Title
Summary of Comedy Films Analysis
Key Generic Codes and Conventions
Slide 1
Sub-genres
I found it difficult to identify any of the comedy films and openings as simply a ‘comedy’. All of them fit into a sub-genre of comedy:
Comedy-drama; Juno
Teen Comedy; American Pie, Superbad, Mean Girls
Romantic Comedy; Bridget Jones, Knocked Up, Just Married
Action-Comedy; Hot Fuzz
Slide 2
A few of them also had elements of other sub-genres too; for example, Juno is a comedy-drama but also has conventions of teen comedy; Knocked Up is a rom-com but has elements of a comedy-drama and Mean Girls is a teen comedy but also follows the codes of a rom-com.
The three whole films I watched were Just Married, Juno and American Pie. All three follow the conventions of a romantic comedy, and the last two films combine this with the codes and conventions of a teen comedy.
I found that the codes and conventions of teen comedies and romantic comedies often intertwine. I found they both follow a romantic story, along with a slight battle-of-the-sexes theme.
Slide 3
Mise-en-scene
Costume…
…connotes stock character types. I found that in teen comedies the ‘geeks’ wore patterned jumpers, tucked in shirts and glasses, which would all be deemed unfashionable by Western terms. The ‘popular girl’ would wear short skirts, often a lot of pink and have a lot of skin showing, to connote her stereotypical provocative nature.
…connotes Proppian character types. I found that the ‘villain’ is easy to establish as they usually wear clothes that contrast with that of the ‘heroes’. For example, Peter in Just Married wears tidy, tucked in shirts and suits, whereas the ‘hero’ Tom wears shorts and sports tops.
…helps to relate to the target audience. Casual clothing such as jeans creates verisimilitude. A teenage audience can familiarise with teenage characters through their costume.
Props…
•…create verisimilitude. Everyday props such as breakfast cereal make the film more realistic.
•…relates to the audience. For example, if someone has the same mobile phone as a character, they familiarise with them instantly. I found that in teen comedies this was most common.
•…connote the sub-genre. Bottles of alcohol, adult magazines, school books and/or cigarettes are conventional to the teen comedy genre. Wine and flowers are conventional to romantic comedies.
Slide 4
Mise-en-scene
The lighting used in comedies is always high-key to create a light-hearted atmosphere and make the characters seem more realistic. This helps create verisimilitude and puts the audience at ease, making it easier for them to familiarise with the characters and identify the ‘hero’.
I noticed that characters’ position in a frame is used to connote their relationship; for example in American Pie, Kevin and his girlfriend are often tightly framed together, whereas Jim and Michelle, having only just met, often have a lot of distance between them.
The movement and gesture within a frame creates comedic scenes in the films. For example, an awkward situation between two characters would be created through tense body language (e.g. Jim and Michelle)
Slide 5
Setting
I found that teen comedies are set mainly in school or college. Secondary locations include parties, characters’ bedrooms and shopping centres.
Romantic comedies often have very idyllic settings, to the point that they become unrealistic. For example, Just Married is set on their honeymoon in which they travel all around Europe, so the settings include Venice and Paris. Although the characters could be arguing there is always an amazing backdrop. These beautiful settings create a fairy-tale like atmosphere about love.
Slide 6
Camera shots and movement…
…establish key themes and issues conventional to teen comedies and romantic comedies, connote character types, create a comedic effect and establish relationships between characters. For example;
Two shots are used to frame a couple, connoting the importance of love conventional in teen/rom-coms through their close body language.
Handheld camera creates verisimilitude, but often it accompanies scenes of drunken characters and parties. Also, the camera sometimes goes in and out of focus. This creates a drunken, heady feeling for the audience too so they familiarise with the characters. Mostly in teen comedies.
Very slow tilts are used to establish the love interest, usually starting from their feet upwards. In teen comedies, this is often the female ‘princess’, and in romantic comedies is usually both the male and female protagonists to show the difference in their costume and lifestyle.
Close-ups on characters’ face helps the audience familiarise with them more emotionally. For example in Juno, there are close-ups on her face when she is upset. This establishes these characters as the ‘hero’, as it means the audience understand them more.
Low angle shots are often used to connote power and popularity of characters in teen comedies, for example the ‘jock’. However, they can also be used to connote comical characters, who often believe they are the popular- for example Stifler in American Pie.
Slide 7
Editing
Straight cuts are used…
…to create verisimilitude. This is particularly in teen comedies so that the audience familiarise with the characters.
…to connote relationships between characters.
…to create a fast pace, particularly during slapstick scenes.
Fade-ins are used…
…to connote the passing of time…
…a change to a different character…
…or sometimes someone passing out when drunk. This relates to a teenage target audience who would be familiar with that situation.
Dissolves are… conventional to romantic comedy films because they add to the fairy-tale like atmosphere by giving the film a romantic flow.
Slide 8
Sound
In all the comedy films I watched, there was a non-diegetic soundtrack, which was..
…light-hearted and upbeat, due to it’s light rhythm. Especially when establishing close friendships and relationships, e.g. the close friendship group in American Pie or Sarah and her mother in Just Married, and also when the camera tracks the main ‘Hero’.
…often contemporary pop songs which would relate to a teenage target audience. Often used in party scenes.
…in rom-coms, and during romantic scenes in teen-coms, gave romantic anchorage to a scene because it was often light, classical sounding music.
Many of the films featured a non-diegetic voiceover from the main character. This helped the audience identify them as the ‘hero’ and therefore familiarise with them. The voiceover was also often very funny and witty and carried the narrative along.
Diegetic dialogue is fused with witty, funny, fast-paced dialogue. There are often arguments between characters which get louder, faster and a lot more exaggerated, packed with witty insults. Also, the ‘villain’ can be established because their tone of voice is often calm and sophisticated (e.g. Peter in Just Married) in comparison to the comically immature heroes.
Slide 9
Narrative structure
I found that teen and romantic comedy films often followed quite a similar Todorovian narrative structure. Generally, they go like this:
Teen comedies:
Equilibrium: Normal high school life, usually following one or a group of ‘average’, ‘geeky’ or ‘new to school’ characters
Disruption: A teen issue of some kind disrupts this equilibrium, usually to do with sex/relationships.
Realisation: Characters realise that in order to be socially accepted they must do certain things (see below).
Seek to solve problem: Male protagonists try to ‘score’, female protagonists try to fit in/date the ‘perfect’ boy (often the ‘jock’). Often more smaller disruptions within these plans occur.
New equilibrium: The Heroes end up with their desired love interest and often a new sense of maturity.
Romantic comedies:
Equilibrium: The completely different lifestyles of a male and female protagonist. Somehow, they meet, which is a disruption to their ‘former’ lifestyles, however creates a new romantic equilibrium.
Disruption: The couple argue due to either exes, misconceived ‘cheating’, dislike from one or the other’s family/friends, and break up temporarily.
Realisation: One or the other, or both, realises they are incomplete without their love.
Seek to solve problem: a ‘grand gesture’ is made.
New equilibrium: The couple have a happy reconciliation.
Slide 10
Character Types: Teen coms
Key stock character types I found in a teen comedy are: the ‘geek’ (e.g. Sherman in American Pie), the ‘popular girl’ (e.g. Leah in Juno), the ‘Jock’ (e.g. Oz in American Pie), the ‘average girl’ or ‘girl-next-door’ (usually the main character so the audience familiarise with them).
I also found that there were stereotypes of social groups in teen comedies, e.g. ‘goths’.
I identified the following Proppian character types in teen comedies:
I found that the ‘hero’ can be male or female; for example in American Pie, the heroes are male, but in Mean Girls the heroin is female. This is all depending on target audience and how they familiarise with the heroes; teen films like Mean Girls would be considered a ‘chick-flick’, having a predominantly female audience, but American Pie would relate more to boys.
In ‘chick-flicks’ the villain is almost always the ‘popular girl’. However, I found that mostly in teen comedies the villain is usually pressure from society.
The ‘mentors’ and ‘helpers’ are friends and family of the hero/heroin, who offer frequent advice and guidance.
The ‘princess’ is almost always the hero/heroin too; sometimes they rescue themselves from their problems but often a male ‘hero’ will rescue the female protagonist, in which case becomes the ‘princess’.
Slide 11
Character Types: Rom-coms
Key stock character types I found in a romantic comedy are: the conventionally, by Western terms, ‘successful’ woman, glamorous and beautiful but unsatisfied without love- the Proppian ‘princess’ who must by rescued by the ‘hero’; a ‘useless’ and ‘lazy’ man, who is still remarkably attractive and whose weaknesses are seen as strengths; the comically and stereotypically over-protective father of the woman who is sometimes the ‘villain’ and the ostentatious yet caring and nurturing mother, who acts as a ‘mentor’ to the princess; the male’s mentor being his father- often a senior reflection of himself. The ‘villain’ is also often an ex or another love interest. Then there is the similarly immature companion of the male, his ‘helper’, and the similarly successful friend of the female, her ‘helper’ (who sometimes have a comical relationship of their own).
Slide 12
Audience Theory
I found that the codes and conventions of romantic and teen comedy films complied with the ‘uses and gratifications’ theory:
Escape: The idyllic settings of romantic comedy films and the fairy-tale like atmosphere created means that audiences can escape into these films.
Identity: The ‘everyday’ props and modern props such as mobile phones and computers, the costume of characters, straight cuts etc. meant the audience could identify with characters and familiarise with their situations.
Social Interaction: This is also meant a teenage audience could communicate with their peers about the films, relating them to their own lives.
Entertainment: The ‘screwball’ style of comedy, combining witty humour with slapstick scenes, means that teen/rom-com are extremely entertaining for audiences.
Also, the ‘hypodermic needle’ theory could be applied. The inevitably happy ending to teen and rom-com films always ends with love. Therefore, they are injecting the audience with the idea that love conquers all. Feminists would criticise this as the female protagonist might lose everything else but still have her male ‘hero’.
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