Copyright research

For our film, we need to include sound of some sort and because we didn't want to breach any copyright laws so we researched the copyright law for sound recordings and this is what we found.

"Under the 1988 Act, copyright in a sound recording expires either (a) 50 years after the recording is made, or (b) if the recording is published during that period then 50 years from the publication, or (c) if during the initial 50 years the recording is played in public or communicated to the public then 50 years from that communication or playing to the public, provided the author of the broadcast is an EEA citizen. Otherwise, the duration under the laws of the country of which the author is a national applies, unless such a duration would be longer than offered in UK law, or would be contrary to treaty obligations of the UK in force on 29 October 1993."

Jennifer's Body

Jennifer’s Body represents high school girls in a stereotypical way. The phrase on the poster is ‘She’s evil…And not just high school evil.’ This refers to high school girls gossipping about each other’s lives and judging each other. The main character who features on the film poster is wearing a lot of red. Red is known to be a sexual colour which suggests that high school girls are hyper sexual and it also links to the ‘male gaze theory’. Red also signifies danger and blood which could suggest that something bad happens in the film. The title ‘Jennifer’s Body’ is written in the same font that would be on a stereotypical cheerleader’s uniform as those are the stereotypical girls that are evil in high school.

From the movie poster, the audience can tell that the film challenges the horror conventions as typically, the brunette girl is usually the final girl who is studious and responsible and the blond girl is the opposite. However, the movie poster suggests that the brunette is hyper sexual and irresponsible.

The representation of women in this poster suggests that teenage girls are no longer innocent. In this still, Jennifer is wearing a white dress and white is usually associated with purity and innocence but the blood on her dress suggests otherwise.

Postmodernism in Scream

The final girl

-          Sydney fulfils the role of the final girl.

-          Characters are being killed all around her and she is left at the end of the film having to confront the killers.

-          The confrontation allows her to discover the true identities of the killers and find out the truth about her own mother’s murder.

-          The final girl re-establishes order by confronting her own past traumas and fears

Mise-en-scene

-          The opening scene of Casey Becker’s killing also provides examples of the ominous mise-en-scene characteristic of a horror film. She often moves around the house lit by lamps which provide pockets of light and shadow.

-          The darkened spaces are frightening for both Casey and the viewer because they provide places for the killer to hide.

-          The lack of illumination in the scene is both literal and symbolic – neither Casey nor we know what lurks in the dark.

-          When Casey looks out of the window the mist over the pool also provides an example of disorientating mise-en-scene

Narrative

-          Scream follows the equilibrium – disturbance – new equilibrium pattern of most horror films. The killing of Casey breaks the peace of the small town, and chaos ensues as other characters become victims the mid-section of the film charts the successive killings and the inability of the local police to solve the crime. It is only with the final confrontation scene that peace is reinstated.

Themes of death and destruction

-          Death and destruction are what the killers inflict upon the world of the film, but in Scream we are made to look further into this theme.

Iconography

-          Scream includes many classic icons of horror.

-          We see knives and a mask in the opening sequence and these are used throughout the film to signify the killers. Knives are the intimate violent weapons.

-          The killers must attack from close quarters and often stabs many times, heightening the fear and pain of the victim.

-          Horror films use disguise as a means of disorientating the viewer and obscuring the killers identity until the end of the film.

Why is it postmodern?

-          Horror films often have a knowledgeable audience who are aware of horror conventions and have certain expectations of the genre. Scream is a film which clearly acknowledges that its audience will have seen previous horror films. It invites us to comment on the predictability of the genre and at the same time offers us new, self-conscious, at time humorous, but nonetheless frightening example of the horror film.

What is postmodernism?

-          A currently popular intellectual concept. It is used as a way of grouping and describing the styles of thought and culture attracting most critical attention during the final few decades of the twentieth century. ‘Postmodernist thought’ has caused a revolution across all academic disciplines, from Physics to English via Geography. Postmodernism offers a different way of both constructing and deconstructing ideas.

Scream

-          At the time when Scream came out horror was a well-worn genre. Audiences were getting bored of the horror formula. Wes Craven alleviated this with his post-modern twist on horror genre

Horror genres

Horror film conventions in 'Hide and Seek'

Analysing our horror film questionnaire