What is a thriller?

Dexter Opening Credits Re-make

We were asked to re-create the opening credits for Dexter in which we had to use to following props:

• A kitchen stove/Hob
• A frying pan, plate, cutlery
• Bacon/Meat 
• Pack of eggs
• A coffee cafftiere/plunger thing...
• A thin white T-shirt
• An orange
• A sharp knife
• Shoelaces
• A hand razor & Toilet Roll
• Fake blood/tomato ketchup

Taken Spoiler

Taken stars Liam Neeson as Bryan Mills; a father who wishes for a closer relationship with his daughter, Grace; he earns money by working for a Central intelligence agency, which instigates his over protective attitude when concerning Grace. Grace wants to go abroad with her best friend but to persuade her father to agree, pretends that it is a school trip- however when he finds out, it is too late to stop her from boarding the plane. Grace is an innocent teenager that has not yet grasped the concept to not trust strangers- this is what spirals the world she is familiar with into the unknown that will change her life forever. Bryan Mills sets on a mission to rescue his daughter that has been kidnapped by slave traders; the road is long and viscous yet he overcomes every obstacle due to his motivation and love for his daughter. It also tells a message to the audience about what happens everyday around the world and that sometimes there is a wish for someone to rescue them just like what this film portrays; it is a hope many girls, women and children hold onto. 

The characters are portrayed through their clothes which can be used as representations: the slave traders are dressed in dirty, grimy looking clothes which represent what they do for a living; Bryan is dressed well in designer jeans and shirts at the beginning of the movie but when he sets off to find and rescue Grace he does not change his clothes, other than disguises he needs, which conveys how he will not stop for anything until he finds her; and Grace is dressed in young, bright colours which emphasises her innocence. In my opinion the film is 4 out of 5 stars as it has the correct setup and mise-en-scene to associate with the thriller genre.

Napoleon Dynamite Titles

We were set a task in Media to re-create the titles from the movie 'Napoleon Dynamite'. We had to incorporate our names into the titles in a way that is creative and interesting, just like in 'Napoleon Dynamite'. Here are the titles for my re-make of the original 'Napoleon Dynamite' movie:

Camera Shots

For this task, we were asked to recreate different camera angles in a scene. For example, in our clip we used camera angles to show a conversation between two people.

Male Representation- FAST & FURIOUS

The representation of the images in this clip comes from Sigmund Freud's theory that states the nearly all psychological problems are because of sexual issues. For example, in this clip there lots of use of phallic imagery which could mean that these men have psychological problems that are mostly because of the insecurities they have sexually about themselves.

From first glance, we can see that the two characters are very different to each from the difference in their cars. Vin Diesel, the older man, has a car with a rough exterior and it's older compared to the younger man, Walker's car, which is sleek and modern. In contrast, the tops they're wearing are different to the cars they're driving, for example, with Vin Diesel he's driving a masculine car yet he's wearing a white top which shows innocence and purity. This could hint that Vin Diesel is the protagonist. Walker, could be the antagonist because he's wearing a black top and that could show that he has something to hide.

Theses pictures show the reflection of Walker's car in Vin Diesel's car which shows Vin Diesel's reminiscing of his past life of when he was younger. The first time this happens is at the beginning when the two characters are waiting at the traffic light, and again when Walker catches up with Vin Diesel. Which again could symbolise Vin Diesel's past life catching up with him. 

These two images above are supposed to represent phallic imagery, such as the first image where Vin Diesel manoeuvres his car to ride on its two back wheels in order to show male dominance. And again when the two cars manage to the cross the train track Vin Diesel's car is higher in the air than Walker's car which could again assert his male dominance.

The first image above shows the two cars waiting at the traffic light and their reflection in the green traffic before it lights up. This could be a hint to the other image that is seen of the green truck that Vin Diesel crashes into to. Another hint could be that they're referring to when you see green, it means your jealous, so that could be referring to Vin Diesel's jealousy of the other younger man, Walker.

These images show the struggle that Vin Diesel's car is under in order to keep up with Walker's car, who didn't struggle with the race in terms of what the condition was like in the end. The first image shows Vin Diesel's engine breaking down, after that smoke billows from his car, which could be in relation to his own life and the breakdown of his own life and the struggle he has had to deal with.

Representation of Men and Women

Mad Men clip :- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxZ3A9giyIo

This clip was an advertisement for a US show called Mad Men. it features an announcement to women on tips how to have 'success' in the workplace. The style of it would've been offensive to the modern day women if it wasn't for the sarcastic tone of the announcer which helped to advertise the show as it represented what it was all about; inequality for women in US, 1960.

1. Does it go against the stereotype? No, women are seen as frail, stay at home wives.
2. Why are they being represented like this? To fit the stereotypes of what men thought of women back then, it goes with the theme and genre of the 1960's.

Women

• loose
• thick
• to be looked at
• exposed

Men

• in control
• powerful
• concealed
• persuasive

HOMEWORK:-

To create an Mad Men avatar:-