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In Media Studies, students view and analyse media texts. Students analyse
the operation, nature and function of production and story elements in
those texts and discuss how these elements combine to engage an audience.
One of the keys to student success in this area is the choice of text.
The experience of Media teachers and examiners shows that good text selection
is vital to enable students to get off to a good start in the subject.
With poor text selection students can become disengaged and discouraged.
Some films do not lend themselves as readily as others to a close textual
analysis. Some films' construction is more apparent than others and, of
course, different films emphasise different constructions and narrative
elements.
It is a good idea to seek films that cover a range of narrative elements.
However, selecting films from wildly divergent genres can lead to a lack
of focus and disharmony. The subject matter or ‘'theme' of the texts
is probably the least important element, although using two films from
the same or similar genres can give the study a unity that will enhance
students' experience.
The texts need to complement each other. For example, you can select
one film that makes great use of diegetic sound (e.g. Singin' in
the Rain) and one that uses non-diegetic sound to great effect (e.g.
American Beauty). Select one film that uses time in a straightforward
linear manner (e.g. Scream) and another that uses many flashbacks
or flashforwards (e.g. Run Lola Run).
The following is a list of films that the author team of Heinemann Media
2 finds useful (or anticipates will be useful) and appropriate for the
study of narrative at year 12 level. The list ranges from a semi-silent
comedy to a contemporary detective mystery.
Each text in this list has been proven to work to engage students in
a range of educational settings and each text contains elements and features
from which students can gain insights into the operation of story and
production elements.
The choice of text is, of course, always up to the individual teacher
and should take into account the teacher's expertise, student interest
and availability. The text you choose should be readily available for
rent or purchase by students. Remember, the class will be examining these
texts in great detail over most of the first term so the text will need
to engage the class—and the teacher.
Recommended film texts
Mystic River (2003)
Clint Eastwood. Colour. 137 mins.
A man's daughter is murdered and her death brings together three childhood
friends in the old neighbourhood.
Production elements
Camera movement: fluid and restless camera
Acting: superb acting
Lighting: effective in a naturalistic way and also creates a brooding
atmosphere
Story elements
Opening sequence: creates expectations
Character: construction and motivation
Setting: the working class neighbourhoods of Boston
Narrative development: plays with audience supposition and false clues
Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
Wes Anderson. Colour. 109 mins.
A whimsical examination of the family life of the over-achieving yet dysfunctional
Tenenbaum family. A superb ensemble cast.
Production elements
Art direction, sets: subtle use of colour
Mise en scène: studied composition, placement and focus
Story elements
Time: flashbacks
Storylines: multiple storylines as the family meets and clashes
Point of view: multiple points of view, whose story is being told?
Moulin Rouge (2001)
Baz Luhrmann. Colour. 127 mins.
A contemporary reworking of the musical genre.
Production elements
Art direction, sets: bold use of colour and lush and lavish sets
Mise en scène: depth of focus
Lighting: expressive lighting
Story elements
Setting: the connotations of the setting
Opening: creation of mood etc. in the opening
Run Lola Run (1998)
Tom Tykwer. Colour. 81mins.
A trilogy in one piece. Exciting, mischievous and dynamic. Lola must get
100,000 marks to her boyfriend before he is killed. A video game : three
lives and game over.
Production elements
Editing: montage, still images clash and blend
Filming: combination of animation and conventional film stock
Sound: use of soundtrack
Story elements
Time: flashbacks/forwards, time stands still, plays with time
Cause and effect, point of view: how are they created?
Scream (1996)
Wes Craven. Colour. 111mins.
The horror, teen, slasher pic that is a repository of references to the
genre and itself, and still scary!
Production elements
Acting: a great ensemble cast
Editing: all the essential elements of a classic horror
Mise en scène: deep focus, shifting focus
Lighting: classic horror lighting.
Story elements
Opening: a gripping 10 minutes of tension echoing Psycho in the death
of a star
Cause and effect: false clues and assumptions
Setting: classic horror settings of isolation
Psycho (1960)
Alfred Hitchcock. B/W. 107mins.
The seminal film of its genre. A film which is a referent for most other
horror/killer films. Hitchcock's masterpiece of suspense and misdirection.
Production elements
Editing: the shower scene (more than one shot per second)
Lighting: the parlour scene and the cellar scene
Sound: the shower scene!
Story elements
Setting: the Bates Motel
Storylines: multiple storylines that converge, plant false clues and misdirect
the audience
Point of view: shifts over the course of the narrative
The Searchers (1956)
John Ford. Colour. 120mins.
A civil war veteran attempts to find his niece who was taken as a girl
by the Cheyenne. A view of the complexity of racism and the West. One
of the great westerns.
Production elements
Mise en scène: depth of focus, visual composition, acting
Story elements
Setting: the classical monument valley western setting
Character: Ethan Edwards is a powerful and complex construct
Cause and effect: Ethan's character motivation
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly. Colour. 103 mins.
The seminal musical. An intensely self-reflexive look at the impact of
the introduction of sound in Hollywood.
Production elements
Sound: the interplay of diegetic and non-diegetic sound, the inherent
self-reflexivity of the musical
Acting: the multiplicity of acting within acting
Story elements
Time: flashbacks, cause and effect
Setting: the studios and Hollywood is the subject
Modern Times (1936)
Charles Chaplin. B/W. 87mins.
The last film The Tramp appears in. A perfect transition from silent film
to sound. A comedy in four acts with an acute social commentary which
is equally applicable today.
Production elements
Sound: soundtrack is justified sound, use of diegetic and non-diegetic
sound, talk equals technology which then equals exploitation
Mise en scène, location shoots, film stock: why is it black and
white?
Story elements
Character: how is The Tramp constructed?
Storylines/narrative structure: the four acts, cause and effect
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