World War Z Hollywood Production Context

World War Z Hollywood Production Context

In this Blog post I will be discussing World War Z and why it has a Hollywood production context and how this will relate to the genre and how that in turn effects the production context. I will be giving examples from the film as to why it is what it is.

To begin with we must talk about the genre of the film, the genre of World War Z I would say is a hybrid genre of horror and action, as the zombies are what makes it a horror as the blood and gore that comes with them. For example, the scene where the zombies are trying to bite Gerry there is a lot of blood as he fights them off and stabs them, this enforces the genre. The film also fits in with the genre of a horror as it creates suspense in certain scenes as horror do mixed with creepy music. For example, when Gerry and his family are trying get to the roof where they can escape from the zombies by helicopter, they have to go up a stairwell and to get to the roof they have to go through a door and the music starts to build up and this makes the scene tense as you know something bad is going to happen. It also be said to be an action film as their are lots of explosions and gun shots that are iconic with an action film. For example, when they are in Israel once the zombies are attacking the city a helicopter is shooting zombies but crashes and explodes. The gun shots and the explosion in that scene is what people would associate with an action.

There are many ways why this film fits into a Hollywood production context, the locations that have been used the budget and the famous faces. With Hollywood productions they have a big budget and this allows them to do much more with the film, World War Z had a budget of 190 million pounds, this allowed them to do much more with this film than other production contexts could. For example, the special effects for the zombies. The first scene in Philadelphia when the zombies attack and turn people the effects used for the eyes as the people turn into zombies. Another effect that shows the extend that a decent budget can give is the scene in Israel when the zombies climb the wall on top of each other to get at the people on the other side. As the budget is quite large it has enabled this film to be filmed in lots of different locations, they film in different American cities; Philadelphia, New York and New Jersey; as well as foreign countries such as South Korea, Israel and Wales. Another way in which this film fits into a Hollywood production context is the stars that are present in the film. For instance the main face of the film is Brad Pitt, he is a very famous Hollywood actor and having him in the film will attract lots of publicity for the film, as people who likes certain actors will want to see a new film with them in it. Another famous actor who was in this film is Peter Capaldi, he may have only had a minor role he is still a known British actor and can draw in more viewers to watch the film.

One aspect that relates to the production context is the story line as it has an in-depth story line as the main aim is to find a cure to the zombie outbreak, it is in-depth because the answer to it isn't simple or obvious, as there are some clues. For example, there is no cure to the outbreak but Gerry finds a way to camouflage people against the zombies, there are  some clues that's lead him to find this. As the zombies pass some people and eat other people. Gerry concludes that the zombies bypass the people who are ill and by having vaccinations people can hide in plain site from the zombies. Another reason why World War Z fits into a Hollywood production context is the technology that has been used, as it is very advanced than compared to say a Bollywood film. As the type of shots that they have are quite visually decent as their is an aerial shot out of a helicopter in Jerusalem this gives the audience a big view of the scene and they can see the carnage that the zombies are creating. It is because of the budget that this film has that allows the kinds of shots that have been used. Another good use of technology is when the security cameras are used in the medical facility, they use it to show the characters going through the block b to get the vaccines, it gives a different aspect that helps with the enjoyment of the film.

The dialogue that is used in World War Z are family friendly as they have no swearing involved, even though it has a 15 age rating. There is a scene where one of the scientist makes a reference that mother nature is a serial killer, by creating natural disasters that cause multiple peoples deaths, he says that she leaves bread crumb trails that will allow people to find the cause, this is informative to the audience and characters as we know that there will be a trail and a way to stop the disaster happening and killing anymore people.

In this film some of Vladimir Propp's seven spheres of action have been used to help with the story line of the film. For example. the hero is Gerry as he is the one who goes away from his family to stop the infection of Zombies. The helper is a soldier called Segen who Gerry meets and saves in Jerusalem as she helps him once he is in the forensic laboratory getting the vaccines to combat the zombies. The dispatcher is Gerry's old friend Thierry Umutoni, a UN deputy secretary general, who sent him on his quest to find the cure to the Zombie outbreak. The villains are the Zombies as they are the main threat to the characters in the film. The false hero could be seen as the doctor, Andrew Fassbach, as he was going to be the man that saves everyone's lives by finding the cure to the zombie outbreak but he dies from his own stupidity by holding his finger on the trigger and falls over and shoots himself dead, he was meant to be the savior but as he dies it becomes clear that he wasn't and isn't anymore.
In Hollywood films there is always a disaster that will need to be averted and the main character will always find a way to avert the disaster and save the day.

Silence of the lambs

Silence of the lambs
Throughout this blog I will be discussing semiotics that have been used in Silence of the lambs, how genre and narrative has been communicated through the semiotics and how feminist film theory and queer theory has been used in this film.

To start off with the opening scene it communicating the genre of this film instantly as a horror. As the film begins the main character of Clarice Starling running through a wooded area. The atmosphere around her is foggy and secluded , this makes the audience think that this is a horror as most horror films have a chase scene through a secluded area mostly in the dark or where it is hard to see and easy to be captured. Clarice is not being chased however she is running on a training course, as it is made clear almost straight away as she used a rope to climb up a small hill, up to that point everything was leading up to the idea that something bad was going to happen to her. But the camera angles and the music during the opening scene allow the audience to know the genre of the film. The camera angles that are used follow Clarice around the course from behind her and in front but when the camera is behind her it is almost as if we as the audience are following her. The music that is playing in the background as she run is eerily creepy and it picks up pace when she runs faster as if it is a chase scene, as in horror's the music can pick up when a character is being chased to give suspense and tension to the audience. Also the font that is used is also an indicator of the genre of the film as a horror, the colours are black and white they are not bright and happy colours as would be seen in other genre's.

The semiotics in this film are not only just used in the opening scene to communicate the genre they are used throughout the film. There are a lot of gory images and blood that show this film as a horror, the images are of the girls that 'Buffalo Bill' has killed, as the pictures show the aftermath of him skinning them, it is a shocking sight that is usually seen in a horror. The scene that communicate the genre of this film, if it hadn't already, was the scene when Hannibal Lecter escapes the audience see a lot of action and gore that people associate with a horror or a thriller film. Hannibal breaks out of the holding cell he is in by handcuffing one prison guard to a pole and beating him to death, with the other prison guard he bit him and hung him up. The position in which he was hung up in is signifying  crucifixion on the cross. One thing that can be mentioned from this scene is the colour of the costumes of Hannibal and the prison guards. Hannibal is wearing white which usually signifies purity and innocence, whereas the prison guards are in dark clothing giving off the idea that they are the bad guys when it is the other way around, it is contrasting to their characters with the colours they are wearing. There is an iconic scene in this film that people always remember and that is the scene with Hannibal wearing the muzzle mask and the noise he makes when he talks about eating people. It could be argues that they are iconic as they are shocking in some ways, as the muzzle that Hannibal wears makes him look creepy and when he makes that noise at Clarice it makes him look disturbing especially with the noise used with his intense stare.

Feminism film theory can be looked at in this film as the women in this film are portrayed as objects, even the main protagonist in this film, Clarice Starling a young rookie cop looking to become a member of the F.B.I. Throughout the film Clarice is treated mainly as a pretty face, with the exception of Hannibal Lecter as he treats her with respect , as even Jack Crawford her boss uses her as that in order for him to get Hannibal Lecter to talk to her. The male characters see Clarice as a sexual object, Frederick Chilton a man from the mental hospital Lecter is in, he asks her out on a date, as well as a man who is a bug expert does the same and men at the training academy she is in continually look at her. For example, while she is our jogging with a fellow cadet she passes a group of men and they look back once she passes and stare at her, this is known as voyeurism. As Clarice is a woman in a male dominated world she has to be strong to succeed, she is not a typical female stereotype as she is strong. For example, when she investigates an a lockup. When she cannot get the door open instead of waiting for a male to help her, she gets her car jack to open the door for herself, this show how she is a strong character as she take it upon herself to do the jobs men would usually do. Another example of this would be when she finds a decapitated head in a jar, instead of screaming as would be stereotypical of women she is calm.

The serial killer 'Buffalo Bill' uses his female victims as objects as he only needs them to skin them. There is a scene between him and his latest victim Catherine, he wants her to put the lotion in the basket, he says 'it puts the lotion in the basket' the fact that he uses the word it making her an object to him as he doesn't use her a name. By not using her name he is emotionally detached himself from her to allow him to get what he wants from her. 

Queer theory can be looked at in this film, the stereotypes of the drag queen and the butch lesbian. The stereotype of the drag queen is in the character of 'Buffalo Bill' as he is dressing up as a woman, there is a scene where he puts on a wig and wears dressing gown as well as make up and dances and pretends to be a woman. This is the reason why he kidnaps women as he wants to use their skin and make himself a woman. Homosexuality in this film is seen as dysfunctional and very negative, as the character of 'Buffalo Bill' is gay and killed his lover which makes the relationship dysfunctional and makes homosexuality seen in negative light, as he murders and is the bad guy. There is no other homosexual to compare this negative view to as he is the only homosexual in the film.

The stereotype of the butch lesbian/ lipstick lesbian could be Clarice as she is not a stereotypical woman she wears baggy trousers and has her hair messy most of the time. The only time she wears skirts. make up and makes her hair nice is when she has to when she meets with Hannibal, or when she is Jack Crawford investigating the murders, it could be argued that at these times she is accepting a stereotypical role for herself when she has to to further her career and experience.

Queer Theory in Mean Girls

Queer theory in Mean girls
Throughout this post I will discussing Queer's theory in the first 20 minutes of Mean Girls and what issues can arise from the use stereotyping.

Throughout the opening of Mean Girls there are a few homosexual stereotypes that are obvious for the audience, they are the gay best friend,butch and queen. These are present in the characters of Damien and Janice. These are noticeable by the tone of voice that the characters use, the clothing that is worn and the body language that they use. For the character of Damien the first time the audiene are introduced to him he asks about the colour of Cady's hair, this is unusual for a male character to comment on and this would make Damien look like a homosexual stereotype, and this stereotype is proven more in the film as the audience get to know the character even more. The other homosexual stereotype that is also present in this film is the butch lesbian , the character of Janice is this stereotype. Janice fits this stereotype as of the clothes she wears and how she acts around other people, the clothes she wears covers herself up compared to the other female characters clothing, the way she speaks to other characters is not what some people would consider ladylike and is the complete opposite of the way the other female characters talk to others.

The way these homosexual stereotypes are shown are through their clothing, their looks and their body language, as mentioned before Janice wears unfeminine clothes, with Damien he owns a prink top when Cady needs to wear a pink top she asks Janice for a pink top she doesn't have one but Damien does this is showing the stereotypes that they fit into and shows the difference between the stereotypes. Also Damien has a feminine tone of voice that fits in with his homosexual stereotype of being camp, whereas Janice has a deep voice that fits in with her being a butch lesbian stereotype. The body language is also helps to clarify what behaviour makes people which stereotype, for example Damien continually flicks his wrist which most people associate with homosexual men. Damien can be classified as the gay best friend as he is best friends with Janice and the queen as he is flamboyant in his actions. By having these two stereotypes as friends audiences can see the difference between the two.

There could be some issues with the representation of these stereotypes in films, as for some people it could be unrealistic as they are not like that. For example, some homosexual men are not overly camp and some lesbians are not butch. Some people could take offence how they are represented in films, but others could agree with the representation as they are like the stereotypes.

Feminism Film Theory in Alien.

Feminism Film theory in the ending scene of Alien.
When the ending scene begins the main character of Ellen Ripley, believing that she is safe from the alien, is readying herself to go home. The first shot is of her undressing and getting into different clothes for hyper sleep, As she takes her jacket off she is in the centre of the frame and is the main focus of the scene, this could be seen as the male gaze as she is the image that is being presented and we as the audience are positioned as if we are watching her undress. This continues as when she begins to take more clothes off the camera follows her, she takes her trousers off and the camera goes down as she bends down. There is a long time spent on Ripley when she undresses , the camera stays on her as she is the only character left and that she is undressing. The camera also never moves away from her she is the primary focus, but as this is the ending scene the fact that it is lingering on her for so long rather than cutting to the credits are hinting at the idea that something else is going to happen, as her escape from the Nostromo, spaceship, was to easy. When the alien appears the male gaze disappears as the tranquillity of the scene changes as she is in danger once again. When the alien appears it is meant to make people jump as the scene was set up perfectly so that the attention of the audience is focssed on Ripley that when the alien appears it is a shock as its unexpected as it is meant to be dead. 

Throughout the film and this scene Ripley is not seen in a typical stereoype way as she is not the damzel in distress as is usual for a woman to be, as she is the one character who has survived, in this scene she manages to kill the creature by getting it out of the ship, this is primarily a male stereotype's job, but this film is averting the usual stereotypes for women ny making her the hero of the film rather than something pretty to look at and eventaully watch die.

Scream Opening Sequence

Scream Opening Sequence

To begin with the screen starts off blank with music playing in the background, until the title comes onto the screen with a bang and a phone ringing, which could be a signifier that a phone call will be significant in this film, as well as a woman screaming when the title turns blood red connoting that someone is dying, as well as the sound of slashing knives, and what the film will be about. Once there is something visible on screen the screaming cuts out and there are no hints that something bad is happening when the character comes on screen to answer the phone. The character is revealed and she is a stereotypical horror character, as she is a wearing tight clothes and is acting dumb as is stereotypical for female characters to be. The conversation is pleasant even with the hint that a phone call is dangerous, the man on the end of the phone is not menacing to begin with. However the scream and the phone call audio at the beginning could arguably be signifying what is going to happen to the character. When the camera shows the house it is cut off from anywhere who could help if the character needed it, when that happens there is a tree with a swing that is swinging which is indexical as it is representing that someone has been there and that the woman is not completly alone.
When the man continually calls back they begin to converse about their favourite horror movies that involve knives to kill people, this is quite ironic that they are as that is how she will eventually die. The atmosphere and music alters when the man on the phone says 'I want to know who I'm looking at' as this is the point where everything changes, as something is not quite right. When the man on the phone begins to become angry that she keeps hanging the phone up on him, his tone of voice changes and his heavy breathing gives off an atmosphere that she is not safe as is usual for a horror film. The continual phone calls become iconic as that is the way that this killer taunts his victims throughout the rest of the film. When the girl attempts to lock herself in the house she looks out of a window and the window frame symbolically looks like prison bars and suggest that she is locked in the house and will not get out. Towards the end of the opening scene the more distressed the woman gets the more tense the music becomes and the popcorn that she is making is getting bigger and bigger symbolising her building fear.