Me And My Movies

Chloe Whittle

Me and My movies

My favourite type of movies are old Hollywood movies because I like the originality of them. I choose three films that I consider my favourites and they are Some Like it HotBreakfast At Tiffany'sThe Hangover

Some Like It HotDirector- Billy Wilder

Year Of Production- 1959

Brief Synopsis-When two Chicago musicians, Joe and Jerry, witness the St. Valentine's Day massacre, they want to get out of town and get away from the gangster responsible, Spats Colombo. They're desperate to get a gig out of town but the only job they know of is in an all-girl band heading to Florida. They show up at the train station as Josephine and Daphne, the replacement saxophone and bass players. They certainly enjoy being around the girls, especially Sugar Kane Kowalczyk who sings and plays the ukulele. Joe in particular sets out to woo her while Jerry/Daphne is wooed by a millionaire, Osgood Fielding III. Mayhem ensues as the two men try to keep their true identities hidden and Spats Colombo and his crew show up for a meeting with several other crime lordsUsing Stuart Halls perception theory I can now decode films that I enjoy. I choose some like it how as a preferred because I like the humour in the film and the narrative also because Marilyn Monroe stars in it. Marilyn Monroe was one of the main reasons why I watched the film in the first place and it turns out I found it funny. I also think that Jack lemmon and Tony Curtis play a good part in the film by dressing up as women. I think the film appeals to an older generation due to the fact its in black and white and quite an old film. However Marilyn Monroe is a massive icon for teenage girls because of how she was portrayed in the media.

Star Theory-Some Like it Hot

When I see films with certain stars in them I usually go and see them. I think that films are more enjoyable to watch when you like a particular star. Some Like it hot uses star theory by making Marilyn Monroe one of the main stars. The company knew that People would go and see the film due to Marilyn starring in it. This is another way how film companies make money. Due to the Marilyn’s believable acting in the film she was nominated for many awards which made her career take off once again. Even though Marilyn was used as a sex symbol in most films including some like it hot she didn’t want to be know for that. Marilyn wanted people to value her as an actress and not as an object which is what a lot of these films made her look like.

Frameworks of interpretation• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI_lUHOCcbc

• Here is a screen shot from a scene in Some Like It Hot which was shown in the trailer. It shows Marilyn Monroe singing while Jack Lemon and Tony Lee Curtis are in the background. As you can see Marilyn Monroe is positioned in the centre of the screen suggesting that she was one of the main selling points of the film. This relates to star theory and why people would go and see the film. We can also see that there are only women on the train apart from jack and tony who are dressed as women. This could suggest that the director Billy Wilder thinks men and women are equal in ways and no ones better than the other.

• Also Marilyn Monroe is portrayed as a sex god in the film with Tony lee Curtis and jack lemon both fighting for her attention. This shows that the way women were represented in the film industry haven't changed due to must women being sexualised in films. On the second screen shot taken from when Marilyn Monroe sings we can clearly see that her dress is very see through and shows most of her chest off. This is one of the codes and conventions of a comedy which is the use of women being over sexulised.

• Another code and convention of a comedy film is shown through Jack Lemmon and Tony Lee Curtis’s characters. When watching the trailer we can see them both dressed up as women which is funny too see two men walking in heels and trying to act lady like. However Jack Lemmon's character is portrayed as the stupid while Tony's character is shown to be quite clever and cunning. This is a big convention of a comedy film.

Breakfast At Tiffany'sDirector- Blake Edwards Year Of Production- 1961Genre- Romance, comedy

Synopsis- Holly Golightly (AUDREY HEPBURN) lives in a brownstone on Manhattan's swank East Side. Totally madcap, she has a partially furnished apartment, owns a cat with no name, gets rid of the "mean reds" by visiting Tiffany's jewelry store, and is forever misplacing her door key, much to the dismay of her upstairs neighbor Mr. Yunioshi (MICKEY ROONEY), a Japanese photographer. Holly makes her living in two ways: she receive $50 from her gentlemen escorts whenever she needs powder room money, and she is paid $100 for each weekly trip she makes to Sing Sing Prison, where she visits Sally Tomato (ALAN REED), an ex-mobster. One day Paul Varjak (GEORGE PEPPARD), a young writer who is supported by an older woman nicknamed "2E" (PATRICIA NEAL), comes into Holly's life. Following one of Holly's wild cocktail parties hosted by her Hollywood agent, O.J. Berman (MARTIN BALSAM), Paul unexpectedly meets Doc Golightly (BUDDY EBSEN), a gentle Texan whom Holly married when she was only 15 years old. Holly explains to Paul that the marriage was annulled long ago, and he helps her send the heartbroken Doc away. After a day on the town together, Paul realizes that he is in love with Holly and proposes to her; but she is determined to marry José (VILALLONGA), a South American millionaire. However, when it is publicly revealed that Holly has been innocently carrying narcotics ring information from Sally Tomato to his New York associates, the stuffy José abandons her. Furious at everything and everyone, Holly kicks Cat out of her taxicab into the rain and decides to leave town for Brazil, but Paul lectures her and then goes out to find Cat. Holly realizes how much she is giving up and races through the wet New York streets to a happy reunion with Paul and Cat

By using Stuart Halls perception theory I class this movie and a preferred film which means I agree with what the films message is and I understand it. I think Breakfast a Tiffany's is such a meaningful film which makes it more enjoyable to watch. The fact that Holly believe she doesn’t deserved to be loved and therefore runs from anyone begins to show her that they care shows how deep this films message is. Holly's personality is also shown through the cat in the film. The fact that the cat doesn’t have a name and is just named Cat shows the Holly believes that she's incapable of loving so when she finally realises what she's missing at the end makes it all that much more emotional.

I think the film also uses star theory to a great extent by using the famous classy actress Audrey Hepburn who fits the role perfectly. Breakfast At Tiffany's became one of Audrey's biggest and more popular films and kicked off her acting career. Audrey had already appeared in movies before hand and had therefore gained a fan base through them. Her fans then would go and watch breakfast at tiffany's due to her starring in it. However Marilyn Monroe was first considered for the role however the company went for Audrey which was due to her personality and acting fit the character more. Also in the film Audrey sings a song called Moon River which also became a massive success and gave the film star even more credit for her amazing performance in the film.

Frameworks of interpretation• https://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=urQVzgEO_w8

• Throughout the film trailer we can hear romantic music playing in the background which tells the audience it’s a romantic film. Its also one of the many codes and conventions of a roncom due to fact it makes it more emotional too watch with music playing in the background.

• Another code and convention of a romantic film is a dramatic kiss at the end when the couple finally get together. This is shown in this screen I took from the trailer which is one of the most famous moments of the film.

The HangoverDirector-Todd Phillips

Year Of Production-2009

Brief Synopsis- Two days before his wedding with the wealthy Tracy Garner, Doug Billings travels to his bachelor party in Las Vegas with his best friends, the school teacher Phil Wenneck and the dentist Stu Price, and Tracy's unconventional brother Alan Garner. Tracy's father lends his convertible Mercedez Benz that is his pride and joy to Doug with many recommendations. The quartet rents the best suite in the Caesar's Palace and they go to the roof to celebrate. Alan proposes a toast to Doug and they drink his booze. On the next morning, Phil, Stu and Alan have a hangover and they do not recall what they did last night; the room is upside down; Doug is missing; there is a baby in the wardrobe; a tiger in the bedroom; a chicken in the room; Stu has a missing tooth; and Doug is missing. The trio tries to track down last night to find what happened and sooner they discover that Stu married the stripper Jade (heather Graham) and Alan has spiked their booze with "Good Morning, Cinderella" in the beginning of their crazy night

Using Stuart Halls Perception theory once again Id rate this as a preferred movie due to the humour in the film and how it makes very obvious jokes. I think the film looks at the funny side of getting drunk and makes fun of it and also the way some men behave on a stag do. However some people could argue that even though it’s a comedy it shouldn’t be making light out of a serious topic.

The movie also uses star theory to gain an audience by starring Bradley Cooper and Zach

IntertextualityWhen watching a film I never look for Intertextuality or notice it unless its very obvious in what film they are trying to copy. One film I did notice that does have Intertextuality is the Hangover. When I saw the front cover on the DVD it reminded me of the film Three men and a baby due to both films featuring three men looking after a baby. As you can see both promotional posters are very similar to one another which promotes both films if the audience is watching either one of them.

Frameworks of interpretation• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhFVZsk3XEs

• This is a trailer from the move The Hangover which another one of my favourite comedy films. If we take a look at the trailer we can see a lot of the codes and conventions that comedy films include including the characters personalities. For example all comedy films contain a stupid, normal and clever character. At 0.10 we can tell that the character Alan on screen is the stupid character by the way he's dressed and the way he talks . Phil who's shown at 0.32 is portrayed as the normal character and Stu who's the clever one 0.20. You can tell the characters personalities by the way they act and how they are dressed as I have mentioned before.

• At 0.49 we can see that there is a tiger in the shot which is also a code and convention of a comedy film. Due to the fact that there's a tiger being used suggests that something bad but funny's going to happen due to tigers being dangerous creatures which are found in the wild. It also a very unexpected creature to found in a movie which is entitled the Hangover.

Media literacy- How I heard about films

To see what films are up and coming I usually check the popular film website IMDB http://www.imdb.com/. I find this a very useful website to find out about films.I also tend to read the online newspaper Daily Mail for updates for any movies that are being released. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.htmlSocial Networking is also another great source to check for any movies. I tend to use twitter a lot more over Facebook due to person preferences.

Active SpectatorshipActive Spectatorship is the relationship between the audience and the film and the reactions the films get out of people and how they tend to vary. The directors and producers know full well that their films will receive different reactions out of people. For example a cult following for Star Wars would have a different reaction to the film than an average person would do. This is because some people get very attached to films to the point where even minor details become very important. Therefore the message that the films trying to give off can be perceived in many different ways.