Todorov and Strauss' Theories (DYM Homework)

Todorov's Theory

Analysis to 2:48

The protagonist – Sean Archer (John Travolta)

The Antagonist – Caster Troy (Nicholas Cage)

The equilibrium at the beginning of the scene is clearly portrayed by the lighting around the characters, the objects/people around them and through the music. Sean Archer is introduced on a carousel hugging his child and playing with his hair etc. where as in contrast to this Troy is introduced almost entirely bathed in shadow setting up a rifle. The image has had its contrast reduced as to make the scene look like a memory or a dream as to show that it is an important event in both the characters histories. The music is ominous and connotes that something bad is going to happen.

Within the first three minutes Sean Archer has been shot and his son has been murdered, this sets the tone for the rest of the film, clearly showing that the action to come will be revenge based.

The death of Archer’s son suggests that the film will be about him achieving justice and ultimately revenge upon Caster Troy. The fact that Sean crawls towards his son and holds onto him suggests that he is not willing to let go and give up on him immediately, this suggests to the audience that the character of Sean Archer will have to deal with his son’s death or be consumed by it.

*SPOILER ALERT!*

Equilibrium is eventually restored within the first half of the film where Caster Troy is captured and Archer gets his revenge. However equilibrium is again disrupted when Archer assumes Troy as good as dead (in a coma) and undergoes a face transplant, literally taking Troy’s ‘Face Off’ and attaching it to himself as to go deep undercover to discover where Caster’s terrorist group is planning to attack next.

Strauss's Theory


Batman: The Dark Knight Trailer from Blacktree.TV

From the trailer we can tell that the film is an action/superhero film, we can tell from the iconic characters of Batman and The Joker, we can also tell as the whole film is very dark and filled with shadow as to show the seriousness of the film.

We have the two opposing characters of Batman and The Joker. These two characters are portrayed very differently from one another. For a start Batman has his very pristine, shiny costume and mask where as The Joker wears tatty, old clothes with clashing colours that connote a sense of insanity. The characters have very different moral codes. This is shown by the trailer showing The Joker as a very violent character, often seen carrying a knife or a gun and Batman seen as sophisticated and collected often saying clever 'jokes' and wearing very dapper suits.

The main themes of the film is darkness and conflict between good and evil. These are shown through references to 'the night' and 'dawn' and also through the lighting of the film. often with Batman half covered in shadow showing he is a character with a darker side to him. The trailers ending quote "You die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain" portrays how thin the line is between hero and villain is in this film despite the two main roles being almost completely opposite what with the psychotic villain and the cool-headed hero.

The narrative of the film is organised to create conflict as it has two characters of which cannot be stopped e.g. What happens when an Unstoppable Force meets an Immovable Object. Both characters are shown as extremely powerful and have conflicting goals.

*SPOILER ALERT!*

Batman
                          Meeting        -        Conflict         -       Batman captures Joker
The Joker