genre film case studies

• genre- action comedy

Films I have chosen- rush hour - 1998 and 21 jump street 2012

Rush hour- opening sequence

Setting: the start of the film is based on a dock in China, where they are offloading containers off a boat which has been delivered from another country, the docks look very lonely, meaning no one can see what they are doing because it could be illegal and you can see the fog and steam from the boat, which means something big is about to go down either from a fight or a big drug deal.

Characters- the characters from the opening sequence look Asian meaning this could be set in a foreign country, and they look like they are fed up from working at the docks, this could meaning they are working forcefully by the main villain in the film. As soon as the intro sequence is about to finish you can the main character pop out of a hiding place.

Audience Response: In the opening sequence the audience will be asking questions on whats happening at the docks, also seeing the workers being forced to do the work when they clearly dont want to do it, making the audience feel sorry for them, as soon as Jackie Chan enters the scene the audience will already know something is about to go down between the workers and Jackie Chan.

Iconography: in rush hour the villains are wearing black to symbolise power, meaning in the film they have power over the workers, also the villains could be smoking which is mostly used in action comedy by the villains. The heroes are mostly the stealthy characters and the most strategic in battle.

21 Jump street - opening sequence

Setting: the setting looks to be set in America, I know this by the school bus and the way the school looks and also there uniform, its looks like a calm setting with no disruption, the genre convention of comedy and action is used in this scene because most American films which are ever comedy or action or both start off at schools, city buildings or houses.

Characters: one character is a well known funny guy, whilst the other character is a very shy and nervous guy when talking to girls. the other students dont pay attention on whats just happened, except the main characters and the girl he was talking to. 

Audience response: in the opening sequence Eminem - not so slim shady is playing meaning the audience could have an understanding that the person they are following through the camera could look like Eminem or be a big fan and try to act like him, with the clothing and looks.

Iconography: The nerdy looking character has all the characteristics of a nerdy person- braces full backpack and hair. on the other hand the  cool character has his friends with him, no bag, long hair and a football jacket, meaning he is a very popular guy. Also you can see the Yellow school bus which is very stereo typical in american high school films.