Me and My Movies

By Megan Robinson

Genre: Romantic Comedy Pretty Woman When Harry Met Sally He’s Just Not That Into You

Pretty WomanReleased: 23rd March 1990Certificate: 15Directed: Garry MarshallRunning Time: 125 minutesPlot: Vivian Ward has found a way of living by working as a prostitute on Hollywood Boulevard. When she runs into the prince of her dreams, who comes along on his wild horse, at first she doesn’t recognise him as her saviour. The prince, a ruthless and wealthy businessman whose name of Edward Lewis, does not know that she could be more than just a girl from the sidewalk, but he changes his decision after the first night with the beautiful stranger. Because she is the first person in a long time who could surprise him, Edward can slowly see the light at the end of the tunnel. He is on his way to becoming a better person, whereas Vivian has got a new chance to start over again.

When Harry Met SallyReleased: 14th July 1989Certificate: 15Directed: Rob ReinerRunning Time: 96 minutesPlot: Harry and Sally meet when she gives him a ride to New York after they both graduate from the University of Chicago. The film jumps through different parts of their lives as they both search for love, but fail, bumping into each other over and over again. Finally a close friendship develops between them, and they both like having a friend from a different gender. But then they are confronted with the problem: "Can a man and a woman be friends, without sex getting in the way?"

He’s Just Not That Into YouReleased: 6th February 2009Certificate: 12Directed: Ken KwapisRunning Time: 129 minutesPlot: In Baltimore, five women and four men try to sort out the signals that the sexes exchange. Gigi imagines every man she meets is ‘Mr Right’; she gets reality checks from Alex, a sweet but cynical saloon keeper. Janine and Ben seem happily married until he chats with Anna in a market checkout line; meanwhile Anna is indifferent to the pursing Connor. Neil and Beth have been together seven years; she dumps him when she realises he really isn't going to marry her. Does he love her? And Mary sells advertising while searching on line for a man. Will those in love stay in love? Will those searching figure out who is and who isn't into them? Are men all that different from women?

Chosen GenreThe reason I have chosen the romantic comedy genre is because I really like a love story. When I watch this genre of films, from the narrative I always know that the characters start off not liking each other but end up getting know each other depending on what situation is. They end up going on dates and things always go wrong that it is not right but at the end they always fall in love. This is part of the ideological message also because it always has a happy ending and shows that opposites attract each other. Mostly in these types of films the characters are always completely different to each other. I like this genre because most of the time the story is predictable and this is what I enjoy. I also like quite a lot of the stars that are in romantic comedies because they make me laugh, I have discussed star theory later on in my presentation.

IntertextualityIntertextuality is the shaping of a text’s meaning by another text. I have discussed some intertextuality that has influenced me to watch my chosen films.‘He’s Just Not That Into You’, this film reminded me of an episode of ‘Sex and the City’ and I also researched it and found there was a self-help manual that was called, ‘He’s Just Not That Into You’. These three texts seem similar because they all cover men and women of different ages who are discovering mysteries in their relationships. This type of story is interesting to me because it shows the battles relationships can go through.Another example of intertextuality that I like is related to ‘Love Actually’ because both films have a large number of A-list actors that all somehow relate to each other in the storyline. This is a good thing about both films and is a strong part of making me want to watch ‘He’s Just Not That Into You’. ‘When Harry Met Sally’ , this has a popular storyline that I like to watch in films. It looks at how friends battle and struggle down the path of falling in love. It is very similar to the ‘Notebook’ because it shows an on/off, long distance relationship. This creates a sense of emotion in me whilst watching and the narrative is definitely a massive influence in me choosing this film.In ‘Pretty Woman’, there is intertextuality which is similar to ‘When Harry Met Sally’ because they are both deemed to be from the new romance genre they are said to relate to older types of love. I like this because I think it is traditional and makes a good narrative. ‘Pretty Woman’ also has intertextuality to the film ‘Pretty in Pink’ because they are similar in the subjects they cover. The woman in both films are represented as being dependent on man and being quite vulnerable. This is therefore creating an unrealistic view of the way woman are in today’s society. This is one aspect that does not attract me to watch the film because it is not the same as what happens today.

Star TheoryStar Theory covers stars as a person, they are ordinary people in the beginning but are made into stars by the film industry so that they can make profit. They are created around aspects that audiences can relate to, so therefore in the romantic comedy genre it is things like role models that then become an idol to the target audience. They sometimes provide people in society with an idea of what people are supposed to be like.

Star Theory is important to me because certain stars stand out in the romantic comedy genre, these stars are people such as Julia Roberts, Cameron Diaz, Katherine Heigl, Zac Efron, Adam Sandler, Hugh Grant, etc... These are all well-established actors that are in films that I have watched and enjoyed. I have watched these films because I have been attracted to them due to the characters played by these stars. I feel I can trust them to play the character I expect which is one that will make me laugh but with a romantic twist to it.

Another star is Seth Rogen, he is slightly different to the characters mentioned above because he has been in some romantic comedies and this has persuaded me to watch them, because he likes to be a rebel and stand out from the norm. He is different and has a quirky style that makes him interesting to watch. I also enjoy watching Seth Rogen in the comedy genre that is not necessarily a romantic one and this is another reason why I would watch a film with him in.

Frameworks of Interpretation:Pretty Woman

Codes and Convention: Keeps to normal convention expected of a romantic comedy e.g. an attractive man and woman meet, fall out and then they fall in love. There are some humorous moments in the film.Setting: Los Angeles – Rich and famous, glamorous hotel. Hollywood Boulevard, expensive shops, big business.Character: Vivian Ward – a prostitute who wears skimpy clothes and completely changes to become an elegant sophisticated woman although she is still a prostitute. Uses as a job but longs to get of it and have a normal life. Edward Lewis – successful businessman, ruthless. Spending time with Vivian, changes him and he surprises himself as to how soft he becomes.Themes: Love, friendship, prejudice, power.Narrative: Edward, businessman meets Vivian, a prostitute. They have a business arrangement and they end up falling in love. You can see the changes in Vivian as the trailer goes along, she becomes more sophisticated. Iconography: Los Angeles, Hollywood suggests fame and power and stardom.Ideological Message: Love overcomes barriers. Good triumphing over evil.

Frameworks of Interpretation:When Harry Met Sally

Codes and Convention: romantic comedy conforms to genre. It shows more romance and difficulties the characters face. Setting: New York, house, party, bookstore, airport.Character: Sally – looks like a businesswoman, quite serious, focussed.Harry – looks like a businessman, quite immature, quite vulnerable. Themes: Love, conflict, friendshipNarrative: Sally and Harry have a very relaxed friendship and are clearly attracted to each other. But it’s not that simple but they end up together. Iconography: New York Skyline, Manhattan Bridge, yellow taxi, lamppost, big apartment.Ideological Message: Love is a struggle.

Frameworks of Interpretation:He’s Just Not That Into You

Codes and Convention: It is definitely romantic comedy because it shows the problems that relationships can have and how people get through them.Setting: Office, bar, swimming pool, bedroom, park, house, boat, shop.Character: There are a lot of different characters then the women come across as desperate women and the men don’t seems to care. Themes: Love, romance, friendship.Narrative: Women expect more from the men because they think that if a man is mean to you then he likes you. However this doesn’t seem right from the men’s point of view.Iconography: Large pavements, large spacious apartment, open plan office.Ideological Message: Meaning what you say without saying what you mean.

Media LiteracyMedia Literacy is how the film is seen and where I see it to make me want to watch it. For me the main area of literacy is at the cinema whilst watching other films I will see a trailer for a film and then go and see it another time. I like that when going to see a film of a certain genre they will have trailers that are similar to that genre because then I don’t have to research films I enjoy as they are all presented to me.I also see trailers on Facebook or recommendations from my friends via social networking sites. Sometimes I read magazine and these advertise the trailers but this is not very often for me. If there is a film I might be interested in then I will have a look on the cinema website such as Odeon and watch the trailer on there.

Reception TheoryReception theory is how we react to films based upon our age, gender, ethnicity, social class and cultural background. Theorist Stuart Hall said there were three ways you can see films. Preferred is when you like the film. Negotiated is where they don’t agree with the text but they understand the meaning but don’t particularly like it. They have mixed feelings. Oppositional is when they disagree completely with it.

Independence Day is one of my preferred films because of my upbringing and cultural background and I am interested in history and wars. Also I really enjoyed the narrative because it makes sense. There is also star theory which is Will Smith, I like him because of my age and I was brought up seeing lots of his film and his T.V. programme where he is hero or he is funny.

Active Spectatorship TheoryActive spectatorship is very similar to reception theory because it says that each viewer will view a film for a different reason. It also relates to FANDOM which is where the audience of that genre of film take it as their own such as creating a fan club or a twitter page related to that genre. Here are some examples I have found relating to active spectatorship:http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/romantic-comedy https://www.facebook.com/pages/Romantic-Comedies/76311866708

The three films I have looked at all have their own fan club pages, the links to these are below:http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/pretty-woman http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/when-harry-met-sallyhttp://www.fanpop.com/clubs/hes-just-not-that-into-you

Active spectatorship also takes into account the viewing experiences before and after the film, because things like a marketing campaign can make a film look fantastic but then viewers can be disappointed afterwards as it was not as they expected. An example of this is ‘About Time’ this was marketed as a romantic comedy but according to the article below it seems much more than that as it has a deeper story, therefore viewers may not have expected this.http://www.tcnjsignal.net/2013/12/04/%E2%80%98about-time%E2%80%99-not-just-a-romantic-comedy/