Textual Analysis- Boyz n The Hood

Textual Analysis of Boyz n the Hood

Today in media class we watched the opening to the film Boyz n The Hood. We analysed the opening to the first 6 minutes or so of the famous film and looked at different aspects of it. We looked at Camera work, editing, sound and mise en scene.

In the opening scene an extreme close up is used on a stop sign and also a tracking shot is used to follow the children as they are walking to school. In terms of race, I think the most important part of the opening to the film is when the boys mum is talking to his teacher, and the teacher doesn't expect much of his mother by talking down on her. For example she doesn't expect her to be educated and she also expects that the boys father is definitely out of the picture, but the mother is actually completely opposite and this surprises the teacher which shows that she looks down on them. Whilst the opening credits are rolling through you can hear gunshots which I think shows the kind of area that this is set in and introduces the setting for the rest of the film.

The children also see a crime scene with a lot of blood around it, this is definitely something I wouldn't expect to see on the way too school which I think again is showing how rough these neighbourhoods are. As the boy is walking home there is also a fight going on but strangely the boy almost ignores it, as if he is used to it ands its not a big deal for him. The shot from the crime scene to the schoolroom is very clever, because school is a daily occurrence for the kids, it makes me think that maybe seeing crime scenes is also a regular occurrence.

Narrative

Narrative

In media class recently we learnt all about narrative and how it the retelling of a story. A key figure to do with narrative was a French literary theorist called Roland Bathes. He came up with a set of 5 codes

• Hermeneutic/ Enigma Code
• Proairetic/ Action Code
• Semantic Code
• Symbolic Code
• Referential Code

Hermeneutic/ Enigma code- Mystery within a text. Clues are dropped but no real answers. The audience wants to know more.

Proairetic/ Action code- Refers to the other major structuring principle that builds interest or suspense on the part of a reader or viewer. The proairetic code applies to any action that implies a further narrative action.

Semantic code- Refers to parts within text. Exercises opposites to show contrast, with greater meaning.

Symbolic code- Symbolism within text. Exercises opposites to show contrast with greater meaning.

Referential code- Refers to anything in text which refers to an external body of knowledge such as scientific, historical and cultural knowledge.

 

The movie above is called prestige, it uses a lot of the Hermeneutic/ Enigma code. For example there is a lot of questions that I start to ask myself. Is he going to drown? Why are the hats there? Who is the girl and old man? Are these two events happening at the same time? There is so many questions that you need answers for so are likely to carry on watching.

Instiution

In media class recently we learnt about institution. In particular we learnt about the 'big six'.
The big six are six (as the name suggests) big companies that together basically run all of the media we see everyday.
The big six are,

• Warner Bros.
• Paramount
• Disney
• Newscorp
• Sony
• Universal

Rupert Murdock owns multiple companies such as Newscorp and 84% of the worlds population actually see his media everyday.

Another thing is that cinemas actually make all of their money on the snacks that they serve rather then the actual movies. They do not care about the movies, they care more about the fact that they make popcorn for 1p and sell it for around £7.

 

Audience

1.What do we mean when we use the word 'Film'?
I think the word film is something that someone can watch for their pleasure. something they can watch on a TV or screen. Film is a production where directors and actors make these films good or bad.

2.Do you think it means the same as the word 'Movie'?
Yes i think a film is the exact same thing as a film.

3.And what about the word 'Cinema'?
The cinema is a place where people can see the latest movies/films on a big screen.

4.Top 10 films in any order.
1. World war Z
2. Borat
3. Harry Potter
4. Captain America
5. Dark Knight Rises
6. Wolf of Wall Street
7. Dodge-ball
8. Finding Nemo
9. The Strangers
10. Scream

5.What links can you make between the movie choices?
I don't really think there is many links between these movies. It goes from a Disney film like Finding Nemo to horrors like Scream to The Strangers. There is also comedies in here and thrillers. I think this shows that i don't have a specific genre that i like and i will basically watch anything.

6.Choose movies from a selection
The Shawshank Redemption, Jaws,

7.What film A film that i watched when i was really young was actually the horror movie Scream. Although the movie series is by far one of my favorites now, when i was younger the movie really scared me and stuck with me during my later years.

8. How do you find out about a film?
Usually from advertisements on TV.

9.What makes you want to see a film?
Well if i think it looks amazing and is a film that i really cannot miss out on, i will definitely go and see it with friends.

10.How do you know what to expect from a film?
Well if it has actors i like i know it is likely to be a film i will enjoy but i will also watch the trailer to get a feel for the film.

11.What are you paying for when you a buy a cinema ticket?
I am paying for the movie and a fun experience.

12.Where do you watch films?
I usually watch films at home or in the cinema.

13.Do you think that there are differences between watching a film at the cinema and watching at home?
I think that if i am watching a film at the cinema i will savor the experience a lot more but i will also be more concentrated on the movie at the cinema because of the massive screen i am watching it on.

14.Are there some films you have to see at the cinema?
To be honest most sci-fi films have to be seen at the cinema because of the 3D effects and the huge screen. I also think horror films are much better at the cinema because of the atmosphere that can be created by the dark theater.

Film Opening (Clueless & Harry Brown)

In media studies today we looked at the opening scenes of different movies. WE used the opening scene to determine what the genre of the film actually was. We used the acronym DISTINCT to help with deciding the genre. Describe In detail Setting Theme Icons Narrative Characters Text analysis.

This is the opening to the film Clueless. It opens up with a really bright and colourful title of 'Clueless'. Straight away this tells me that the film is going to be fun, childish and something I shouldn't take to seriously and that I can just enjoy. It is set in a rich family home in a wealthy neighbourhood. This gives me the impression that the characters are going to be really stuck up and maybe look down on others who are worse off but at some point in the movie they will completely change their views.

This is the opening scene in a film called Harry Brown. Its very dark to start off which shows me the film is going to be quite dark and maybe filled with some kind of dark event and tragedy might occur. The setting and the characters suggests to me that maybe it is set in a bad part of London where there are quite a lot of gangsters and other controversial figures. The characters seem to be quite young and seem to be peer pressuring another teen into doing drugs so he can join there gang or something. This makes me think that maybe later on in the film one character might be trying to leave this life and start a new life away from the life he is currently living.

Genre Movie Task

Movie Genre Task- Today our task was to go around school and take pictures that would represent the different genres we were given. I feel as though the task went really well and the pictures we shot really worked well with our given genres.

This image shows it is a movie based around sport as there is a running track and there is also two characters who seem to be against each other and actually competing against each other. They also both look really focused on what's ahead which in sports movies is quite common as there is some kind of event that the main character is trying to win along with a major rival. Another indication that this a sports movie is the clothes the characters are wearing.

This image shows it is a movie based around action because it looks like one of the characters is about to do some kind of kick or try and attack the other character. This is quite similar in terms of the sport photo as there is two characters that seem to be rivals and enemy's, just like how in a normal action movies you have a hero and a villain. The character in black is clearly the villain as he is wearing dark clothes which I think represents the evil. The camera work in this image is very clever as it catches one of the characters in mid air. I think this piece of camera work shows that the movie being portrayed is one of the action genre as it also shows the two characters are in confrontation.

This image shows that the given genre was romance as the two characters are clearly in love as one is proposing to the other which would indicate they were in some kind of a relationship. The flowers in the background also show that this is meant to be romantic as it is a common gift from a man to a woman. It also shows that the film is meant to be joyful and happy because of the bright colours. The shot between the bars reminds me of prison bars in a jail, which could show that maybe one o the characters feels trapped and actually doesn't love the other person.



                                                                  

Semiotics

Today in Media Studies we learned about semiotics. I found it very interesting seeing how everyone thought different things as our teacher showed us different pictures. Everyone had different ideas about everything. This is what semiotics means. It is when you see an image but the image has different meanings.
Denotation- What we see when we look at an image
Connotation- What we understand from this image
Polysemia- More than one reading of a text
Preferred Reading- How the creator wants the audience to view the media text
Oppositional Reading- Where the intended meaning of the text is totally opposed by the reader

 

Movie poster of the film 'The Dark Knight'

In this poster the buildings are all above the main character and behind which for me shows that he stands for the city as a hero and role model and he has everyone resting on his shoulders. I know he is the main character because he is the only character in the poster and the fact that the city is around him shows that film revolves around him. The fact that the 'bat' logo on the building is red and on fire shows that he is dangerous and should not be messed with. I also think the fact that he is wearing black shows that he is actually quite a reserved person and tries to make