Me and My Movies
Adam Foster

Hot Fuzz
Director: Edgar Wright
Year of Production: 2007
Hot Fuzz is a police comedy about a top police
officer in London who is transferred to a small
village in the countryside and is paired with an
incompetent sidekick who is the son of one of
the police force’s senior members. At first the it
seems as though there is no crime whatsoever
until they discover until they discover that the
crime rate is so low because everything is
disguised as accidents. The two police man
investigate and discover that there is a secret
organisation of the village’s residents who are
murdering anybody who tries to hinder the
village’s reputation.

Anchorman
Director: Adam McKay
Year of Production: 2004
Anchorman is a film about a man named Ron
Burgundy who is the top Anchorman in San Diego
and is loved and respected by all, he is also very
fond of himself. He meets a woman at a part one
night and the next day she becomes a new
anchor and the first female anchor, she is intent
on becoming a figure in San Diego and basically
standing up for females, in the process her and
Ron develop a hatred for each other and she
ends up sabotaging his career. Ron ends up out
of a job and must redeem himself and earn his
place as the top anchor once more.

American Pie
Director: Paul Weitz
Year of Production: 1999
American Pie is a film about four teenage
boys in their last year of high school, one
night at a party, all of them run out of luck
with women and encounter people far less
confident than themselves having plenty of
luck. The following morning they decide that
they go to college if they’re virgins and
subsequently make a pact to lose their
virginity before their senior prom and with
the help of each other try to achieve this
ultimate goal in the short time they have.

The main elements of the comedy genre that attract me to it are mainly the
stars, actors such as Will Ferrell, Seth Rogen, Simon Pegg and many more, this is
called star theory. Star theory basically means if I was to see a film coming out
in the cinema with Seth Rogen in, I would go to see without hesitation because I
have seen lots of films with Seth Rogen and know that they are generally good
films and that he makes it more enjoyable to watch. Elements of the story often
involves the characters encountering problems on the way to achieving their
goal which are often given a twist because of the nature of the genre and they
always make the film more enjoyable and funny to watch. Also I find comedy
films to be quite relatable because of the age I am at and the sense of humour
used in comedies is generally the same sense of humour that me and people
my age would have. Usually the characters have a problem which I and lots of
other people can always relate to because people of the age who the film is
aimed at may have similar problems and can often relate but with a humorous
twist.
What attracts me to this genre?

Area of Analysis Example Technical feature (Camera/sound/mise en
scene/ editing)
Conforms to genre? Y/N Breaks conformity? Y/N
If yes, how?
Codes and conventions
Appearance of the
characters, funny
clothes/moustaches.
Characters pulling funny
faces.
Characters talking in funny voices, lots of
characters together talking and laughing.
Yes No
Setting
Set in San Diego, mainly in a
TV studio. Typical American
city.
Lots of large buildings, always sunny. A few
establishing shots of San Diego are used.
Yes No
Character
Dressed in funny costume,
all have funny hairstyles and
unusual facial hair.
Close ups of characters so you can see the
funny elements of the characters.
Yes No
Themes
Love – between Ron
Burgundy and the female
anchor.
The two characters are shown on screen
together a lot and there is a theme of love
at some parts even though mainly they
dislike eachother.
Yes No
Narrative
Ron Burgundy is a very
highly rated anchorman in
San Diego but his place as
top anchor is jeopardised
when a female anchor aims
to become top anchor.
The two anchors sat in the studio shows the
rivalry between the two and the goal in
common.
Yes No
Film title Anchorman trailer
Director Adam McKay
Year 2004
Genre Comedy
Iconography
Large bridges + buildings in
San Diego – typical
American city
Lots of establishing shots are used to show
this.
Yes No
Anchorman Trailer Analysis

Area of Analysis Example Technical feature (Camera/sound/mise en
scene/ editing)
Conforms to genre? Y/N Breaks conformity? Y/N
If yes, how?
Codes and conventions
Lots of references to rude
scenes: parents catching
their son watching porn,
scenes of characters with few
clothes on, characters
watching girls on live
streams.
Some comedy films often include rude
scenes like the ones mentioned because it
appeals to the target audience.
Yes No
Setting
Typical American high school,
large American houses,
parties.
American flags all around the school. Lots of
scenes with people drinking and dancing to
indicate it’s a party.
Yes No
Character
Four slightly geeky
teenagers, one friend who
has lots of luck with girls.
The four main characters all have strange
fashion sense and unusual haircuts whereas
the other friend has a slightly better fashion
sense etc.
Yes No
Themes
Love – each of the characters
has a love interest within the
film.
The characters are often shown with their
love interest and presented so you know
there is something between them.
Yes No
Narrative
The four main characters
enter a pact to lose their
virginity by prom.
There is a scene where the four characters
put their hands together and make the pact
official so you know they’re all in it together.
Yes No
Iconography
Sunny American city. A few shots are used giving you a glimpse of
what the city they are in looks like and shows
it to look sunny and like a nice place to live.
Yes No
Film title American Pie
Director Paul Weitz
Year 1999
Genre Comedy
American Pie Trailer Analysis

Area of Analysis Example Technical feature (Camera/sound/mise en
scene/ editing)
Conforms to genre? Y/N Breaks conformity? Y/N
If yes, how?
Codes and conventions
Police uniforms, police cars,
guns, criminals, gorey
incidents.
All things you would expect to see in a
police movie but there is the humorous
twist to all of these things.
Yes No
Setting
Rural English village. Churches, country pubs, cottages are all
features of a typical rural village and there
are no particularly large buildings.
No Yes, usually an action/police
film would set be set in a
large city but the main
policeman has been moved
to this rural village.
Character
Typical highly skilled
policeman and a slow witted
companion.
There are lots of clips of him showing his
ability and determination.
No Yes, usually the main
policeman would be quite
good looking and would be
quite muscly but this
policeman is fairly ugly and
quite chubby too.
Themes
Friendship between the two
policeman, at first it takes
the main policeman a while
to get used to the slow
witted policeman but they
develop quite a strong bond.
Lots of clips of the two together, looking like
a great police partnership.
Yes No
Narrative
A highly skilled policeman is
transferred to a rural village
where it appears nothing is
happening but there is a big
mystery behind it all.
There are scenes of the main policeman
doing lots of research and paperwork to
uncover the truth behind the village.
Yes No
Film title Hot Fuzz
Director Edgar Wright
Year 2007
Genre Comedy-Action
Hot Fuzz Trailer Analysis

What makes me go to see a film?
The main thing that makes me to go to see a film is the trailer of the film or if it
is a highly anticipated sequel to a film series or franchise I have enjoyed. If the
trailer makes the film look interesting or if star theory comes into play and
there are some actors who I really like then most of the time I will go to see
the film. The genre can also influence me, generally I would be more
influenced to go and see a comedy than any other type of film but action and
horror films also appeal to me and if the film looks really good then I will
usually just go for any genre. I would also go to see a film if it is a highly
anticipated summer blockbuster, even if it doesn’t interest me all that much I
would still probably because it has high expectations. Also I would see a film
based on the director, if a director I like released a new film I would be more
tempted to see it because I know that director generally makes films I enjoy.

Where I find out about my films?
Quite often I find out about films from friends and family who would
recommend a film to me based on what they know I like. Also social networking
sites such as twitter and facebook sometimes help me find out about films,
when people talk about them and hype them up it persuades me to go and see
it. Quite often if I like an actor, I would use IMDB and look at films they have
been in and watch a few of them and films similar. Also on IMDB, there is a list
of similar films to a film I like and sometimes I choose to watch one of them
because I know it would be good.

Reception Theory
Reception theory is the theory of people being interested in a specific genre
or type of film based on their cultural background, what they like doing, life
experiences and more. For example, I enjoy watching comedy films,
particularly teenage comedies because it’s something I can relate to because
of my age and the things that happen in those films interest me because of
the way I am and the age I am at. However with other people, they may enjoy
romance films because they are generally a romantic person and may have
experienced break-ups similar to those in films so they can relate to it. It
applies to more or less everybody but with different genres, all based on age,
cultural background, experiences, what they like to do and it can affect the
way they look at certain films.

Active Spectatorship
Active spectatorship is looking at elements of a specific genre and researching
why they attract people to that genre. For example in James Bond, we always
see nice cars, nice looking women etc and that attracts people to watch it
because they like to see that in films. In comedy films you see things such as
parties which interests most teenagers because it’s what people of that age
generally do and enjoy. These are typical things we see in certain genres and
must be included in a film of that genre to attract as many viewers as possible.