Guardians of the galaxy

Narrative• I consider this plot to be really intriguing, its very unique in its characters. The

actual story line isn’t that different if you think about it as it falls under the branch of ‘ a group of heroes saving the day’ but the effects and the thrilling characters really build the story.

• The films is definitely science fiction due to its plot of the world becoming at the brink of destruction. The story line isn’t realistic at all but that’s what makes it more exciting, it ‘lets your imagination loose’.

• The character names themselves present the genre e.g. ‘Groot’ isn’t a typical name at all, its very original and sounds like a inhuman character.

• The story is about Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), a young man who was abducted from earth when he was a boy by a spacecraft after losing his mother and raised by a hoard of space thieves. After stealing a mysterious orb in the far reaches of outer space he is now the main target of a manhunt led by the villain known as Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace). Peter Quill arrives on the Nova Empire and is chased by Ronan's warrior Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and by the bounty hunters Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and The Groot (Vin Diesel). They are arrested by the police officer Corpsman Dey (John C. Reilly) and his men and sent to a prison called The Kyln, where they befriend the strong Drax (Dave Bautista). Soon they learn that Gamora wants to betray Ronan and sell the orb to a dealer for a huge amount while Drax wants to kill Ronan, who killed his wife and daughter. They plot a plan together to escape from the prison and try to sell the orb and split the money. But soon they also learn that the orb keeps the infinity stone that gives immensurable destructive power to the owner. They decide to deliver the orb to the leader Nova Prime (Glenn Close) to keep it safe from Ronan. But they are hunted down by Ronan and his right-arm Nebula (Karen Gilan) that want to destroy the Universe. To help fight Ronan and his team and save the galaxy from his power, they decide to come together and call the "Guardians of the Galaxy”.

Linear and non linear plot• The plot isn’t linear because it does jump time periods, particularly at

the beginning. • However it is linear as the story is actually very straight forward to

follow.• For example: ‘hero gets dragged into something, universe needs

saving, finds a team, defeats villain, hope is lost, finial battle, universe saved and good guys recognised. ‘.

Todorovian theory• Equilibrium: Quill being abducted after his mothers death• Disruption: Quill finding the orb• Realisation: They learn that Gamora wants to sell the orb to a dealer

for a huge amount of money while Drax wants to kill Ronan as Ronan killed Drax’s wife and daughter. They also learn the orb has a infinity stone which allows its amazing destructive power.• Attempt to repair: They deliver the orb to Nova Prime who keeps it

safe from Ronan.• Resolution: They become guardians of the galaxy.

Conventions of science fiction• All the characters are unrealistic/supernatural e.g. groot who is a walking tree• Space• Invasion/Abduction- Quill was abducted from earth in a spacecraft• The magical orb• Futuristic tones e.g. blue lighting• All the characters have powers- supernatural• Advanced technology• Space travel between planets and civilisations • Genetically modified racoon

Hybrid• Comedy: Many sarcastic comments throughout the film

between characters e.g. They only person who can understand groot is the racoon, groot says over and over ‘I am groot’ in a very frustrated tone, but it really is just funny.

• Also the relationship between groot and rocket is a joke itself as their size comparison is just laughable.

• Action: There are many fighting scenes and the group cause a questionable amount of carnage.

SO, the main genre is sci fi, comedy and action making guardians of the galaxy a hybrid film. It is a mix of all these genres and there as so many conventions of all that one simply cant be chosen. All films tend to have a genre mix as it makes the target audience larger and the film less categorized.

Enigma codes• Why was this boy abducted?• What is this orb and why is it

worth so much money?• How did the group ‘guardians of

the galaxy’ come about?• Why did Ronan kill Darx wife and

daughter?

Binary Opposites • Good vs Evil• The guardians of the galaxy are trying

to defeat Ronan and to prevent him from getting the orb.• Humans vs supernatural• Peter Quill is a normal child before

being abducted by the spacecraft. He then becomes star lord and becomes a target of a man hunt as he has an orb.

Who is the hero?• Peter Quill AKA Star Lord; He is the character the film

revolves around, it starts of with him as a child being abducted then turning into this powerful character, we watch his journey.• He also is played by a famous actor- Chris Pratt.• In this particular picture you can see star lord as his

powerful self. Everyone else is fighting from a ship whilst he is on the ground- he doesn’t need shield he is brave enough to be unprotected. He looks determined as he is enforced with these destructive laser guns. The guns are attached to his hands like claws.• He is wearing a red long leather coat which reminds me of

a cape therefore showing she's a heroic character.

Who is the villain?• Ronan the Accuser played by Lee Pace.• Ronan is the villain which is clearly shown by the way he is

presented. • His surroundings are very dark and dull with fire.

Everything looks destroyed and he looks malicious.• He is holding an axe like weapon which is almost the

length of him suggesting he is a very dangerous person.• He I wearing really padded armour like clothing which is

quite cowardly compared to star lords oufit. Its as though he is scared of being harmed and wants to be bulletproof.• He has red marks on his chest which connote blood

suggesting that he had been attacking people.

• The villain is dressed in black with a scar on his face- this follows the stereotype of the ‘ugly, scared’ villain.• The heroes are all muscular and ‘abnormal’ as they have

supernatural powers suggesting that normal people aren’t strong enough to play a heroic part. You need to be fit, young and energetic.• There is a women playing one of the main heroes- Gamora

which is actually not stereotypical. However the way she is presented is stereotypical- low cut glamorous clothing with her hair perfectly curled suggesting she's dressed for the men.

Stereotypes in the film

Countertypes in the film• I think there is a slight countertype

as Gamora is a powerful women who can fight for herself and stands strong amongst a group of men. Whilst usually in a film women tend to be quite vulnerable and needing the help of other people.• Gamora also starts of as a villain

which is again unusual for a women in a film as if anything they are the victim.

Male hero vs female hero• Gamora and star lord are both heroic

characters in the film. Star lord essentially starts the whole team but the saving couldn’t have been done without Gamoras help.

• Gamora is wearing a low cut sleeveless top and looks quite flirtatious. Whilst star lord is completely covered up and his power is just thrown through his facial expression of determination and the way he is holding his weapon.

• Star lord has a powerful laser gun and is on the grounds unprotected whilst Gamora has some kind of sword which doesn’t look very powerful and is shielded by the ship suggesting she isn’t as capable.

• Gamora is smiling and doesn’t look very serious about what is going on whilst star lord is concentrating so hard that he's frowning.

Ideology • The film suggests that abstract clothing and weapons make you

more powerful and above everyone else.• I do think that the film relies on the old views of

masculine/feminine to a extent however there are definitely countertypes in the film and lots of modern views. However the hero is a white and young male which is very old fashioned.

• I think there is a impossible body image shown as Gamora is a ‘perfect shape’ with muscular arms, strong but small legs and a petite stomach.

• Drax is also a unrealistic shape- he is extremely muscular ‘hyperbolically’! His arms are so muscular that he has blue veins on show and almost looks completely blue.

Representation and audience• I think these representations do

make the film successful because the exaggerated bodies and extreme views cause controversy and talk about the film making more people intrigued into what the story is. Also it makes the characters seem more shocking and unique rather than just normal characters- they are meant to be different- ‘from another galaxy’

Audience- uses&gratifications, demographics and utopian solutions• The main target audience of this film is definitely mainstreamers. The film is very

universal as its wide range of characters allows a number of personalities and era’s to appreciate the film. Marvel superhero's have been around for a long time so like Wall-e, Guardians of the galaxy could bring lots of childhood nostalgia. I would say that GOTG isn’t actually aimed at a specific gender- typically films have a certain vibe around them which highlight the target gender but in this case there is a both a really powerful female and male characters and many comedic/action moments which can be appreciated by any gender. The age group which would most appreciate this film is probably 10-16 however this is a family film so adults will most likely enjoy GOTG especially with some of the comedic moments.

• The films is also purely for entertainment- it is exciting and action packed. The audience can forget about their life's and focus on the film for a sense of escapism. The film is also very much apart of the energy/intensity/ community sectors for the utopian solutions as it is purely a- have you on the edge film- will the heroes work together to defeat the villain.

BBFC Rating and psychographic• 12A- moderate fantasy action violence, threat, moderate

bad language.• This is a fair rating as the film does have some violent

moments, yet it is a family film so having a 12A isn’t restricting the audience.• Social climbers and explorers would appreciate this film

the most due to the fantasy/action elements and the aspects of futuristic technology. The whole concept of space ships, galaxy heroes, talking racoons etc... The film is clearly explorative and exciting.

Setting of guardians of the galaxy• Guardians of the galaxy is set on a space craft or in space so is

completely run on ‘technology’. The film is known for its special effects. Due to the setting being mostly on a space craft the genre is truly shown- no-one really lives on a space craft, especially with the technology they have. The setting is really what adds to the interest and buzz around the film. If the setting was just a park it would be no where near as interesting but because its an exciting background there are more enigma codes.

Duration: 8 seconds Camera shot: Medium shotCamera angle: LowSound: Non diegetic song

Duration: 5 seconds Camera shot: Medium shot wideCamera angle: LowSound: Non diegetic song

Duration: 4 seconds Camera shot: Close upCamera angle: Eye levelSound: Non diegetic song

Duration: 7 seconds Camera shot: Close upCamera angle: High eye levelSound: Non diegetic song

Duration: 2 seconds Camera shot: Long shot and wideCamera angle: High pointing downSound: Diegetic talking

Duration: 2 secondsCamera shot: Long shotCamera angle: Low pointing upSound: Diegetic engine

mise en scene analysis: meet the guardians

The background is all veryfuturistic. The white lines going across the back makeit look like they are in a machine or a portal when really they are lining up like they are ‘wanted’. However usually the typical ‘wanted’ picture is a grey orwhite background which addsto the futuristic vibe.Also the lighting is very blue toned which is typically conveys future.This scene is one of the most effective because itshows how supernaturalthe characters are compared to Peter. Youhave a walking tree, aextremely muscly red human, a human like racoon and a green women- its actually quitefunny because the characters are just so different yetfall under the same group-this highlights the comedy aspect.

The camera shot is long and wide in order to have a full sense of the characters and their environment. Thecamera level is low/eye level showing the charactershave power.

The characters are standing in very strong positions to demonstrate that they aren't afraid and imply that they have full control of the situation- even though theydon’t as they seem to be inprison.

The racoon is placed in the middle which is funny because usually the leader or the strongest is in the middle but in this the smallest is in the middle however this could suggest that the racoon has more intelligence than we assume.

Sound track• The ending song is effective as it is celebratory,

although its non diegetic the song fits in like its supposed to. It ends the narrative in a happy manner, however throughout the whole film several up beat songs are used for comedy.• This song is particularly special as after star lord

reads the letter from his mother it plays ‘aint no mountain high enough’ which is actually quite sad as it links to the emotions you would feel when having a bond as strong as a mother and child.• Especially when they are all going home to

reunite with family.