Post 33- Macro elements of film form
White House Down
Macro Elements
Representation
On screen, there are a variety of social groups represented, the first one being the terrorist group who take over the White House, they are divided from the other social groups as they have dangerous views, and want to harm people. The representation of the terrorist group is effective as they scare the other characters however they are the wrong ones in this film and so their representation was only ever going to be bad. Furthermore, another social group that is represented in this film is the government, the government are shown as people who think they are able to save people however it turns out that a member of the tour is the one who actually saves the White House. There are two members of the US government who plans the attack and so you can see how easily people can change. The representation of the US government is effective as they are doing good with their power, however its only two other members who goes against it to get revenge of the president. Another social group that is represented is the US citizens who are involved in the attack when they are kept hostage, they are the victims of the attack and are innocent, its the 'hero' of the film is John Cale, who went for an interview for a job at the White House, and then realised his daughter was missing when the attack happened, he then made it his mission to save her, however on the way he came across the president who he then had to save, the two of them worked together to shut down the attack. The representation of this social group is that they are determined as there are several moments in the film when members of the public risk their lives to save others, for example the tour guide, or the celebrity who stands between the criminal and Emily Cale. All of these groups are represented in a way to show how the director Roland Emmerich sees these groups and so he used their actions to portray these ideas.
Genre
The genre of White House Down is action, this is clear through the explosions as the special effects allow this to happen. The genre is made clear through non-diagetic sound, the explosion sound effects would have been added afterwards during the editing process. The sound of the explosion going up in the air shows the impact of the attack and the glass breaking shows how it was destructive of everything around it. This is possibly representing how everything that the attack touched caused damage both physically and mentally. The location of this scene is shown through the camera angles the camera is showing a birds eye view of the explosion therefore showing everything around it being destroyed. Also, by having this camera angle it shows the location of the scene and shows how the White House is surrounded by buildings which also would have been damaged, showing that its an action film. Continuing with camera angles, when the explosion first happens the camera is racing up to the top of the building just like the fire showing the speed of the explosion. There is also a moment when the fire seems as if it was overtaking the camera and then during the editing the audience are able to see the overall damage the explosion has caused as the camera switches to a birds eye view of the explosion.
Narrative
The narrative style is like a timeline, it is showing the events that are happening in chronological order, over a short period of time. There are no flashbacks in this film therefore showing that in a situation like that you have to think in the moment in order to stay safe. The narrative is showing how a man called Walker wanted to get revenge on the president for making a decision that then killed his son, he wanted to destroy the White House and kill the president in order to get justice for his son. This is a plot twist within the film as no one knew it was Walker behind it all until him and the president were alone and he turned the gun on him, this was effective as it added an element of surprise to the film, the viewers didn't think anything else bad was able to happen until this moment happened.
Audience
For White House Down, the target audience is mainly for people who enjoy action/thriller films. The intense atmosphere of the film would allow viewers to gain the full action film experience, as well as all of the guns and explosions. However, the film is age rated a 12, meaning that it is suitable for younger audiences however I don't feel as though the film is targeted towards this age, it is simply there as a guideline for those watching it. The viewers who watch the film purely because of the action packed events would be more engaged in it compared to someone who enjoys a romcom, however, I am usually someone who would go for a romcom over a action film however after watching White House Down it has become one of my favourite films. Although, I can't say that this is the same for everyone, the film is quite intense and is constantly showing more problems that the characters have to face, which may not be everyone's favourite thing to watch.
Macro Elements
Representation
On screen, there are a variety of social groups represented, the first one being the terrorist group who take over the White House, they are divided from the other social groups as they have dangerous views, and want to harm people. The representation of the terrorist group is effective as they scare the other characters however they are the wrong ones in this film and so their representation was only ever going to be bad. Furthermore, another social group that is represented in this film is the government, the government are shown as people who think they are able to save people however it turns out that a member of the tour is the one who actually saves the White House. There are two members of the US government who plans the attack and so you can see how easily people can change. The representation of the US government is effective as they are doing good with their power, however its only two other members who goes against it to get revenge of the president. Another social group that is represented is the US citizens who are involved in the attack when they are kept hostage, they are the victims of the attack and are innocent, its the 'hero' of the film is John Cale, who went for an interview for a job at the White House, and then realised his daughter was missing when the attack happened, he then made it his mission to save her, however on the way he came across the president who he then had to save, the two of them worked together to shut down the attack. The representation of this social group is that they are determined as there are several moments in the film when members of the public risk their lives to save others, for example the tour guide, or the celebrity who stands between the criminal and Emily Cale. All of these groups are represented in a way to show how the director Roland Emmerich sees these groups and so he used their actions to portray these ideas.
Genre
Narrative
The narrative style is like a timeline, it is showing the events that are happening in chronological order, over a short period of time. There are no flashbacks in this film therefore showing that in a situation like that you have to think in the moment in order to stay safe. The narrative is showing how a man called Walker wanted to get revenge on the president for making a decision that then killed his son, he wanted to destroy the White House and kill the president in order to get justice for his son. This is a plot twist within the film as no one knew it was Walker behind it all until him and the president were alone and he turned the gun on him, this was effective as it added an element of surprise to the film, the viewers didn't think anything else bad was able to happen until this moment happened.
Audience
For White House Down, the target audience is mainly for people who enjoy action/thriller films. The intense atmosphere of the film would allow viewers to gain the full action film experience, as well as all of the guns and explosions. However, the film is age rated a 12, meaning that it is suitable for younger audiences however I don't feel as though the film is targeted towards this age, it is simply there as a guideline for those watching it. The viewers who watch the film purely because of the action packed events would be more engaged in it compared to someone who enjoys a romcom, however, I am usually someone who would go for a romcom over a action film however after watching White House Down it has become one of my favourite films. Although, I can't say that this is the same for everyone, the film is quite intense and is constantly showing more problems that the characters have to face, which may not be everyone's favourite thing to watch.
Comments
Post a Comment