Excellent detail in your analysis Will, you give specific examples from the text and relate these to the theorists that are appropriate. You have a secure grasp of media terminology and clearly understand convention within genres.

Analysis of ‘Vain and the Brain’

Costume was used to represent each individual social group. For example, because of the school setting, students were dressed in school uniform to create verisimilitude. We wanted to demonstrate the behavior of a stereotypical school student; therefore we filmed students in their natural school environment, this can be verified by one student swearing at the camera, or the popular characters dominating over the geeks etc. The school setting is conventional to the Romantic Comedy genre, this is emphasised by classrooms and halls which are school iconography. Ed Buscombe argues that we must define genre through generic iconography as the film is a visual medium.

The main character is a geek. Therefore, we ensured that he followed the ‘geek’ stereotypes through conventional clothing such as glasses, a shirt and tie/bow-tie, canvas shoes and a comb over hair-style. The second geek had long hair and spots which also connotes to the ‘geek’ stereotype. Conversely, the popular characters wore branded clothing such as jeans and trainers as well as using hair styling products and make-up. They also spoke loudly and used foul language to further convene to the ‘popular’ social group. The representation of the geek was enhanced through the use of props such as the Game boy, iRobot DVD, books, the bag and the handkerchief. Tessa Perkins suggests that stereotypes reinforce places in society. When applied to gender, this can suggest that males are the dominant figures in society and females the subordinate. Concerning ‘Vain and the Brain’, we followed Perkin’s theory to a degree as we ensured that the male character was taller than the female and therefore dominant in some context. However, we wanted Will to comply to the ‘geek’ stereotypes so therefore this made him inferior to Mel in social status and therefore social power.

We wanted to create a link between the two main characters, Will and Mel. Although they contrast heavily in their social status we used the ‘iRobot’ DVD as a signifier as this film represents the sci-fi genre- which has ‘geek’ connotations. Concerning interpretations of the representation, we subverted the gender conventions in our film. A section of our film was produced in accordance with Dyer’s theory about the ‘Role of Stereotypes’ where Dyer explains that certain stereotypes are associated with certain genders. For example, in our film, Will looks at Mel but Mel looks away towards the floor to demonstrate her romantic emotions. This emphasizes the males’ power and dominance over the female character.

Ferdinand De Saussure was a linguist. He explained that signs were a form of communication and can be demonstrated as something that may represent something else. A signifier is something that represents something else; this may be a prop, choice of clothing or piece of music etc. The signified is the meaning of the object and how it represents what is representing. Together, the signifier and signified produce the sign. An example from our film would be the bow-tie or geek glasses worn by Will. Both items of clothing are signifiers as they move the plot forward, they signify ‘geekiness’ and ‘awkwardness’ and convene to the ‘geek’ stereotypes so are therefore signs.

Furthermore, concerning representation, Laura Mulvey argues that women are objectified to the male gaze. Mulvey goes on to explain that women are the object of the camera. In ‘Vain and the Brain’ we wanted to show evidence of Mulvey’s work. In the romantic scene where Will and Mel stand gazing lovingly into one another’s eyes, we tried to make Mel the object of the camera by making her look down the camera while also trying to keep the feeling of awkwardness alive. Conversely, we wanted Will to be less reluctant to look at the camera. This was demonstrated by him constantly looking down at the floor or in different directions; only rarely did he look down the camera. Will’s reluctance to look down the camera also further emphasizes the awkward and romantic feelings he was demonstrating towards Mel.

Claude Levi-Strauss spoke of binary oppositions in media text. For example the plot of a film could feature good vs. evil or life vs. death oppositions for the base of the production. In ‘Vain and the Brain’ we had a geek vs. popular binary opposition. Will, played the geek and was socially inferior to the popular Mel. However, because Will is the male character, he still held some dominance over Mel.

Todorov adopted his own narrative theory of media text. He argues that all media text has a normal setting, followed by a problem and then the resolution of the problem, i.e. equilibrium, disequilibrium and resolution. ‘Vain and the Brain’ featured an equilibrium with the characters living their normal lives i.e. Will talks science with his other geeky friends, blows his nose constantly and gets bullied while Mel hangs out with her popular friends discussing parties and her attire. The disequilibrium was the deviation in social norm when Will knocked the books out of Mel’s hands and they faced one another. Mel begins to argue with Will before he moves towards the books to pick them up. The resolution happens when Will picks up the ‘iRobot’ DVD and stands to stare at Mel. There is a romantic moment which is highlighted with the use of slow-motion editing. The bells rings and this signifies the end of the resolution, everything snaps back into reality.

When relating audience to ‘Vain and the Brain’, we can consider Morley’s theory that people interpret media text differently depending on their social backgrounds. Our film was targeted at 16/17 year-old teenagers to 24/25 year-old adults. Therefore, an adult of a later age may not be as interested in the film as someone in our target audience. Furthermore, the female audience may find the film more interesting than a male, as the genre of romantic-comedy usually applies more to women than men. Also, the various social demographic groups of a conventional school i.e. geeks, those that are socially accepted, sports stars etc may take different views on the plot of the film. Someone in a higher respected and more professional job may not enjoy the film as someone in a less professional occupation as it does not fit with their social standing. The background of an individual will influence their choice of film and how much they enjoy a particular genre. Therefore, not all genres will be enjoyed by all.