rich ones Blane is a typical rich

boy who is easily persuaded by Steff and his opinions he still wants to be popular so

if Steff says that Andie is ‘nothing’ and ‘trash’ it makes Blane stop talking to her,

Steff’s character is the stuck up popular rich boy who looks down on people and is

jealous of Blane and Andie, he cant face rejection from Andie and is manipulative

towards Blane so that he wont be with her. He cares a lot about being popular and

his reputation. Even though he acts as if he doesn’t know anything about Andie and

that she’s below him he actually use to like her and when he told Andie this she

didn’t want anything to do with him making him angry.

The Setting is supposed to be in Chicago Elgin Illinois it was actually filmed in Los

Angeles, the film is about two sides the rich side of town and the poor side. Also in a

high school, The iconography in the movie is things like two love interests ‘boy meets

girl’ kissing, high school and prom with the dresses and the music the music is

important because its opening song is called Pretty in Pink like the title of the film

also love songs and popular music that was around in the 80’s.

The style of the movie is 80’s because it’s been made in the 80’s the clothing the

cars the music hairstyles etc. The camera and editing always when it moves onto a

different location it shows a shot of it from far away like the high school and the prom

venue it would do several shots around the arena to show off the location before

continuing with the close up conversation shots.

Pulp Fiction (1994) Jack Rabbit Slims:

Pulp fiction was released in 1994 directed by Quentin Tarrantino, cast include Samuel L.

Jackson as Jules Winnfield, John Travolta as Vincent Vega, Uma Thurman as Mia Wallace,

Bruce Willis as Butch Coolidge and Quentin Tarrantino as Jimmie Dimmick. The Jack Rabbit

Slims scene is when Vince has to take Mia out whilst her husband Marsellus is out of town,

they go to Jack Rabbit Slims which Mia chooses, they go into the diner to get there table and

order food, Mia goes to the toilets to ‘powder her nose’ take drugs, then when she gets back

they take part in a dance competition. They end up winning it.

The exposition in this scene was when they pull up in the car having just met this can be saw

as intertexuality because it’s the same shot in grease when John Travolta is sat the drivers

seat with Sandy in a similar car and angle, the inciting Incident is when they find their seats

and order food they have small talk, the rising in action is when Mia goes to the toilets to

take drugs this related to a scene later on, the climax was when they announced the dance

competition, the falling action was the dancing scene then the denouement was them getting

home with the trophy.

The genre of the movie is crime fiction/comedy thriller this can relate to the self referentiality

when John Travolta in dancing like he did in Saturday night fever and also like in grease.

Also could be seen as parody because John Travolta is also taking the mick out of his

younger self. The narrative of the film is non-liner because the timeline is mixed up where

people who die end up coming back later on.

Semiotics with Mia character are the drugs and her style she’s very individual also her

smoking constantly in all her scenes and she’s also seen dancing a lot, with Vincent he’s

seen also with drugs and smoking a lot he’s also got the typical clothing for the ‘gangster’

look. Representation of their characters Vince is the stereotypical gangster with him being

fearless and intimidating dressed in the typical clothing, but really his character is shown

being panicked and worried about what Marsellus will do to him if he finds out that Mia

overdosed, also when he does the dancing competition not the usual thing you’d see a

‘gangster’ type man doing. Mia’s character is dressed and acts like a stereotypical head

gangsters wife but when she’s talking to Vincent about the fox force 5 show she was going

to be in she comes across as jokey and shy when he asks her to tell the joke, this is also self

refrentiality because in another film of his called kill bill they are in a TV show called fox force

5 he’s referencing a film that he hasn’t yet made at the time.

The setting is in a typical American diner where there is a lot of intertexuality when he refers

to Marilyn Monroe in the 7 year itch with the famous dress scene the girl dressed up as

Marilyn stands over the vent and re does the scene also a man dressed as Ed Sullivan

announces the dance competition like he would have done on his show ’The Ed Sullivan

Show’ the two are very similar. The Marilyn Monroe shot could also be classed a pastiche.

The iconography in this scene are the drugs and the smoking this is typical because its

expected with the films genre, the style of the mise en scene is bricolage, the scene with

Marilyn Monroe, of her which you would think was the 50’s but all around her Is all 90’s

dressed people then goes to a shot of women in the bathrooms with all 90’s hairstyles and

fashion making it clear it’s the 90’s this is a mix of historical eras its very 50’s and 60’s

themed with the people who work there being dressed up as famous 50’s actors and

singers. In the car shot where Mia and Vincent first arrive, Mia draws a square with her

hands and a square appears on screen this is called reflexivity because the square appears

out of nowhere this is breaking the illusion because its impossible to do this.