Storylines and plot blog- how are binary oppositions established in teen film openings?

Binary Oppositions In Teen Films

A binary opposition is a pair of related terms or concepts that have opposite in meanings.

Binary opposition is an arrangement by which, in language and thought, two theoretical opposites are strictly defined and set off against one another. For example; Up and down, On and off. 

Binary oppositions help to structure a film.

In most teen movies, there are some mutral binary opposition these are usallly shown stereotypically through the personalityies of different characters such as beautiful against ugly or popular again unpopular or even rich again the poor. A binary oppositions are used to keep a storyline moveing forward as it creates an impression of drama in the film, due to the audience seeing oppersites against each ther and the outcomes/solutions from it.

Twilight Trailer

In the beginning of twilight, there are a few binary oppositions that are established such as;

• As boy vs girl trough showing though Bella and Edward

•  Able and disabled is also shown through Jacobs dad and Jacob and Bella is shown to exaggerated through her looking down upon him.

Other oppositions that are shown is popular vs unpopular and hot, sunny environment vs dull, brown environment.

My Opinions ....

Last week I decided to watch two films which were 'The Hunger Games; Catching Fire' and 'Percy Jackson and the sea of monsters.' These films both have the same target audience as i would say , as both of them are about fantasy and adventure with up coming characters of the same generation.

These two films caught my attention as they have risk and danger in it.

Also the excitement and the suspension to it makes me want to be at the edge of my seat as i am so drawn into so much that i dont want to stop watching it.

Things like this make a good film and could be a reason for teen movies been an attraction for young adults and teenagers as they'd want to be watching something they enjoy and have something to talk about later not something where they'd watch then forget about it.

Holiday Task-Boyz 'N' The Hood

Boyz 'N' The Hood

Boyz 'N' The Hood is a 1991 American neighbourhood drama set in America, Los Angeles. The film is based upon young black males growing up in a rough area which is surrounded by gangs, guns, violence, drugs and harrasment by the police. The film is mostly aimed at males of Black ethnicity. However, it can be enjoyed by many as it is reality and many could relate to the events that are brought up in the film. We can see that this is a film aimed at African American males by the facts stated in the trailer..'One out of Twenty-One Black American Males will be murdered in their lifetime'. This has immediately given the audience the plot of the film and what it will be based upon.






Trailer:

From the trailer and watching the film, there are many stereotypes and binary oppositions that could be brought up. To begin, when the trailer begins, there are only black Americans shown and no other races. They are then scenes of guns and violence which is associated with black people which live in tough neighbourhoods.

A clear binary opposition we see in the film is between the civilians and the law/police. We see that there is a clear disagreement between them and that civilians would rather handle things themselves as the police is corrupt and don't do their job as they should. 

Lastly, we can also see from the main characters of the film (Trey, Ricky and Dough Boy) that even though they try to do good it is very hard for them as there are many temptations and the only way they could cope is by fighting. Dough Boy becomes a clear product of his environment in the film and the film shows us what really happens in these tough areas when Ricky gets killed when he was trying to make something of his life. 

Reflective Blog

I believe that my progress within Media studies is fairly good as i contribute and my posts on my blog are up to date.

To improve my progress I need to complete the Bling Ring blog post,Reflective blog and finish of the Representation blog, over the holiday I will watch a teen film and copy down several things we could use within the film we make.
After our discussion with Donna we have decided to go alongside the film The Social Network, i will watch this film and write about the opening scene and try to gather some ideas.

Representation

Define Stereotype

• A widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.
• Pre-set for a character
• Generalisation about a particular group of people
• An image of a particular type of person

Stereotypical characters in teen films

Bring It On

Cheerleading film normally contains; Pom poms, cheerleading outfits, girly clothes, make up, blonde hair, good figure and bitchy.

Cheerleading films for example:

• John Tucker Must Die
• Bring It On
• Number 1 Cheer Camp

The Breakfast Club

The Jock is normally seen as the person that girls like, plays sports and is also friends with many people.

Films that have The Jock: 

• American Pie
• The Breakfast Club
• Mean Girls
• John Tucker Must Die

Not Another Teen Movie

The Token Black guy is normally seen as happy, wearing casual clothing, always around people and always commenting on stuff.

Films that have a Token Black Guy:

• The Expendables: Hale Caesar (Terry Crews)
• Ghostbusters: Winston Zeddmore (Ernie Hudson)
• Star Wars – Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams)

Story lines and Plot in Teen Drama

GREASE

Opening Scene

The storyline set up in my intro is about a teenage boy and girl who are in love with each other and go to a quiet beach to enjoy themselves. There is then a cartoon scene to show that the movie is not only for young adults but also teenagers. The scene then goes to a group of males and females in a high-school playground which helps show contrast and binary oppositions.

There are many Binary oppositions for mise en scene in the opening scene of Grease. To begin, the male is in a bright red colour with his hair slicked which suggests to the audience that he is always trying to look good for the girls.On the other hand, the female is in pink and hasn't tried to dress special. This shows the audience that her priorities lie elsewhere and she is not always trying to dress up for the guys.

The boys in the playground also carry cigarettes which shows that they aren't ready to learn and are distracted easily whilst the girls have folders in their hands and show that they are ready to learn.

Lastly, the males are very energetic and like to have a laugh which suggests that they are the more immature ones whilst the girls have civilised conversations and go to class when it is time to.

The binary oppositions for editing was that in the beginning of the scene the pace of the clips was quiet slow and they were fades rather that cuts. This shows the romantic part of the clip but later on in the scene there was fast moving scenes and cuts rather than fades.








There are also binary oppositions with sound. In the beginning of the scene when the boy and girl is on the beach the music is a happy and romantic song which helps illustrate the feelings that they have for each other. The music that went along with the animation was also calm and joyful which suggested how the film would be like and also showed who it was targeted at (teens). The scene then changes to the play ground where we hear the boys talking and playing around with each other which also relates back to the mise en scene. Lastly, we hear a trumpet sound which fades which is a sort of motif to symbolize when a new character is introduced. This sound is something that could be played throughout the film to show the audience who is important in the film.

The last binary opposition that I will be analysing is Cameras.
The oppositions for cameras was that in the beginning of the scene there was long shots to show the couple having fun on the beach, their surroundings and there was close ups when they had started to get intimate. On the other hand, when they were in the school playground there was only mid-shots of the students to show more of their character and rather than the surroundings around them.

Interview

Storylines and Plot in Teen Dramas

GREASE

The Binary oppositions for Mise en scene would have to be; 

• The setting first starts of with the boy and the girl at a beach showing how much they're in love with each other.

•  The boys wear completely different clothes compared to the girls in the intro for example leather jackets which makes them look slick whereas the girls wear pink/yellow dresses which makes them look innocent and ready for learning. 

• You could visualise the props within the intro as the boys carry cigarettes which allows the audience to understand that they're not to focused on learning because the girls carry folders which makes us believe that they're good as they are prepared for learning. 

• The body language allows us to understand that the boys are really energetic which implies that they're excited and immature whereas the girls are slowly calmly walking towards the school doors.

The binary oppositions for editing would have to be;

• The opening scene where the boy and the girl are at the beach is very slow paced whereas when it changed to real life it was really fast paced which allows us to understand to main characters of the film/scene and also relates back onto their personalities.

The binary oppositions for sound would have to be;

• The sound of the beach opening scene consists of a happy, loving, caring soundtrack which illustrates to the audience immediately that the boy and the girl are in love. 

• The scene of the animation of several characters getting ready for high school consists calm, joyful, relaxed music which relates on when the film was made also how they're environment would be like.

• When the scene is changed to the boys in the high school all you could hear is several boys shouting, playing with each other which indicates immaturity and fun.

• Every time a character is introduced there is a faded trumpet noise playing which indicates he is a main character.

The binary oppositions for camera would have to be;

• There are many mid shots which allows us to visualise what characters are speaking and what they're wearing

• There are many over the shoulder cuts which shows a conversation between people 

• There is also several zoom in shots and panning, this allows the audience to visualise on what we have to focus on

Grease opening scene

Genre and Convention

What is Teen Film?

Sex/Drugs/Parties/Comedy

A teen film is a film genre aimed at teenagers and young adults (16-25). The plot is usually about the interests of teens and things that they may experience through teenage years. For instance; love, rebellion, sports, crime, sex, comedy, fantasy(Sci-Fi) and coming of age.

Sports/Romance

Escapism/fantasy

 Teen films are usually watched by people aged 16+ as they can relate the plot to there everyday life and they can also be used for escapism and humour. Teens also enjoy stereotypical films as they like to see how the environment around them has been associated with their lives.

Crime is a stereotype that teens also love to watch as they want to see how media see or portrays them. This illustrates another sub-genre which is very common when watching teen movies. Even if the genre isn't an action/crime movie we come across scenes like this a lot.

There are a variety of different locations used in teen films like the Classroom(to show different type of characters) and Shopping Centres(For leisure and sometimes drama) Bedroom(sex, drama).

We can see from this clip that the location used here was a bedroom. The bedroom shows the audience what is about to happen and it shows how this location is usually used for sex or drama.

 We also find out about the various characters in teen films. For example, the 'nerd', the 'heartthrob', the 'troublesome one' and the 'virgin' or naive child.

From the show 'Inbetweeners' we can see the four teenage boys coming of age. We see from the first image a variety of t-shirts which paints their personality and fits into the stereotypes of different teenage characteristics. The image to the right also illustrates this.

Genre and Convention...

Teen Films…

A teen film is a genre aimed at teenagers and young adults, in which the plots of the film is based on the interests of teenagers of upcoming ages. these included theme such as; rebellion, first love, alienation, crime, conflict with parents etc… 

Conventional Themes 

First Love/ Romance, this can relate as young teenagers start to come out of their shell and experience new things such as falling in love or meeting new people, twilight is a perfect example of a girl who moves to  new start and meets a mysterious person who she then later falls in love with. 

Crime/Violence, this shows a stereotypical view of how young adults seem to be portrayed in society today, due to this the themes of this film do catch teenagers and young adults eye, as they can relate to some things. Also the locations in the film and how the time is set on current things also show a relation to the audience as they can relate to some locations such as; parks, underneath 'blocks' or even sitting with gangs.
         Humour/Comedy, Young adults and teenagers are able to recount as this film has similar themes of 'fun,sex,alcohol and drugs.' As well as it being a British film this becomes easier for teenagers and young adults to picture the ideas portrayed and imagine a first friends holiday, and they can see how the  characters feel due to coming from Britain and being in that stage of just finishing school/college and going on holiday and doing everything that is shown.



Common Characters; 

• Humble and leading character- yuksel "likes accent" Asher D(Bullet Boy)

•  Popular Guy- Grace "His Hot" Troy (HSM)

• Lonely- Bernices "Not the typical character" (The perks of wallflower)

Genre and Convention

What is a teen film?

A teen film is based within the age group of teenagers (14-21) and most teen films target stereotypical experiences at that age; first love, violence, drugs, crime, overcoming obstacles and fear.

Who watches teen films?

Many teenagers watch teen films because they like to see how the film has associated young teenagers in many ways. They also enjoy stereotypical films because they like to see how the environment around them has been associated with their lives.

What sub genres are common?

Most teen films have been associated with; Comedy, Drama, Violence, Crime, Love, Romance, Horrors, Sports and Musicals.

Conventional themes, locations and characters within teen films

The conventional themes would be; Comedy, Romance and Crime. The typical location for a teen film would either be; Streets, House, Party, School, Gym, Corridors and Parks. The most typical characters within teenage films would be; nerd/smart, bully, party person, popular kid, the dealer, bitchy girls, goths, gangsters and fat people. 

3 teen movies with different audiences

The Inbetweeners Movie

Movie Trailer

The original TV show is aimed at teenagers 16+ but because of the sexual scenes and references in the film it is an 18+ film. The film follows four teens who have just left school and do the typical things guys would do which is part or go on holiday. Both males and females can relate to the film even though 4 males are the main characters. This is because the film isn't a stereotype about boys and football but boys and partying so females can also relate to this. The film genre is also a comedy so it is easier for it to be aimed at all teens and not just males. The plot of the film is about 4 teenage boys who go on holiday to party and have fun with girls but not everything goes to plan and they find themselves regretting a few things.

Adulthood

Movie Trailer

This movie is different from Inbetweeners as it aims itself at a lower age of 16+ and is more of an urban film genre. The poster helps us to understand this more as it has a landscape of estates in London and the characters are dressed in hoodies and tracksuits. We can also see that this is aimed at both males and females at the characters on the from cover are mixed. The plot of the film is about gangs,sex and drugs in London which is a common stereotype of today and it is presented quite well in this film. This film is an action thriller and is also aimed at all teens, both male and female. 

Twilight

Movie Trailer

Twilight is aimed at teenagers aged 12 and over as it is a fantasy film and derived from a book. The film consists of Wolfs and Vampires so it isn't a usual film. The plot of the film is about vampires and Wolfs which can both be aimed at males and females but it is most likely to be watched by females more as they like to read and like escapism which is what the film is about. To add to that, females are attracted to two of the main stars, Robert Patterson and Taylor Lautner which will build more interest for females. However, this film could still be watched by males as the film does have some action in it. 

What happens at the start of a film?

(21 Jump Street)

 In the beginning of a film, you should expect music which usually describes best how the film will be like and the events of the film. For example, fast music (action) slow music(romance,emotion) and bells or jingle music (Christmas). You should the see the film industry of who made the film and the actors who will be the main characters starring in the film. The main characters are either introduced through subtitles or visuals. You should also expect an establishing shot and the setting/location of the movie.

Lastly, you should expect a story line and a film indent to know what the film is about straight away. Another thing that you should expect that isn't necessarily in all films is a narrator which is sometimes the main character.

Researching Target Audiences

Researching target audiences video

Choose 3 teen movies that have different audiences

THE INBETWEENERS MOVIE

The Inbetweeners Movie Trailer

The audience to this film is mostly based on people at a young age (16-21). The film shows a stereotype of how people of that age react (partying and drinking). This film attracts both genders male and female because it isn't just one gender that goes to parties and drink. Both genders of that age are heavily linked because it allows them to relate the actors experience to their own experiences. The story line is mostly about a group of guys who go abroad and all they really want to do is go drinking and finding girls. However not everything goes according to plan which then allowed them to overcome a thew obstacles, the film is seen as a comedy.

ADULTHOOD

Adulthood Trailer

The film Adulthood engages an audience between (15-21) because that age allows us to understand the environment better and also many young people are involved. The audience of this film attracts young urban teenagers because the poster allows us to understand that there is a group of young people wearing tracksuits. This would be a stereotype of London and many people would like to experience how life is in London. The film's plot would be a group of people fighting against each other (Gangs) and they would show the obstacles they overcome on a daily basis (Drugs and Lethal weapons) which would also be a stereotype of the life in London. Both genders would attracted as there is a mix of genders associated within the film.

TWILIGHT

Twilight Trailer

The film Twilight is a fantasy film because it consists a various of non-exisisting features such as vampires and wolfs. Females are attracted to this because of the main characters (Robert Pattinson and Taylor lautner) which are two characters that females arguably desire because of their looks and their role in the film. The film would mostly gather an audience aged 12+ because they're many ages who are into vampires and fantasy. The plot is a vampire who is new in town, this attracts a female audience because they end up falling in love which would be a stereotype for girls.

3 teen Movies…

First Movie … Adulthood 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhrJBUMxNMQ

This appeals to the male gender more due to the theme of crime, violence, drugs and prison, this shows a stereotypical view to the audienece of how young men are portrayed. This also attracts adults too, as young people are growing up into adulthood which helps them to relate in some ways due to their personal experience. The setting contributes to the attraction to young people due to the urban setting which is not posh. down to earth and relative to the 21st century atmosphere.

Second Movie … Hunger Games

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXCpkvtU9iA

The hunger games has a lot of romances and plays around with the love triangle, also has adventure, fantasy and action. The film attracts to both genders due to the action and adventure which appeals to boys and romance and fantasy which appeals to girls. Star Appeal; Jennifer Lawrence appeals to males and Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth which appeals to girls. The story line is about 'the tributes(people) must fight till death in an arena doing various challenges' this this appeals to males due to the nature of the plot. 

Third movie … Twilight 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edLB6YWZ-R4

Main genres; young adult, fantasy, gothic and romance these genres appeal to mostly to females. Star Appeal; Taylor Lautner, and Robbert Pattison which appeal to females as they are portrayed as a 'sex objects.' The plot includes Bella a newcomer to the town falling in love with Edward who she comes to know he is a vampire. The pair fall in love and she is introduced to his vampire clan, however she is later targeted by other vampires and edward comes to the rescue. This portrays a typical love story were the male is the hero and protective of his female.  This appeals to females because of the nature of the plot which is growing up, meeting new people and falling in love and having a perfect happy ending.

what Happens At The Start Of A FILM?

What to expect at the beginning of most films, is that they would start it off by plating tittles of the characters and who produced the film etc…
They also have establishing shots o what the main shots of the film could be, or they play images of what the story line could be or even what is going to happen in the film.
whilst playing the tittles of the directors and everything else they normally would play music or a instrumental that can relate to the theme of the film.


(Pacific Rim)
In this film there is a brief introduction on tittle of who plays the characters, also the director, story by or even screen play etc... would be shown with images of either where the film may be set in or what the plot may be or even little things of what the story line is of the  film, as this is showing there even may be music playing in the background of some sort of instrumental.




Pacific Rim

What happens at the start of a film?

http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/21-jump-street/

In the begging of the film 21 jump street i could visualise...

• The main characters (Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill)
• Guns/Police/Cars
• Parties/Drugs 
• Explosions
• What the film is going to be based on (Police/Law)

The begging of the film allows us to understand the main characters and what they would basically be doing throughout the film which is to do with police. The music allows us to understand that the film would be based around teenagers as the music connotes young and immature which gives the audience a basic idea of what the film is going to be about. The film showed several scenes of drugs which would be a stereotype of young people using drugs such as Marijuana. It also shows us who has directed, edited and published the film. 

Embed prelim from Vimeo

31. PRELIM - Brandy, Tee, Lukas, Sarah from 283goswell on Vimeo.

Embed prelim from Vimo Khajal Begum

33. PRELIM - Kaay, Gizem, Sophie, Sammy from 283goswell on Vimeo.

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