Fantasy

Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (2002) – Directed by Peter Jackson

Synopsis – Frodo Baggins is continuing his quest to destroy the one ring which will destroy Sauron forever, however, he is lead there by Gollum who wants nothing more than the one ring. Aragon, Legolas and Gimli are trying to rescue the hobbits that were taken from them by Saruman’s Uruk-Hai but what they find will change all of Middle Earth forever. The Hobbits that were taken by Uruk-Hai finally escape their grasp but are they in more danger by treading into the old forest of Fangorn?

Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) – Directed by George Lucas

Synopsis – The galaxy in a state of civil war and a rebel ship has stolen the plans for a deadly weapon which belongs to the Empire who have an imperial star cruiser on their tail. The rebel ship is taken onboard and all the troopers are killed except for the supposed ‘Rebel Leader’ Princess Leia who has sent two droids with the empires weapon plans to the planet Tatooine, Princess Leia is then kidnapped by the Dark Sith Lord Darth Vader. The droids are found by Luke Skywalker who then gets found Old Ben Kenobi. With the plans they go on an adventure to save the galaxy from the Empires secret weapon, ‘The Death Star’.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) - Directed by Gore Verbinski

Synopsis – Blacksmith Will Turner teams up with eccentric pirate Captain Jack Sparrow to save his love, the governor's daughter, from Jack's former pirate allies, who are now undead, thanks to a cursed chest of 882 pieces of Aztec Gold that they stole, their ultimate goal in their undead life is to become mortal again.

The factors that attract me to the Fantasy genre are actors, story and special effects. Ian Mckellen who was Gandalf the White in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers helped influence my decision to watch it because he is a well known actor and because Ian Mckellen is an old actor who has been in films such as Gods and Monsters and Richard the 3rd, he would be perfect for an old, wise character.

Also, the story of Star Wars: A New Hope keeps you asking questions

from the start of the film, such as, why is a spaceship flying away from the empire?, What planet is Princess Leia a princess of? and what’s under Darth Vader’s mask?

The main star of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black

Pearl was Johnny Depp who has been in a few successful films in the past such as, Sleepy Hollow (1999) and Edward Scissorhands (1990), having him in a film about pirates wouldn’t be a problem for Johnny Depp as most of the roles he has played were very different and they varied. The Special effects of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl keeps me watching because of the special effects used on the zombie pirates as they look realistic when they are in the moonlight. The story of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl keeps you interested as it makes you want to know how pirates became zombies and why they are after golden coin.

What attracts me to a genre?

How do I find out about my films?

I find out about the films I watch via a variety of ways; television trailers are screened throughout the day on most channels, advertisements in magazines, newspapers and flyers around major cities, trailers being advertised on websites, such as, EMPIRE, YouTube and Facebook. Another way I find out about films is from word of mouth of my family and friends and people who are involved in films on television. Putting these advertisement on these places keep us well informed on what films are coming out, who are in the films and what the films are about.

Intertextuality Intertextuality is used in the fantasy genre in a

few ways it is where films make references to other films of that genre, for example, in the film series of Indiana Jones the character “Indiana Jones” is based on the old adventure films from the 1930’s, all of the characters in these films were the exact same hat as Indiana Jones and got into bad situations with old artefacts.

Another example of Intertextuality would be

the character “Han Solo” in the Star Wars franchise, the character Han Solo was based on the gunslingers in the old western films in the 1930’s, Han wore a belt with his blaster holder on it, wore a sleeveless blazer and big boots, paying homage to the cowboys in the 1930’s films.

Star Theory Star theory has been used in

fantasy films a lot of times, star theory is where you get certain celebrities to play certain roles because of their past performances or to make their film look more appealing to the audience.

An example of this would be using is using Johnny Depp was the main character in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films as he has been in a lot of very popular films, such as, Edward Scissorhands (1990), Finding Neverland (2004) and Ed Wood (1994).

Reception Theory Reception theory is were an

audience watches something and then they relate to it in their every day life. It is used in fantasy so the audience can decide what’s right and what’s wrong. An example of reception theory would be in “Star Wars” the emperor wants to kill everyone and rule the universe, the audience would then be able to easily decide with their own values what’s wrong with what the emperor is planning and that a protagonist would have to step up in the film and in real life with smaller situations.