Tyler Quintal Reflective Journal

My essay

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In this essay, I think that the screenshots are well-chosen and at times I link back to audience response, which is a crucial feature of textual analysis. However, I don’t always go back to impact or meaning. I should also try and link some of the points back to the whole film or themes in the narrative as this is a dark fairytale and has themes of disobedience in the face of evil.

In conclusion, I feel that this is a good try for my first essay however there are some improvements I need to make as I am missing some decisive point which could make my final essay so much better.

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When studying film, the context can be a major part in understanding the meaning inside a film and understanding the basic setting of the film. Pan’s Labyrinth is set during the Spanish Civil War. This backbone helps to understand why Vidal and his soldiers are fighting in this war. It gives us the context of the symbolism that Del Toro is trying to put across in the film. The theme of the film is disobedience against fascism and oppression of the common people. However, context isn’t only important in Pan’s as if a movie is set in WW2, then understanding that war and the impact it had on the world and people, will help in understanding the directors intentions with the story.

My Narrative Slideshow:-

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The slideshow explores the narrative of Pans Labyrinth, and analyses two key elements such as structure & characters. Below I have made 4 bullet points on how narrative study is useful in understanding this film.

• In Pans, the characters follow the general archetypes of a fantasy/war genre however some characters act in different ways, for example, the faun is meant to symbolise the wise old man archetype, however, he is shown as untrustworthy and doesn’t give Ofelia the best advice is not the best influence for her.
• The structure is also essential as the acts are split up as there is a clear story mountain structure with the beginning, build-up, problem/dilemma, resolution and the ending.
• The conflicts between Ofelia and Vidal is crucial narrative as it contributes to Ofeluas rebellious attitude towards Vidal and his rules.
• This also follows the same themes as the main theme is about the oppression of Vidal who is acting like as government and how people will try to stand up to him.

Narrative Analysis Of: UP (2009)

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Structural Moments –

• The gradual bond between Carl and Russel gets stronger at the end of the movie.
• The discovery of Charles being the villain, and them trying to stop him.
• The flashbacks to Carl’s wife throughout the film.

Character Types –

• Carl – Old man who is short-tempered and grumpy, however, is more accepting by the end.
• Russel – The young sidekick who looks up to Carl, and turns out to be the hero.
• Charles – The villain who turns on the heroes.

Conflicts and Themes –

• The conflict of Carl leaving with his house before it gets demolished
• The realisation of Charles being the villain.
• Carl and Russel trying to escape.

Class Analysis:-

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Reflection On Genre Analysis –

Similarities:-

• There are clear similarities between the conventional characters with similar conventions such as the villains, sidekicks and wise older characters.
• There are clear similarities between the conventional conflicts and themes such as the characters journey and a clear divide between good and evil.
• There are clear similarities between the conventional events and scenes such as chase and battle scenes, ending with the main characters sacrifice.
• There are clear similarities between the conventional props and objects such as swords, armour and magic, with conventional props like a mystical tree.
• There are clear similarities between the conventional story, such as the main character taking upon a quest in where they are victorious.

Differences:-

• There are clear differences between the conventional characters such as the wise character being a role model for the character, as the faun is not a good influence.
• There are clear differences between the conventional conflicts and themes such as Ofilia not self-discovering her destiny more is told by the faun.
• There are clear differences between the conventional events and scenes such as the audience not expecting the ending, or how it happens.
• There are clear differences between the conventional iconography such as saws in which the professor uses to amputate a leg, as you don’t expect it
• There are clear differences between the conventional storylines such as the main character completely dying and not be resurrected.

Pans also includes themes and archetypes drawn from the war genre. Such as the battle & war scenes to outline the surroundings these character are in.

My Genre Poster:-

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In this poster, there is a spy character sneaking up to a guard outside a bar at night (as shown by the lamp post in the corner. This fits the stereotypes of most spy movies as the spy is slick and very precise in his movements and attacks. The security guard is there to show that the building is a guarded place. Most of the places the spies try to get in to are heavily guarded. There is also a man in a suit with a gun looking as if he is ready to shoot. We decided to draw it in this way because this is a scene which would happen in a generic spy movie, and would be something that you would see in these movies.

This follows the conventions and similarities/differences of spy movies as it follows the similarities of the main character wearing a suit and being very professional, however this can change as not every spy movie is like this. It also follows the locations and scenes with it happening at night with the spy sneaking up to someone which is standard in most spy movies, however some spy movies don’t have any stealth and just have action, so it is not something in every spy movie

My Favourite Film:-

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This is my favourite film because it is one of the strongest performances I have seen from DiCaprio and he plays this crazy character well. This is also my Favourite film because of the writing, and Scorsese lets you into the lifestyle that this man has.