Weekly Film: Footloose (2011)

Footloose

The film that I am analysing is the 2011 remake of Footloose. The film starts with lots of images of the feet dancing symbolising what the main theme of the film will be.


The start of the film introduces the main character. He is seen fixing cars and listening to rock music enforcing the gender stereotype that men should be handy at manual labour. As far as the kids at the high school goes they are pretty stereotypical. This includes the pretty bad girl, her friend the sensible one, the new out of town guy and his friend- the outsider who provides exposition. These stereotypes could be made to save time creating brand new original type characters for a movie that os mainly about dancing.

The dancing that the girls are often seen doing is blatantly provocative. It is clear that the director is doing this as there are extreme close ups on the actresses bodies. This sends a bad message about dancing in general as even something that is seen as traditional such as line dancing has added twerking and grinding in it. It is also mostly the rebellious teenagers who do this.

Overall the film does not really allow itself to be part of the dance movie genre as it focuses too much on various subplots such as high school life and teenage problems and less on the dancing that the movie seemed like it was going to be about. It turns itself into the average high school drama that is commonly seen all the time. As I have not watched the original, so had no expectations or prior knowledge to what the film was about, I was slightly disappointed by the lack of originality to the narrative and also how with the visuals and music it set itself to be a dance movie but however this is not the final payoff.



Comments

  1. Coulsdon A Level Film and Media10 December 2017 at 05:11

    This is an interesting analysis Madachi you talk about the genre but very little to the themes which will identify what the film is about. You should watch the original then you would be able to make informed statements about how the (UNAMED) Director deviated or attempted to stay true to the original and by researching the context you may have been better informed to answer the WHY question. Remember CCCEO.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Coulsdon A Level Film and Media10 December 2017 at 05:11

    PICTURES????????

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Weekly Film:Looper

Image
Looper Looper is an action sci-fi film released in 2013 starring Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon Levitt. It contains themes of crime, time travel and running from a past.  It was directed by Rian Johnson, who work includes Brick and Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The film has two different actors playing the same character: as an older and younger version. Bruce Willis portrays an older Joe whilst Joseph Gordon-Levitt portrayed a younger Joe. In order to make his role as a younger Willis more realistic Levitt studied Willis' older films to pick up his mannerisms. I would definitely say that Levitt's character is the most intriguing in the entire film due to his great portrayal and interesting ideals. Looper was made on a budget of $30 million and managed to gain over $176 million at the worldwide box office. It received exceptional reviews by critics and audiences earning a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.4/10 rating on IMDB. It won multiple awards that mainly praised Johnso...
Read more

Film theories and Shaun of the Dead

Film theories and Shaun of the Dead Propp theory: Propp's theory of narrative is that it is driven by 8 characters. The Hero, villain, princess father, dispatcher, donor, false hero and sidekick. This works for Shaun of the Dead as each character could fall into these brackets. Shaun is the obvious hero, Ed is the obvious sidekick and it could be said that the villains are the zombies themselves. Liz is the princess character as she is the typical love interest. Yvonne could be described as the helper or the donor character due to her help in the narrative. Dave is the false hero which is primarily seen in the middle of the film where he tries to shoot Shaun's mother after the revelation that she has been bitten by a zombie as well as when it is revealed that he is in love with Liz. The story is driven by these characters and how they respond to zombies attacking them. Barthes theory: Narratives are a series of codes that are read and interpreted by the audience. These...
Read more

Weekly Film: Baby Driver

Image
Baby Driver Analysis Baby Driver is an action, comedy film released in 2017 starring Ansel Elgort. It contains themes of crime, relationships and trying to leave an old life behind. It was directed by Edgar Wright, someone who has been known to do comedic films in the past such as Shaun of the Dead and Ant Man. The opening of the film relies heavily on its soundtrack which is impressively synchronised into what is happening in the narrative. This use of intertexuality is quite nostalgic to a certain period of time (the 80s). Colour is subtley used throughout the film reflecting a characters personality. At parts of the film where the main character, Baby, was living for the thrill of the chase, the environment is very bright and sunny. The settings mise-en-scene includes tall buildings and fast cars, things commonly associated with a rich and satisfying lifestyle. However at points when he is feeling low and trapped he is seen in darker settings. I would not considered...
Read more