How are binary oppositions established in teen film openings?

                              

                                GREASE                                             

Grease is a well known american musical film made in 1978 by Paramount Pictures following the journey of two teenager lovers Sandy and Danny that fall in love over the summer holidays. Grease genre has shown to be romance between the two lovers Sandy and Danny but also the relationships that develop throughout the movie between The Pink Ladies and the T-Birds

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    THEME/TOPIC

• Romance (love/innocence)
• Musical
• Different cliques
• Social statuses

     

        Locations:

• School
• Dinner
• Beach

                             

           


In the film intro we come to see that there are many different binary oppositions                                            

• Innocence              vs         Bad Boy
• The Pink Ladies   vs         T-Birds
• Sandy                    vs         The Pink Ladies
• Youth                    vs         Education

Also we see that there is binary opposition in the four technical areas 

• Mise en scene
• Sound
• Camera
• Editing

Binary opposition in Mise en Scene 

In the opening intro to Grease we quickly become aware of the different characters as The Pink Ladies are shown to be wearing pink dresses with a pink bomber jacket on top whereas the opposition T-Birds are shown to be wearing black leather jackets with a black T-Shirt tucked inside high waisted jeans.

Sandy body language is shown to be reserved and innocent as when we are first introduced to her character she is shown to be a shy person who later develops her personality.Whereas The Pink Ladies are shown to be more flirtatious and are confident girls as they are shown to be popular just like the T-Birds.

Cigarettes have shown to be the key prop in the movie Grease as we see that both T-Birds and The Pink Ladies smoke showing sense of rebellion highlighting common themes shown in teen movies.

Mise en scene has been used in the movie Grease as we see that both friendship have shown to have different hangout places which could show their class as The Pink Ladies are shown to hang out at the Diner which is sophisticated and modern whereas the binary opposition T-Birds hangout at the garage which is shown to be dirty, dull. 

Genre And Sub Genre Task

What is a teen film?

A teen film is a film targeted for teenagers and young adults which has a story line/plot that appeal to them for example first love, coming of age etc. Sexual themes are also common  Throughout teen films the present teenage life in a very stereotypical and glossy way so that it can appeal to teenagers and have something to relate to. Teen films are often set with a hanging out area, high school/college,  and places you would expect teenagers to be.

sub genre: 

A sub genre is a subdivision of a certain genre, 
such as: media, film, literature and music. A lot of teen movies  
consist of similar sub genres such as horror, romance and chick flicks.  

sub genre examples:

• urban comedies 
• British humour comedies 
• relationships 
• Greek mythology 
• Christmas films 
• gothic 

conventional themes:- 

Conventional themes are main ideas that are focused on 

throughout a film, examples of a conventional theme would be: 

relationships , death and the idea of old vs. evil. 

Audience: 
Every film or production is created and produced to appeal to a certain audience,
as it is the audience that control how well the film does and the profits from the movie 
are dependant on the public/audience. producers insure that their film is interesting and relatable 
to their target audience to interest them an capture their attention. Teen movies have an obvious
target audience (teenagers), and so producers include things in their movies that will appeal to teenagers such as: young love, violence, drugs etc.

Locations: 
within teen movies the locations tend to be similar to one another, this is because these below
locations are where teenagers are seen to spend the most time according to society and so
film makers try to associate teenagers with certain locations in order to capture the audiences
understanding.

examples of frequent locations in teen movies:

• A messy bedroom
• Secondary school/ High school/ College
• The Mall
• On an estate/ A famous hang out spot.
• Gymnasium
• Lunch hall/Cafeteria
• House parties
• The park

                                            frequent characters in teen movies:

• The jock
• The cheerleader
• The nerd
• The rich kid
• The social butterfly (Someone who gets along with everyone
• Gang members
• Parents

Genre and Sub genre task

Teen films

Teen films is a film genre targeted at teenagers and young adults centred around the coming of age, first love, rebellion, conflict with parents, teen angst or alienation. Teen movies themes often include fun, drugs, violence, romance and  teenage optimism.


Themes:

Teen sci-fi

Teen horror

Teen drama

Teen comedy

Teen musicals

 

Genre and Sub genre task

What is a teen film?

A teen film is a film that is aimed at, and revolves around teenagers. The plot usually involves a regular teenager whose life undergoes a significant change and has to face the challenges that arise from it. The protagonist can either face these challenges by themselves, which titles such as The Amazing Spider-Man have included, or they could confront the challenges with a group of people - most likely other teens - an aspect which occurs in films like Superbad.

This poster of Superbad suggests that the protagonists are about to embark on an action-packed adventure the likes of which they have never before experienced, hence the juxtaposition of the explosion and police officers in the background in comparison to the nerdy appearances of the characters in the foreground. It also implies that they will go through the experience together as a group, rather than individually.

This poster of The Amazing Spider-Man shows the protagonist is on his own which implies that he will face his challenges by himself, as a pose to with help from other characters. The inclusion of the city in the background behind also him suggests that he has sole responsibility for its protection, thus branding him as a hero, an aspect that is bolstered by the luminous city lights surrounding him in the background.

Who watches them? 

Teenagers generally tend to watch them, as they are made in order to appeal to them as an audience. However, many adults may also be attracted to them because of the nostalgic affect that it has on them. They may also watch them because of their interest in the lives of teens of their current generation, but they may end up with a warped perspective of them because of the stereotypes that most films choose to portray as opposed to what occurs in reality.

What sub genres are common?

Common sub genres within teen films include: teen drama, teen horror, teen comedy, teen musicals and teen sci-fi. The various sub genres cover a wide spectrum of themes that appeal to different teens based on their personality and interests. Producers often exploit these personal preferences with their advertising and merchandise, which ensures that they make maximum profit after the film's release. Comedy is among the most popular sub genres of teen film. This may be because it appeals to a wide audience, as people generally enjoy laughing. It is also aided by the fact that the age ratings can range from universal to 18, thus giving it a greater potential to appeal to as much people as possible. Conversely, the sub genre of horror is restricted in terms of who is able to watch them. However it is still a successful genre as titles like: Scary Movie and Scream have demonstrated.

Audience taks 2: analysis of 3 teen movies with different audiences.

Teens

There many teens films that consists many genres of Action, Horror, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy and many more. Each of these films attract a different audience that appeals to the teenagers life experiences or life fantasies. There three films that I will compare are High School Musical, 21 Jump Street and Kidulthood.

                  High School Musical

High School Musical is a well-known teen musical which attracts mainly the younger generation. The target age would people roughly 11-15 year olds. though this film mainly attracts girls for the obvious reasons such as popular girls, good looking guys and the musical side of things, this film can also attract guys as it has the sporty element to it.

21 Jump Street

21 Jump Street is a very popular teen action film which attracts a lot of young adults aged mainly 16-19. Of these age groups, it is mainly males that are likely to be drawn to such a film; it has comedy, action and the kind of experience that most 16 year old boys wish they could be a part of. it involves highly skilled fighting and drugs being passed around in the school. As well as attracting the male species, girls may also be quite interested as the main character is Channing Tatum who is really popular with the ladies.

Kidulthood

Kidulthood is a teen drama film which has been successful in the uk. It targets Teenagers aged 16-19 as they can relate to the sort of drama happening as its corresponds with what they see or experience mainly in the streets of London. This film has a mainly male audience as they are the ones who would relate to gang crimes seen in this film.

Audience task 2: analysis of 3 teen movies with different audiences

Twilight

Twilight aims to entice the interest of teenage girls who enjoy the fantasy aspect of films. The inclusion of one of the protagonists, Robert Pattinson, also appeals to young girls as many of them see him as an attractive person. On the other hand, the film is also aimed at those who have read the book, which came out prior to the film. And in order to attract them, the director had to make the plot relatively similar to those in the novel, therefore conveying a feeling of nostalgia in them. Both original aspects from the book and new features from the director are both incorporated into the trailer, thus gaining new fans and retaining their old audience.

                                  

American pie

American Pie appeals to teenage males, as the film revolves around a prominent aspect of life for many males that age: sex. The plot involves five boys that make a pact to lose their virginities before they graduate. The film's main genre is comedy, and this aspect is exploited in the trailer through portraying common themes such as masturbation in a comical light. For example, one of the protagonists is caught masturbating with an apple pie, after being told that it has the same sensation as sexual intercourse. Aside from comedy, the film also attracts the attention of teenage boys with the amount of nudity that features throughout. This takes away from the sophistication of the plot and caters to those that prefer boobs over brain.

                                                        

Final Destination

Final Destination is a teen horror that appeals to teenagers of both genders. This is made apparent by the main group of protagonists containing both males and females. Instead, the target audience focuses on how interested people are in the horror aspect of the film, including the way in which the characters die. This aspect suggests that the film may also have a niche for people who are superstitious. The film caters to teens that are interested in horror with the gorey death scenes that take place throughout. Aspects like these may seem cheesy to adults, but teens may see them as cool.

                                                          

Audience task 2: analysis of 3 teen movies with different audiences

Twilight

Twilight is a fantasy romance teen film about a teenager who risks everything by falling in love with a vampire. The twilight trailer is aimed to appeal to teenage girls. This is partly due to the starring role of Robert Pattinson, who is viewed as attractive to many young females. The trailer also reveals a plot that entices teenage girls as it is a fantasy about a girl their age   a teen audeince by the dialogue and speech used within the film and the location/setting.

Kidulthood is a crime/drama teen film generalising the day of a typical youth in the stress of London. this appeals to a large audience in the UK as females and males are featured in the film; so all teens would be interested to see how they are viewed as perceived as. the trailer reveals the setting/location of the film swell as establishing the characters themselves.

Mean girls is a comedy teen film about a girl from Africa who moves to a school in America which is divided into two groups - cool (jocks and cheerleaders) and uncool (goths and science nerds). The trailer reveals who the main protagonist is (cady) where she is from anther journey from being in a quiet neighbourhood to a loud fierce opinionated school.