GCSE media year 11

Textual Investigation 1

Investigate how far ‘Men In Black 2’ conforms to genre conventions

The film Men In Black 2, use conventions from a range of different genres: straightaway the audience can tell that it’s a sci-fi film, because the opening scene shows a spaceship flying through space with a narrator talking about aliens; this instantly shows the audience what the genre is. However further along in the film you can see that MIB2 is a hybrid film, as it is also includes conventions of comedy and action. Throughout the film it uses comic lines and slapstick but it also has many chase scenes and fights.

The plot of the film is about a group called Men In Black that find aliens and monsters that have come to earth and they have to deal with them. This is a classic sci-fi storyline.

The mise en scene of MIB2 indicates the genre. It is set in 2002 in New York. The famous actor Will Smith plays the main character in the film, Agent Jay. He play’s many characters in sci-fi films e.g. I Am Legend. Different genres use different conventions. MIB2 uses sci-fi conventions; this is used to become more realistic and is easier for the audience to know the genre. The costumes they wear in the film. Many of the characters and props are created by special effects. The special effects are mostly used on the aliens/monsters to make them realistic and believable for the audience, by using CGI and make up. The characters use many special effects. The main character Agent J uses many different styles of new and never seen technology. He uses a realistic piece of equipment on humans to make them forget what has happened, so they don’t remember anything. He also uses other equipment to contact his boss by video chat, which looks interesting and realistic.

They use special effects on a monster that lives underground in the subway. We see this monster and it is very un-human. The monster looks is a giant worm like creature and is definitely animated, but it looks very realistic to make the audience believe its real.

Special effects are also used on the title at the beginning of the film to make it look more interesting towards the audience. Camera work used in MIB2, shows that it’s a science-fiction film. The opening scene uses a long shot, showing the audience a spaceship flying through space.

When the spaceship lands on the earth they use a close up but from a low angle to make the spaceship look bigger and scarier, but when they zoom out its actually a tiny spaceship, which is used for comedy. There is also a dog called Frank, the comedy here is that he can talk.

Another camera movement is a pan. Is it used to see, the whole location and the objects and characters in it, for instance to see a threat. They use many other camera angles to make the aliens and the characters more realistic by viewing a close up of the character to see the facial expression so you know what they are feeling.

The Island (2005) uses some of the same conventions as MIB2 as they are both science- fiction films. The Island is also a hybrid film because the genre is also an action film as it involves chase scenes and guns.

The Island is different to MIB2 because it doesn’t have any mythical creatures, monsters or aliens. The film is about people who have survived a deadly virus and need to live underground, in a modern place. The film opens with a long shot showing the location. Straight way you can tell that it’s a science-fiction film because of the mise en scene. It open’s with a birds eyes view, giving the audience the location. A man is dressed in a plain white jump suit on a boat, but he is then dragged under the water by something not quite human and has flashbacks, which gives the audience the impression that it is a science-fiction film. We later find out he was dreaming, when he wakes up straight away the audience can tell that something is not right. The camera uses a wide angle to show where he lives.

The film I Am Legend (2007) is set in New York and is about a virus that changes people into monsters and the only survivor has to find a cure. I Am Legend is a hybrid film to. It’s a science-fiction film, like MIB2. However MIB2 is also a comedy but I Am Legend is a thriller and a drama film. In the opening scene of I Am Legend the camera is at a wide angle showing different places of the city. The city is not normal, it looks abandoned, which helps the reader understand that it’s a science-fiction film. The next scene is looking from a bird’s eye view, following the main character, and showing the location.