Monday, 30 December 2013

REPRESENTATION

Representation is certain features or qualities and characteristics such as:
- Appearance ( dressing styles)
- The way they speak (quietly/ confidently ..)
- Attitude ( rude/show off/ tedious)
- IQ level
All these aspects are mostly highlighted and emphasised to create the typical characters which is very popular in teenage movies. Certain characteristics and featured constructed together end up resulting a stereotypical character which you will find in majority of the teenage movies and films.
 The most popular ones which are impossible to avoid are:

THE NERD:



- Big, thick glasses
- Out dated dressing sense
- Oblivious of their terrible sense of fashion and style
- Up-to date with every subject  in school
- Come backs with their responses are too intellectual and long to            understand.





THE MEAN GIRL:

- Dresses the most extravagant with the latest fashion style
- Has the adults wrapped around her finger
- Dates the hottest jock
- Short skirts
- Pink clothes
- Air headed, big headed
- blonde


THE JOCK:



- Is the best looking male in the movie
- Rich
- Dates the mean/popular girl
- Gets the lowest grades
- Nice car
- Always wears a baseball jacket
- Always has a group of boys and cheerleaders around him
- Ends up falling for the' perfect girl'


THE PERFECT GIRL:



- Naturally pretty
- Smart and innocent
- Bullied by the mean girls
- Always has one loyal friend
- Ends up falling for 'the jock'
- Puts 'the mean girl' in her place

  

BINARY OPPOSITIONS

BINARY OPPOSITIONS
The simplest way to define the term 'binary opposition' is when two opposites are shown on the same concept, this is very popular in teen films to emphasise the differences between the characters and themes, mainly between the central characters such as the jocks and nerds, 'goodies and 'baddies' etc.

 TWILIGHT:
In Twilight there are multiple examples of binary oppositions, one good example is the establishing shots of the two cities where Bella moves from Arizona to Folks. The Mise en Scene of both cities are completely contrasting to each other as the weather of Arizona is very sunny and green with the lighting very natural unlike the gloomy and cold city of Folks. The camera takes a wide shot of the two contrasting settings which picks up the obvious differences in the weather, it also gives the audiences a hint of the treason behind the significance of the binary opposition  of the two cities, it foreshadows the danger that lays ahead for Bella as she moves from the bright happy life in Arizona to the snowy, gloomy Folks hiding a dark secret. Another technique which emphasises the binary opposition is the Diegetic sound used when Bella is in Arizona of her voice- calm and quiet, but  deadly Non Diegetic sound is played when showing Folks emphasising the danger and drama that will be held in this dark city
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10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU
In this teen film there also numerous cases binary opposition is explored, one very good example is at the very beginning when a group of girly, perfectly groomed, dancing girls listening to pop live music in their open roofed car which totally contrasts to Kat pulling up in her own car while listening to different type of music- loud rock music (I don't give a damn about my reputation..') dressed in dark clothing with a miserable expression. The camera slowly pans across the screen from the group of girls in the first car to Kat which really emphasises the difference between them picking every detail.



Thursday, 19 December 2013

The Bling Ring review

The Bling Ring Review

The Bling Ring is a film inspired by actual events, a group of fame-obsessed teenagers use the internet to track celebrities' whereabouts in order to rob their homes.

Main cast

Emma Watson as Nicki
Katie Chang as Rebecca
Taissa Farmiga as Sam
Israel Broussard as Marc

The class watched this film in lesson. However, due to me being absent I had to watch it at home which I did. Whilst watching I focused on the elements that portray a typical teen movie. I took notes on the characters, the setting, themes and topics explored in the film. I also compared this film to other cliche teen films for similarities and differences. The film is considered to be a teen film because it portrays the current lifestyle of teenagers in Hollywood. The film also holds a similar 'teen film' plot and characters which are easy to identify.

The clique in the film is like any other teen film. There is a bad girl and a mean girl, but instead of there being a nerd or a jock like there normally is in a teen film, there is a gay guy that is in the group. Instead of being a stereotypical teen film where there is a new girl joining a new school and fits in with a group that changes her look and personality. The makers of the film went against the idea and decided to make the boy the 'outcast' and have the group of girls bring him into their group. This film does differs from other teen films as the characters are portrayed in a different way and their 'look' and 'personality' do not fit the stereotypical teen movie characters so that possibly could have been difficult for the audience to identify who resembles what type of character at first.

However, The male character in the film is portrayed so much more differently than the stereotypical male characters that you find in a teen filmo. The usual male characters in a teen film are jocks and nerds. The jock is always a very good looking and confident guy who dates the prettiest girl at school and also has a lot of females wanting him. The nerd always wears clothes that are way out of fashion, wears big glasses and has braces. He is always the first to complete his work and is normally the smartest in the class However, in this film the guy is gay, an outcast and also very insecure about himself. The reason he's able to join the group of girls is because he has the same taste of fashion and style as them.

The plot and some themes and topics in this teen film is unique as I have not seen a teen film that has this type of plotline and some of the themes it explores. For example, the obsession of celebrities and the thirst for some of their money and fame. However, most of the themes in this film are very stereotypical such as: drinking, partying, drugs, etc. The locations were also very stereotypical: the school, a house, a party, etc.

I didn't like this film because it just isn't really my type of film, I found it quite boring and repetitive to watch as they would be stealing from a celebrities' home every five to ten minutes. The ending was very predictable as they were bound to get caught. Since this film was based on a true story, I guess they could not change the synopsis and the fate of the characters as it is vital to be as accurate as possible for it to be resembling a true story.


Genre and Conventions


A teen film is the genre of film targeted at teenage audience with plot lines based on stereotypical teenage interests, these interests stereo typically are to do with either sports, drugs and alcohol, partying and always going out with your friends.

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=xshi2aLpk52UZM&tbnid=5DGGjofPvJNY4M:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwifflegif.com%2Fgifs%2F433325-project-x-extasis-gif&ei=QunfUuDrDIrW0QWH1IDwBQ&bvm=bv.59568121,d.ZG4&psig=AFQjCNFq7d6FjzTF7oGxh43tC2KFZsVJIA&ust=1390492347965509

Teen films are made for teenagers and are movies that most teenagers can in some ways relate to, the typical teen movie has many different types of characters: the jock, the popular girls, the athletes, the geeks ect.. this is because the movie should be relocatable to a wide range of audiences and having many different types of characters result in having a higher chance of audience connection to the movie. Adults also watch teen movies, this maybe for the adults to find a way to re connect to there teenage years and feel young again.

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=gSwKXi0oQIXn3M&tbnid=Liyg5zUdvSsH_M:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftheberry.com%2F2013%2F04%2F10%2Fthe-most-memorable-movie-cheerleaders-17-photos%2Ftumblr_m8gesykr1c1qhnbjq%2F&ei=kunfUpLND6nW0QXZ6oCQCw&bvm=bv.59568121,d.ZG4&psig=AFQjCNFWIeSK2kAka2nWorCW84h_GgcSTA&ust=1390492422692784

Teen movies have many different themes to them, some of these themes include romance, horror, drama comedy and musicals. The typical conventions of these themes are for the main character to overcome the obstetrical they face, an example of this would be the geek who is good at sports but not apart of the sports club becomes the main person at the sports club, the typical convention of a teen movie usually has some sort of reward at the end for the good people.

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=OxSIeGwR5_Q5iM&tbnid=gN_zinfj9WTw0M:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.teen.com%2F2012%2F04%2F12%2Fcelebrities%2Fhottie-of-the-week%2Fmale-celebrities-actors-in-horror-scary-movies%2Fattachment%2Fhorror-movie-hotties-jennifers-body-megan-fox%2F&ei=wOnfUpHtDYTY0QX1_oCIDw&bvm=bv.59568121,d.ZG4&psig=AFQjCNHPWQKAqvHDmN91uMzcpqMIf4F1LQ&ust=1390492473548280

The majority of teen movies have the stereotypical character list, this character list consists of the Jock/Cheerleader, the Nerd, the Outcast, the Reble, the Emo, the New person, the Class Clown, ect...

Teen movies all have typical conventional places that they are set in, these places usually tend to be the bedroom, the class room, the living room of someones house, the park, the cafe or a sports place like a football pitch or a dance rehearsal hall.

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=yCnQjtuubOmu4M&tbnid=SWhC5amewndhZM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2010%2F08%2F06%2Fmovies%2F06step.html&ei=murfUrvbJ-mX0QWz3oGYCA&bvm=bv.59568121,d.ZG4&psig=AFQjCNEEAvripUVY3jLGES_Rbh5zHM55Mg&ust=1390492685871068

The Bling Ring

Teen Films 

The Bling Ring 

The movie, The Bling Ring is a teen drama because the main characters were teenagers and the movie was based around them.
The movie also had conventions of typical teen movies which mad it more understandable that it was a teen movie, some of these conventions are; the movie started off in a school and it had the typical moment in the class and beside the lockers, it had a character that was an outcast at the beginning that then became popular, it also had cliques as many teen movies do and there were also scenes at parties which is a typical hang out place for teenagers in teen movies.
I think this movie reflected rebellious teens and also shows the materialistic sides that those teens in particular want; the movie is not a portrayal of all teens just the teens that are driven by materialistic goods.
The main members of the clique in this movie was the leader, who is the rebellious one and the outcast that would do anything to fit in. the clique in this movie were the rebellious type, this does not necessarily fit in with the conventions of the typical teen movie so the movie shows a new perspective of some teens.


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The movie is different to normal teen movies because it shows a side of teenagers that not all teen movies show and normally teen movies have a good ending but this shows that its not always a happy ending.
The boy in the film is first started off as the outcast and then he becomes popular, this is a typical convention of a teen drama, this has happened in many different teen movies such as mean girls, high school musical and camp rock.
The film portrays the consumers as greedy people that have a lot of wealth that they take for grant age, if they cared more about there properties they would not have made it extremely easy for teenagers to brake in and steel there stuff. The film also shows that social networking has a big influence on teens lives and that friend requests on facebook means more to some teens than moral values.
Overall the movie was a good movie that showed a very different side of teens that not all movies show and shows how much celebrates do not value there belongings,
I think they could make the movie better by showing a more clear ending because the ending was confusing and did not have a clear ending.



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Bling Ring Review

Bling Ring Review

The Bling Ring is an example of a teen film, this is because there are themes that you would find in a teen film such as love, friendships, cliques and teenagers and peer pressure. Also the settings where the film where filmed in such as the high school and the parties the Bling Ring visited. At the beginning of the movie the first character introduced is Marc who is an outsider and new to school then becomes friends with Rebecca who becomes the ring leader of Bling Ring.

Some of the conventions that make this film a teen drama is very materialistic and focused on fashion and clothing rather than the wider world. Marc and Rebecca who are two of the main characters attend a school where teenagers have been kicked out of mainstream schools. In the film Marc becomes reluctant after breaking into homes however Rebecca tells him its ok to go on a robbing spree so Marc is feeling very peer pressured, this is one of the problems that most teenagers face nowadays. As the film goes on Rebecca wants to constantly break into a-list stars homes, because she like fashion and wants to be like them and she wants to be in the fashion industry breaking into the homes becomes a hunger for her. Fashion is an icon to many teenagers and living the high life of designer clothing and bags is a factor that teenagers battle nowadays. There is use of drugs in this film that is also a factor that teenagers battle. Marc and Rebecca form a clique with three other girls, they become very popular, this is very similar to the other typical cliques that you would find in a typical teen movie. For example the 'mean girls' who are popular at school who have the latest clothes and gadgets, the Bling Ring are the same they have the top designer clothes and jewellery and their friends around want to have that same lifestyle.

The film is very different to other teen films because in a typical teen movie there is always a happy ending, but this film shows that it not always a happy ending as they are all arrested and have to pay a fine for the damage they have caused. Marc in this film was an outcast but then became popular, this is a typical convention of a teen drama the outcast becoming popular. this has happened in other films such as Twilight, High School Musical ,Camp Rock and Mean Girls.
The film portrays social networking as a big influence to teenagers as they are constantly on different social networking sites and they can display their everyday life on these sites and have loads of friend request on these sites makes them look popular. The film also portrays that teenagers look up to celebrities as their role model and want to be like their favourite star or see them as a fashion icon and want to wear what the celebrities are wearing. 
I did not enjoy this film as I thought it was very repetitive, it was just them breaking into different homes of famous celebrities and it also did not have a happy ending like you would get in other films. This film was not your typical teen drama.














THE BLING RING REVIEW

THE BLING RING


'The Bling Ring' is a movie based on a real life event of robberies from celebrity homes, it was constructed into a teen film by making the main characters act in teenage years and establishing some scenes in a high school. This movie successfully reflects the the interest and dreams of teenagers brought up in this modern culture, it shows how teenagers these days are unbelievable obsessed with the lifestyle of celebrities and are materialistic, e.g- greedy for designer bags, money, labelled clothes etc.. It focuses on the the teenagers from a 'drop-out' school' who have struggled with their previous mainstream schools.
It also explores the use and dependence on drugs to relieve 'stress' and washes away the guilt.

 Just like every other teenage movie, this movie also consists  of a group of 'clique' - a group of four girls who are obsessed with designer labels. The leader of the bling ring gang - 'Rebecca' befriends Marc ( a self concious boy who wants to fit in) has him wrapped around her finger. This is very similar to 'The Mean Girls' - influencing the new girl to become like them -carefree, materialistic,etc..
 One of the ways this movie differs from other teenage movies is that it is actually a boy who is new to the school and falls under the influence of a group of just girls.Themes of robbery, drugs and money, even the relationship of friendship are all deeply explored but again, unlike majority of the other teenage movies, the reality and consequences of their greed is shown at the end resulting every member of the bling ring group sentenced to a number of years in jail and going their separate ways not feeling guilty at all.



Monday, 16 December 2013

Representation

In all teen movies there are stereotypical characters that a majority of movies have, these movies tend to have these characters because audience members can usually relate to some of these characters, the main stereotypical characters tend to be the jock, the cheerleader, the outcast, the geek and the bully.

The Jock - The Jock is typically the one that is known as the one that is loved by everyone, everyone knows this persons name and all the guys want to be him and all the girls want to be with him, the jock is usually on the sports team or at all the parties. Typically the jock tends to have something wrong with him, it is eaither that he is uncomfterble being the most popular and doesnt want to do what his best known for doing but instead do something completely diffrent or the jock sometimes is the charicter that is crazy for attention and then becomes hated by everybody by the end.

The Cheerleader - The Cheerleader tends to be the bueatiful girl that every guy wants to be with and evey girl wants to look like or be friends with. The Cheerleader tends to be at all the main events of the movie. The cheerleader is usually known for being the charicter that has everything but doesnt want it all and wants to do something they love instead or the cheerleader can also be the charicter that always wants to be on top and loved by all and gets thretened when compition arrives.

The Outcast - The Outcast tends to be the charicter that no one talks to at the begining and most people find creepy and the person that keeps to themselves. Steriotypically in teen movies the outcast becomes the person that the most popular person in school falls in love with or the outcast is usally the one that knows everything about everyone and through out the movie charicters need to come to the outcasst to get information.






The Geek - The Geek is usally the one that gets bullyed and wears glasses and cloths that are not the tyoical teenagers clothing, they tend to be awkward and stay to themselves as well as never going out of there homes or never going to parties, they are also in groups of there own that consist of more geeks and these charicters tend to hide away in a place togther and do homework or play video games. The geek in most movies typically is eaither the charicter that the main charicter ends up becoming best friends with or the charicter that the main charicter ends up falling in love with, the geeks are also the ones that charicters go to for help or advice on things.


The Bully - The Bullys tend to be the one that everyone is scared of the bullys tend to also have some sort of problems at home or some sort of personal problems hence them being bullys. The steriotypical thing that happens with bullys in movies is that someone stands up to them and then they stop bullying people or someone realises that something is wrong with there person lives and then the bully becomes a better nicer person to everyone and becomes one of the helpful people.

Representation

Representation

Representation is about the choices that are made when portraying a type of character in a film. As you cannot portray every detail, feature and characteristic of someone in a film, certain characteristics and appearances are highlighted or enhanced to create a stereotypical character. There are many different types of stereotypical characters in teen films.

Jock
The jock is portrayed as stuck-up and self-centred. He acts out aggressively verbally and physically, especially to the people who he sees as 'uncool'. The jock is muscular and athletic, he is generally either the captain of the Basketball or Football team. He is seen as handsome by the girls thus making him popular among'st them. Due to this popularity, he is rude and arrogant to his fellow pupils and also his teachers. The jock is generally portrayed as unintelligent, he always gets the lowest grades in the class and fails to complete homework. However due to his athletic ability, the teachers are more tolerant towards him. 

School Cheerleader
The school cheerleader is always really pretty and the most popular girl in the school, but she knows this therefore she's very rude and self-centred. Generally, the cheerleader is tall, blonde and has the perfect figure. She criticizes over girl's looks or figures in order to make herself feel even more better and superior than them. She generally dates the jock, which in generally most films end up breaking up towards the end. The parents are usually rich which means the cheerleader is able to dress in the most expensive and extravagant clothes; the stereotypical colour of clothes she wears are pink and white. Generally, the cheerleader has a friend that sucks up to her and is too stupid to realise that she only uses her to do things for her although the audience can clearly see it so clearly. She is very egotistical and craves attention, and when she doesn't get it she gets very spiteful and would go to extreme lengths just to get it. 

Nerd
The nerd is generally friendless and bullied by the other pupils in the school. This is due to the nerd's smartness and also his/hers out-of-date dress sense and big, thick glasses. They tend to be socially awkward and keep themselves to themselves; when they are not at school, they are at home doing homework or playing video games. The nerd is always the person who gets the highest grade in the class and answers all the questions the teacher asks, which in some films, actually makes the teacher take a disliked feeling towards the nerd as he comes off as annoying and because he's so clever. The only time the nerd is spoken too is if someone wants advice or want something done. 

Outcast
The outcast is usually the new girl that joins school, most of the time half way through the academic year, which makes her the outcast as everybody is already settled in with their groups of friends. The outcast usually makes her first friend very quickly by engaging in a conversation asking about the school or for directions, and throughout the film, turns out to be her most loyal friend when things go wrong for her. She dresses casually and her personality and characteristics are very down-to-earth and modest, she is moderately smart and tends not to get in trouble with teachers and other pupils. She is naturally pretty but doesn't realise it, due to her prettiness, the cheerleader or school princess takes an automatic dislike to her as she sees her as 'competition' for prom queen. Throughout the film, confrontations between the two become more and more heated every time; but after each confrontation, more people start to take the side of the outcast instead of the cheerleader as they usually would and by the end of the film, the cheerleader is left with no one on her side as they've all taken the side of the outcast. If the film is based around the time of prom, then the outcast ends up being voted prom queen. 




Representation

Representation is about understanding the choices that are made when portraying someone or something. As it is impossible to portray every aspect of an individual in a feature, certain features of their appearance gets highlighted, when trying to showing the representation to the audience. this is often known as a stereotype.

A stereotype is generally understood idea or set of ideas that are often exaggerated to give a representation of certain characteristics/qualities in people, characters, groups.

Examples of stereotypical characters found in Teen Films:

The Mean Girl

  • Usually wears short skirts
  • Tight clothing- mainly in the colour pink
  • Often wears high heels
  • Always caked in make-up 
  • Has her own clique where they all dress and act the same, the mean girl will always be the ringleader of the group. 
Examples of the mean girl would be Regina from Mean Girls or Sharpay Evans from High School Musical or Lana from Princess Diaries.

The Jock
  • Usually wears his basketball jersey
  • Always 'good-looking'- tall and muscular
  • Most likely to be the captain of the basket ball team
  • Popular amongst the girls- most likely to be dating the cheerleader/mean girl
  • Most likely to be rich and has a good car and the latest gadgets
  • Has his own clique
Examples of the jock is Troy Bolton from High School Musical or Austin from A Cinderella Story.

The Cheerleader
  •  
  • Always seen wearing the cheerleader uniform
  • Not very intelligent 
  • Wants to get together with the Jock 
  • Has blonde hair.
  • Is very slim and athletic
Examples of the cheerleader is Shelby from A Cinderella Story or Britney from Bring It On.

The Perfect Girl



    • Wears 'normal' clothes - not too tight or always in pink clothing
    • Is often very quite
    • Is intelligent and does well in school
    • Very unique in their on way
    Examples of the perfect girl would be Gabriella Montez from High School Musical or The Perfect Girl from Not Another Teen Movie



    The Nerd 

    • Wears jumpers and chequered shirts 
    • Likely to be wearing glasses 
    • Most likely to have braces 
    • May wear high waisted trousers 
    • Is very intelligent 
    • Often known as a 'geek'
    • Seen as very neat and tidy
    Examples of the nerd is Terrance from A Cinderella Story or ill from The Inbetweeners Movie



    Sunday, 15 December 2013

    Binary Oppositions

    Binary Oppositions

    Binary opposition refers to a pair of related terms or concepts that have the opposite meanings.
    In Teen Films binary oppositions are portrayed as two opposites and used to set of against each other, this is done in Teen films through characters that contradict one another.

    How binary oppositions is conveyed through characters in 'Twilight'

    The binary opposition I have chosen is between the local people and outcast/outsider.
    In the terms of Mise en Scene, when Bella Sawn the 'outcast' is seen walking through the school, her body language is very different compared to the other students around her. She is looking down at a piece of paper and her facial expression suggest she is very confused and lost as she is new to the school.
    With editing shot reverse shot is used when she pulls up to the parking lot in her truck and one of the local boys says to her ' nice ride' she replies with 'thanks'. Another way the binary opposition between locals and outcast/ outsider is portrayed is through camera. Mid shot is used when one of the locals introduces himself to Bella, behind them you can see other students turn their heads to get a closer look at the new girl in town. Also, when Bella pulls up to the school car park in  her truck, tracking is used to show this and then a wide shot is used to show students turn to see who is in the truck. Another way the binary opposition is used to show the difference between locals and outcast is through sound, this is done with diegetic sound when Bella says ' I have come to a decision to move and leave Phoenix'. This tells the audience that she is moving to somewhere new and as she is moving to Forks, a small town where everyone knows each other, she will be seen as an outcast as she is new.


    Princess Diaries
    In the film Princess Diaries, the binary opposition shown is the lifestyle of the grandma who is a queen and the Mia who is an ordinary girl who later finds out she is a princess. the binary opposition is shown mainly through mise en scene where you can see in Mia's room she has her clothes scattered everywhere whereas, the grandma lives in a mansion where everything is in a neat order and very clean compared to here Mia and her mother live.




    Some typical binary oppositions in Teen Films are:

    • Nerd vs Jock
    • Popular girl vs Outcast
    • Student vs Teacher
    • Parent vs Teenager

     
    Mean Girls (2004) Quote (About apology, gifs, jealous, popular, sorry)

    Wednesday, 11 December 2013

    GENRE AND CONVENTION

    Teen films are films or movies appealed to target teenage audiences aged around 13 - 18 year old, in order for these teen films to achieve the audiences approval and enjoyment, the producers carefully pick specific genres and topics for the movie to revolve around which are mainly: - romance - action - rebellion - sports - comedy - dancing/singing etc. The reason these are the most popular subjects for teen films is because teenagers can actually relate to the conflicts and themes that are explored in the movies. For example, in the movie, 'Love and basketball, the main themes are sports, romance and competition - this gains a large audience of both males and females teenagers due to the theme of sports attracting the boys and the romance attracting the girls, and for competition - this is a topic which all teenagers are familiar with because they feel they are in a constant competition with other teens to be always trying to reach the best level or first place in everything. Also, another factor that makes a teen film atracts its audience of teenagers is the locations and characters that are included. You will find that the movies are set where teenagers spend most of their time in such as: - The cafeteria - where most dramatic things take place - Classrooms - conflicts between chaarcters - Sports hall/ gym - man to man issues take place - Parks - where romance or teens gather - Diner - mostly romance - bus - any incidents on the journey to or from school - bedrooms - romantic scenes - kitchen - where family members normally gather
    Some teen films may attract more females than males and some may attract more males than females depending what genres the teen movie is focusing on.

    Genre and Conventions

    Genre and Conventions

    Teen films is a genre targeted at teenagers and young adults in which the plot is based upon the special interests of teenagers. The majority of viewers are teenagers and young adult as they may be able to relate to the themes and characters that are depicted in the film. However, older adults may watch teen films to create a nostalgic feeling of once being a teenager and possibly trying to relate to the themes being explored in the film. In a typical teen movie, a teen must always overcome personal obstacles that result into him/her becoming a better person.

    Common themes/topics explored in teen films

    - Romance
    - Relationships
    - Friendship
    - Crime
    - Parental conflict
    - Competition (within sports and groups of friends)
    - Rebellion
    - Cliques (Jocks, Nerds, Cheerleaders, etc)
    - Loyalty
    - Prom

    Teen films are categorised into many sub-genres, such as:

    - Comedy
    - Fantasy
    - Thriller
    - Romcom
    - Action
    - Horror

    All teen films generally have the same stereotypical character types, such as:

    - Jock
    - Popular cheerleader/princess
    - Nerd
    - Outcast
    - New girl
    - Class clown
    - Rebel
    - Dumb girl
    - Boy/girl next door

    Teen films are generally filmed in school/college and also other typical conventional places, such as:

    - Someone's house (Bedroom, living room, kitchen, etc)
    - Park
    - Cafe/diner
    - School bus
    - Football field
    - Gym
    - Library
    - Mall
    - Locker rooms
    - Headteacher's office
    - Theme park

    Monday, 9 December 2013

    Individual Task- Genre and Coventions

    Teen Films- Genre and Conventions

    Teen films is a film genre targeted at teenagers and young adults in which the plot is based upon the interest of teenagers, such as first love, rebellion, conflict with parents and teenage angst. Teen films began in 1950s.
    Most teenagers and young adults watch teen films as they can relate to the conflict and themes that are explored in teen movies.
    Common Themes or Topics found in Teen Films are:
    • Romance- Relationships and Friendships
    • Drama
    • Crime
    • Conflict with Parents
    • Rebelling 
    • Competitions- Between sports or between friends or gangs
    • Cliques (jocks,nerds, anti-social, cheerleaders, basketball team)
    Not all teen films appeal to teens or young adults, this is because they are divided into sub genres.This may include:
    • Comedy
    • Fantasy
    • Thriller
    • Action
    • Horror
    Some teen films may attract more male than females and some films may attract more females than males, this depends on what genre the teen film is based on. For example Twilight is a movie that will attract more females as the movie is about a vampire who falls in love with a human, this attracts teens due to the romance between the vampire and human and the main character is a vampire, this is an fantasy element. Another reason would be because the vampire character is played by Robert Pattinson. A film such as Love and Basketball will attract both males and females as it is about romance between a male and female character which attracts females and sports which attracts males. this film also has competition which attracts both male and females as teenagers nowadays are always in competition in who comes first who who does what best.

    Teens may be attracted to teen movies due to the locations the film is filmed in, you will find in teen films the movie is based in locations where you will find teenagers spend most of their time. The common locations are:
    • Bedroom ( teens gossip or intimate scenes take place in the bedroom )
    • Garden (most parties take place in the garden)
    • Canteen/Cafeteria ( fights between friends/cliques )
    • Sports Hall ( school basketball or other sports)
    • Dinner/ Malls/Shopping Centre ( most teens spend their free time at these locations)
    • Cinemas/ Car Parks ( most teens hangout at these location with friends)
    Another factor that attracts teens and young adults into watching teen films are the characters in teen films. The characters are usually based on strong stereotypes. 
    stereotypical Characters found in teen films are
    • The Popular Guy- who is the captain of the basket ball team, voted as the student body, has a high status due to the fact as his the captain and is good looking and all the girls want to be with.
    • The Popular Girl- a daddy's little girls gets everything she wants, wears designer clothes most of the time, she's mostly blonde, and is good looking and all the boys want to be with her
    • The Nerd- is the outcast and seen as a loner and the beginning of the movie the nerd is in braces or ears glasses and does not fit in however by the movie the nerd has gone through a transformation and is 'good looking'.






    Preliminary task


    29. PRELIM - Kane, Devon, Adam, Hamit from 283goswell on Vimeo.

    Sunday, 8 December 2013

    Task 2- three teen movies

    High School Musical


    The genre for High School Musical is Comedy, Drama, Romance.
    The movie mainly appeals to young teenagers in the age group of 12-13 year old. one of the reason this film appeals to this age group is because it is a musical and also the main characters are played by Zac Effron and Vanessa Hudgens who are popular actors , another reason would be because this is the age group that are about to start high school and the film gives them an insight on how high school may be like for them.The storyline is about the captain of the basketball falling in love with a nerd, they enter for the school musical after they discover they can both sing however not everyone is happy about them entering the competition and their new relationship and the popular goes all the way to get  together with the captain and win the competition. 
    The storyline has common themes that you would get in a typical teen movie which romance, the popular boy hos the basketball captain and voted as the student body and you have the school nerd as well as the popular rich girl, you also have your typical jocks. the film is also set in a high school which is also a common location for teen movies to take place in. 


    Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows- Part 2
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NYt1qirBWg


    The genre for Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows-Part 2 is Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller, Romance
    The movie mainly appeals to young teenagers, both male and female in the age group of 12-16 year old. The reason Harry Potter appeals to this age group is because  Harry Potter is  a series of 8 instalments and it follows Harry as he grows older as he tries to fight off Voldemot who wants Harry dead. Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows- Part 2 is the last of the instalment and includes magic which appeals to this age group as it is the last of the instalment the end of the movie has a big fight scene at the end where Harry kills Voldemot which may be another reason that it is popular for this age group. The film is played by Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson who are popular actors who may have an inherited audience, but also have stared in the films fro  a young age may be another reason why this film is a popular teen movie.
    The storyline is about Harry Potter who is a teenage wizard that attends Hogwarts Wizardry School where he discover another wizard is out to kill him, the same wizard who killed his parents. 
    the typical themes that you get in a teen movie in this movie is that it is set in a school, there is a popular boy and a nerd and romance between the popular boy and another character.


    Twilight
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhML2ajFx_c




    The genre for Twilight is Romance, Thriller, Fantasy 
    The target audience for Twilight is 13-16 year old mainly girls. The reason this could be because the movie is about a vampire falling in love with a human and he tries to do everything in his power to protect her from another vampire who is after her blood, girls may like the idea of having a boyfriend who will do anything to protect their love ones and girls may think after watching this movie is that this is what true love is about and may which to have that one day. Another reason this movie is so popular amongst teenagers is because the main character is played by Robert Pattinson  who is the vampire and Taylor Lautner who is a werewolf in the movie who are both known to be 'good-looking'. 
    The movie has typical themes that you would get in a teen movie is a love triangle, romance between the popular boy and the outcast who then becomes popular, the movie takes place in a high school which is common in teen movies.
    The reason why I think boys do not watch this film is because they do not believe in romance they way the movie portrays romance, that the vampire would do anything even sacrifice his own life in order to save is 'true' love this may be a reason it does not appeal to boys.

    Friday, 6 December 2013

    Task 2

    High School Musical

    This movie was a huge popular hit amongst the young teens and targeted at the teens around the age 12-14 -'tweens'.
    The reasons why this movie was popular for this age range is because of the storyline of being 'accepted' and being 'true to yourself'. It also gives off a very cheerful and colourful view of high school/secondary school which young teenagers who are going to be starting or have just recently started secondary school  dream of how it will be when really, older teens who have experienced or in their last years of secondary 15 + , very well know secondary life is definitely not the way this movie makes it out to be.
       Also, the story line includes a light, sweet romance and stereotypical roles such as the pretty nerd, the sporty jocks, the mean blonde and the very obvious plot of the popular jock falling for the quiet nerd. This really appeals to young audiences who like to giggle and wish for a high school life just like this.



    Not Another Teen Movie

    'Not Another Teen Movie' is another cliché film consisting of a 'popular jock' and a 'nerdy girl' and a very 'mean girl'.The story line might  a repeated and very frequent plot and set in a high school building but its  delivered  in a very comical way which older teens can relate to whereas,   younger audiences wont due to their lack of experience of secondary/high school life.  However, this movie is rated 'R' and so therefore aimed at a target audience of older mature teens, possibly around 16 + . Although the plot of the movie is quite cliché and predictable the movie includes crude humour and violence and etc.



    Clash Of The Titans

    This a very action and mythical based movie focusing on fights, revenge and quests. The movie is all focused on a boy and there is very minimal amount of romance. There are also allot of gory and unfortunate scenes of little girls dying and soldiers getting teared in half, even a man murdering his own wife! Due to these frightening scenes and a violent storyline, in my opinion, I think this movie is targeting at older teenage males around 15/16 + . Teenage girls wont be very fond of this movie as it has no romance and barely any female characters involved, moreover it is evolved around Greek mythology of magical themes and monsters which boys find more interesting.

    http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=clash+of+the+titans+trailer&sm=3

    Monday, 2 December 2013