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Foundation Portfolio Research: Textual Analysis

Why look at Narrative?
 Narrative structure is a very important part of a film and especially the opening. It provides an insight into how the film will develop, and provides clues to how the film will end. There are a number of different types of narrative structure.....

Linear Narrative
This is when the film starts at the beginning and ends at the end. Commonly used and reflects reality.

Non Linear Narrative
This is the opposite of the above, the film darts around from the beginning, end and middle. An example would be Saw.

Omniscient Narrative
This gives the viewer a "god like" perspective, where the audience sees and hears all.

Restricted Narrative
 The opposite of the above where key things are hidden from the audience to keep us guessing.

1. How do the first five minutes relate to the rest of the film?
2. How does it affect the audience and the story
3. Why?

Scream

• Linear
• Restricted

1. It starts with the first of many attacks on the main characters and kills the protagonist in the opening scene.
2. It's quite shocking as we don't expect the major star to be killed.
3. It plays with the audience's expectation We don't know what's going to happen to the rest of the film

28 Days Later

• Linear
• Restricted

1. The first five minutes make the audience want to carry on, as it's abnormal to the viewer.
2. The scenes effect the audience because London is one of the most busiest cities and here we see it empty and desolate.
3. There are no titles except for the production company.

Audience Research

Saw VI - 18
The Grudge (2004) - 15
Paranormal Activity - 15
The Omen (2006) - 15
30 Days of Night - 15
28 Weeks Later - 18
The Shining - 15
Shaun of the Dead - 15
The Exorcist - 18
The Strangers - 15

The most common certificate that we found was 15, this might mean that horror film directors are aiming their films towards teenagers.

’15′

Suitable only for 15 years and over

No one younger than 15 may see a ‘15’ film in a cinema. No one younger than 15 may rent or buy a ‘15’ rated video work.

Discrimination

The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour.

Drugs

Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse. The misuse of easily accessible and highly dangerous substances (for example, aerosols or solvents) is unlikely to be acceptable.

Horror

Strong threat and menace are permitted unless sadistic or sexualised.

Imitable behaviour

Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised.

Language

There may be frequent use of strong language (for example, ‘fuck’). The strongest  terms (for example, ‘cunt’) may be acceptable if justified by the context. Aggressive or repeated use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable.

Nudity

Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context but without strong detail. There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context.

Sex

Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail. There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour, but the strongest references are unlikely  to be acceptable unless justified by context. Works whose primary purpose is sexual arousal or stimulation are unlikely to be acceptable.

Theme

No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate for 15 year olds.

Violence

Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic or sexualised violence is also unlikely to be acceptable. There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but any portrayal of sexual violence must be discreet and have a strong contextual justification.

We found this information from http://www.bbfc.co.uk/classification/guidelines/15-2

The Grudge	Votes	Average
Males	29,689	5.7
Females	6,359	5.7
Aged under 18	552	6.0
Males under 18	372	6.0
Females under 18	179	6.2
Aged 18-29	22,387	5.6
Males Aged 18-29	18,083	5.6
Females Aged 18-29	4,225	5.6
Aged 30-44	11,132	5.9
Males Aged 30-44	9,445	5.9
Females Aged 30-44	1,577	5.8
Aged 45+	1,932	5.8
Males Aged 45+	1,576	5.9
Females Aged 45+	333	5.4
IMDb staff	6	6.4
Top 1000 voters	530	5.6
US users	11,517	5.5
Non-US users	22,609	5.8
IMDb users	43,933	5.7

These are the user ratings results, as  you can see mainly females under the age of 18 watch this film, meaning that their target audience would be teenagers and probably best to rate it at a 15.

Saw VI

Votes	Average
Males	16,933	6.2
Females	1,604	6.5
Aged under 18	637	7.4
Males under 18	555	7.5
Females under 18	81	6.6
Aged 18-29	13,517	6.4
Males Aged 18-29	12,309	6.4
Females Aged 18-29	1,179	6.6
Aged 30-44	3,861	6.0
Males Aged 30-44	3,561	6.0
Females Aged 30-44	279	6.3
Aged 45+	478	5.8
Males Aged 45+	421	5.7
Females Aged 45+	54	6.1
Top 1000 voters	202	5.5
US users	4,169	6.3
Non-US users	12,234	6.2
IMDb users	19,609	6.2

Males under the age of 18 watch this film the most, and so again they would be better off to rate it at 15.

Paranormal Activity

Votes	Average
Males	47,176	6.7
Females	7,552	6.7
Aged under 18	1,639	7.1
Males under 18	1,266	7.2
Females under 18	371	6.4
Aged 18-29	37,720	6.8
Males Aged 18-29	32,328	6.8
Females Aged 18-29	5,289	6.8
Aged 30-44	13,183	6.4
Males Aged 30-44	11,573	6.4
Females Aged 30-44	1,520	6.4
Aged 45+	2,122	5.9
Males Aged 45+	1,773	5.9
Females Aged 45+	326	5.9
IMDb staff	11	8.2
Top 1000 voters	358	6.0
US users	17,277	6.9
Non-US users	31,992	6.6
IMDb users	58,333	6.7

Again, males under the age of 18 are the most frequent viewers for this film, so 15 would be the best rating.

Shaun of the Dead

Votes	Average
Males	104,002	8.0
Females	15,322	8.0
Aged under 18	2,380	8.7
Males under 18	1,955	8.7
Females under 18	420	8.4
Aged 18-29	80,204	8.2
Males Aged 18-29	69,859	8.2
Females Aged 18-29	10,086	8.3
Aged 30-44	31,049	7.9
Males Aged 30-44	27,175	7.9
Females Aged 30-44	3,615	8.0
Aged 45+	5,451	6.8
Males Aged 45+	4,346	7.1
Females Aged 45+	1,053	5.4
IMDb staff	37	7.9
Top 1000 voters	726	7.4
US users	40,680	8.2
Non-US users	70,859	7.9
IMDb users	137,520	8.0

Both males and females under the age of 18 watch this film as frequently as the other, so again, 15 would be the recommended rating.

The Excorsist

Votes	Average
Males	73,381	8.1
Females	11,884	7.9
Aged under 18	1,143	8.5
Males under 18	903	8.4
Females under 18	237	8.6
Aged 18-29	47,160	8.0
Males Aged 18-29	40,243	8.1
Females Aged 18-29	6,721	7.8
Aged 30-44	28,884	8.1
Males Aged 30-44	25,112	8.1
Females Aged 30-44	3,499	8.0
Aged 45+	7,937	8.2
Males Aged 45+	6,547	8.2
Females Aged 45+	1,305	7.9
IMDb staff	19	8.4
Top 1000 voters	801	8.1
US users	29,729	8.3
Non-US users	49,712	8.0
IMDb users	106,716	8.1

Surprisingly, it is females under the age of 18 that watch this film, rather than the expected males, and would be best to be a 15 rather than 18.