Semiotics Assigment
The Semiotic analysis of gridiron gang would suggest that the imagery relates to an urban crime film. This can also be seen from the narrative perspective as well. Firstly, the denotation can be seen by the writing on the right hand side, which says ‘One goal. A second chance.’ However, the connotation of this quote could possibly imitate the lifestyle of the young boys and how hard there life is. From looking at the quote in more depth I believe that the movie is based on a group of young men who could be related in gangs and nothing positive has come out of what each of these young men are involved in. By identifying this makes me believe the second chance In the quote can be clarifying that the young men are looking on rugby for their way out and to make a difference in their life. Secondly, I can also see these young football players, who are enclosed in the frame of Dwayne Johnson’s body. However , the connotations on this poster is firstly, looking at Dwayne Johnson, shows to me that he is the main character, and shows that he is very supportive and it looks like he wants to change the lives of the young football team and to improve the society of others. I personally think this poster shows Dwayne Johnson as a counselor or someone with authority, who helps the young individuals. Thirdly, I personally believe that these young men have all had a hard upbringing, and look on the streets as the easier option. This could be influences in drugs, money, gangs and violence etc. I believe from this photo that Dwayne Johnson is trying to change the life experience of the young boys because he was influenced and went through the same when he was around there age. I realized this from the way his face is positioned. It’s like his whole face is telling a story but also from the perspective of his upbringing. Lastly, by seeing the picture at the bottom of two young men holding hands look like to me, they both could have been enemies, or rivals and have finally built a bond, or some type of friendship because of rugby.
The semiotic analysis of Set it off would suggest that the imagery relates to an urban crime/action film. In this poster, I can see 4 black women, which dominate the whole movie. Secondly, I firstly began to realize quotes which say, ‘it’s about crime. It’s about payback. It’s about survival’. Thirdly, it also says on the left hand side of the poster ‘Extravagantly action packed’. And lastly, at the bottom left hand side of the poster, I also notice 2 police cars. By recognizing what I see in the poster can be identified as the denotation. Firstly, the connotations of this movie can firstly be by recognizing the 4 black women, which shows me that they dominate the movie and that it is evolved around them and I personally believe around their lives. Furthermore, I think this movie is based around there life being a struggle, and a fight for survival. From looking at this poster it shows me that these 4 women go through a tough time. This can also be seen by the background which is very dark and obscure. On the
Genre Analysis Assigment
Crime and Action
This report is about 2 film genres, which are: crime and action. It will be looking at the history of both genres. Most importantly, this report will be discussing how the themes of both genres have changed as society has changed and finally the codes and conventions of both.
Firstly, the narrative in the crime genre often highlights the life of a crime figure or a crime victim. It also mainly demonstrates the glorify rise and fall of a particular criminal gang, bank robber, or conflict with law and order figures. Crime films are usually set in large crowded cities, which provide a view of the secret world of the criminal. Crime films are usually based in dark nightclubs, or on the streets. Most crime films involved gangsters who are usually materialistic, street smart and self-destructive. Secondly, action stories in this genre often show tremendous impact and continuous high energy and Lots of physical stunts. This film genre often includes the protagonist or protagonists ending up in a series of challenges that typically include violence. Action films always include chase scenes, races and rescues. It could be argued that crime and action can be compared in different ways. However research shows that action comes across as more of a faster pace, and does not always has someone that dies. Whereas in a crime film someone always gets killed and it comes across that crime films are slower. In addition to this, crime films are more of a mystery than action Moving on, the themes and conventions of an action movie mainly start off in a town where everything is appearing to be okay. This can be identified as the equilibrium. Secondly, an Action movie does create a lot of special effects. This is done to create a bigger impact on the audience. Lighting in action films can also come across as danger being very dark and mysterious. Then the camera angles can show the characters from a different angle. This can be shown to emphasize the power of protagonist or protagonists. However, the codes and conventions in British crime films are more portrayed as the protagonist being male, they also show in British crimes the use of guns and weapons and lastly the police always attempting to arrest or intimidate the main protagonist. Furthermore, many British crime films emphasize on the realist side of life. For example most British crime movies portray the characters with very little money. For example, the British crime movie 1 day. This movie shows the controversial topics of gang related gun crime in Birmingham. The movie 1 Day mainly follows 24 hours in the life of Flash, an inner-city hustler whose day steadily gets worse when he finds out local gang leader Angel is being released from prison and wants his £500k he left with him for safekeeping. However, in American crime films they are more focused on the American dream. American films usually have a big budget compared to English films. American films also offer the audience a sense of escapism; this is because unlike British films American films do not show the harsh struggles in reality. For example in the American crime movie Set it off, it centers on the lives of four L.A. friends facing the difficulties of being poor, black and female, and eventually fighting against the system that oppresses them. Throughout the film the young females begin to rob banks and notice that they were successful each time and continued it. However the females started to attract an obsessive detective. The reason why I have chosen Set it off as the movie example is because it shows how crime and action movies have changed as society has changed. On the other hand, this movie reflects on how the status of women has changed in society. Traditionally, protagonists in crime movies would have been seen mainly by powerful male figures. For instance in the 1920s crime films where very basic and were focused on males with swords. Secondly, in the 1950s action films where more concentrated on the cold war which was very political. Moving on, the 1960s was very similar to the 1950s. This was shown by both focusing on cold war. However the 1960s more focused on the change in the cold war. This can be demonstrated by women being perceived as looking a certain way which was seen to be beautiful. However in the 1960s as society changed the rules for women changed as well. This was presented by women being able to take the pill. Therefore, by this taking place, it was making the rules for women and men fairer. In the 1970s movies where also focused on the cold war but where mainly looking at the focus on Americans disliking Russia. Last but not least the 1980s and 2000 movies where mainly emphasizing diversity with women, black and white people etc. and the 2000 movies where more focused on technical. I conclude that crime and action movies have changed as society has changed. Furthermore, I believe the change is better. This is for the reason that the way these movie have changed, show equal right to men and woman of all r aces. It shows how the opinion of women has changed as society’s changed. Last but not least it’s demonstrated how women have the exact equal rights as men and equal opportunities.
http://www.filmsite.org/crimefilms.html http://www.slideshare.net/subhaajit20paul/the-gangster-film-genre?next_slideshow http://www.slideshare.net/jenmcnulty/crime-and-gangster-films http://www.slideshare.net/aashley79/crime-dramas-4153853
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBYiVoNwzQo
The following extract I have chosen is from the movie Straight Outta Compton which appears at the stage in the narrative of the disequilibrium. Straight Outta Compton first appears to be a straightforward rages to riches story about five young black men who strive to make the world a better place. They done this by translating their experiences growing up into brutal honest music that rebelled against abusive authority. Furthermore the 5 men combined together and began to create music out of racial frustration towards the authority. They done this by giving an explosive voice to a silenced generation.
However the scene I’ve selected is firstly showing the 5 men standing outside of the studio in Compton California conversing, where the police appeared supposedly asking questions. This was because the police portrayed the 5 young men as gang members. The Use of miseenscene is analyzed in the scene as well. Firstly, the use of the crane shot allows us to look down on the event which is beginning to be unfolded. This gives a break of intensity instead of it being a hand held close up. By seeing this, it can come across to the viewer that there is a Build-up of momentum. On the other hand, the way the crane shot was angled, can come across to the viewer that the protagonist’s fate is looking down on them. Crane shots are mainly used throughout films which are going through a disequilibrium stage, and are more used in scenes which are included in helicopters. A helicopter is like a particularly flexible sort of crane, it can go anywhere, keep up with anything, move in and out of a scene, and convey real drama and excitement. On the other hand using a crane shot at this time in the movie could be trying to get a realistic feel to the sequence which is one of confrontation.
As this movie is set in Compton California the dress code was associated in their position in society. This can be seen as clothes being very baggy and strictly 2 types of colors, black or white. Black and white can symbolize power, elegance, death and mystery. On the other hand, Black is a mysterious color associated with fear which can usually have a negative connotation. By this being identified on the young males, it can come across to the authority that they are being associated with gangs, or some type of violence etc. Missenses of the gangster film Straight out Of Compton is an urban genre which is set within the city. These 5 men have the iconicity of the gang style, and this comes across with their jewelry and flagrant weapons, which the group has been seen with. Moreover, they are also seen with gold chunky jewelry which can be seen around there neck or wrist. By the young men having chunky jewelry can symbolize to the viewers that these 5 men have money, and have a type of status which they have to maintain and straight away, it’s a stereotype. Furthermore, the way there jewelry is observed can come across as part of their uniform. In this clip you can also identify jerry curls on two of the males which can show how old school the movie is. In addition, we can also recognize the police, which have the blue American style police uniform. However as the young men have a particular type of style, this can also identify to the audience that the dress code they have is related to who they are and can also show that they have a distinctive style to dress.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nz2p5nk-X-E
The last extract I will be discussing is from the movie Menace to society. This movie starts off at the stage of the equilibrium and develops into the disequilibrium. Menace to society is about two young men growing up in the gang lifestyle, which is set in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. This film is narrated by 18 year old boy called Caine who is perceived in the movie as a drug dealer and car thief who lives with his religious grandparents. However Caine is the type of boy who is influenced by his friends and does not like to let his friends down. Especially his best friend O-Dog who is a vicious thug hunted by the police. However throughout the movie Caine decides to stop being a young street hustler and attempts to escape the rigors and temptations of the ghetto in a quest for a better life, when he meets a girl.
This extract shows 2 young men, which go by the name Caine and O – Dog and walk into the convenient store which is set in Los Angeles. The two men where conversing to buy alcohol. This was the stage of the equilibrium. This was because there was no issue which occurred. During this extract, the shop keepers portrayed them and thought they were going to cause trouble in the shop. This caused the two young men to act aggressively in the scene. Secondly, during this extract O- dog took out a flagrant weapon and killed both of the shop owners and stole the money in the till. This happened because the shop owner mentioned O-Dogs mother during the scene. After he mentioned O-dogs mother it caused a big issue, and resulted in the stage of the disequilibrium.
The missenses was seen through this extract. This was shown when the young black males came across as fairly intimidating, due to the language they used and the way in which they were dressed. In particular, this can be showed by the two males having there jeans bellow there buttocks. The fact that they were buying and drinking the alcohol before paying for it made them come across as troublesome. This was observed to the shop keepers that they are gangsters, or involved in that particular lifestyle. This can be identified by also the way they were walking, which can be associated as a gangster walk.
Furthermore, the use of the medium shot in this extract can be used to portray the audience’s everyday perception of people. This shot can also be done to introduce more of the background of the scene. Secondly, the pan camera movement can be identified in the scene to show the reactions of each of the protagonists when conversing. Furthermore, the use of the close up in this extract shows very little background. This shot shows the importance of the expression on the women’s face. The close up takes us into the mind of the women character. However, in reality individuals only let people that they really trust get that close to their face. For example, mothers, children and lovers. On the other hand, a film-maker may have used this shot to make the audience feel extra comfortable or extremely uncomfortable about the 2 young men.
