Section C: Exam Response

With particular reference to the endings of your chosen American films, compare their messages and values.

Both Badlands and Natural Born Killers have similar messages and values, however, because Badlands was made in 1973 and Natural Born Killers was made in 1994, the way these messages and values are portrayed are very different, however, both of these films were inspired by an American mass murderer known as Charles Starkweather.
One very big theme that runs throughout both films is the American Dream. The American Dream was basically that all Americans dreamed of being rich, famous and successful. This theme is shown in Badlands because Kit wanted to be famous and like a film star, also, the constant references to Kit looking and acting like James Dean & when Holly said they were going to change their names to James & Priscilla, as in James Dean and Priscilla Presley.
At the end of Badlands, Kit is sentenced to the electric chair and is killed, the film ends at that, which is completely different to Natural Born Killers. When Mickey and Mallory went to jail, the film was no-where near over, a big message that runs throughout Natural Born Killers is the media, and that the influence it has on society is not always how it seems and is not healthy. Wayne Gale, played by Robert Downey Jr. is the man that represents the media, and in this film Mickey and Mallory both kill him, thus killing the media. A key scene in Natural Born Killers is the one where Mickey and Mallory are both at the drug store buying antibiotics for a snake bite, because as they are both being beaten by the police outside of the drug store, this is a re-creation of something shown through the media a few years before, the OJ Simpson beating in England.
Wayne Gale is an important character in the film in terms of getting the message across to the audience that the media is bad and evil, in most of the shots that he is in, a blue background is behind him, to show the cold hearted media that doesn't care about the people that they portray, just that they portray them in a way that will attract an audience, also every so often he would be shown in devil costume with a low angled shot, which his power over the media, but also shows what he does is evil.
In Badlands, society isn't consumed by the media like it is in Natural Born Killers, because obviously back in the 50's when Badlands was set, there wasn't a TV in every room in the house like in the 90's. Even though this is the case, Kit still wanted to be famous like James Dean, and he believed an easy way of doing this would to become a serial killer, just like in Natural Born Killers where Mickey and Mallory both celebrate after they see they're on TV. Both films give people the idea that it's easier to become famous by doing something tragic and horrible like being a serial killer, rather than becoming a film star. However, the two endings of these films both give off very different messages. At the end of Badlands, the death that was foreshadowed in all of Kit's life, like with Hollys dog being shot and the cow dead on the floor, ended up with Kit being caught and killed, however, in Natural Born Killers, the film ends with Mickey and Mallory having killed Wayne Gale and then walking out of the shot, this shows they have in fact escaped the media and have gone on to live a normal life. So Badlands shows that actions have consequences & Natural Born Killers shows that you can just run away from your problems, this also reflects the times in which these films were actually made.

Sightseers Case Study

- Sightseers is a 'black comdey' in order for this to be a success, they need to get the balance between the comedy and the horror correct.
- People who have watched Ben Wheatleys films will go and watch this film.
- This film will more than likely be more successful in Birmingham, as the two main characters are 'brummies'
- However, this wont be successful in America, because they don't understand the humour or types of films of 'Black Comedy', also, they wouldn't understand the accents very well.
- This film would more than likely be promoted in the Midlands Area through posters and trailers, like these:

 

The Poster:

 

- The poster is in bright colours, creating a sense of happiness and gives off the comedy element.

- Shows the two main characters in the image.

- Main image sets the scene, out in the countryside, bright blue sky, quite peaceful

- Four different reviews on the front with their ratings, however quite misleading as it only mentions the hilarity of the film and the comedy side, but nothing about the horror.

- Title in biggest font, bold & bright yellow.

- Discusses the producers and directors, attract fans of these people.

- Small image of a caravan next to the title, has blood up it, gives off the horror element.

- The caption 'killers have never been this close-knit' once again gives off the horror element from the usage of the word 'killers'.

- The characters both have very different facial expressions, the man has a very serious face and quite scary looking, which gives off the horror side of the film, and the woman has quite a surprised worry face, which is quite humorous and comical, which gives off the comedy element of it.

- At the bottom is a website for the film.

 

 

 

The Trailer:

 

- Two Characters introduced straight away.

- Non diegetic sound of one of the characters narrating whilst writing the poster.

- Comedy element from the usage of 'The bed's quite short, but Chris is a sensitive lover'.

- More comedy included from the usage of the woman writing the postcard with a huge pencil.

- Sudden usage of violence, when Chris hits an innocent man over the head with a branch.

- The director 'Ben Wheatley' is then introduced.

- The use of non-diegetic sound gives the horror element when Tina says 'I've never really thought about killing innocent people before' but then Chris adds to the comedy again by saying 'He's not a person Tina, he's a daily mail reader'.

- Rating and review included in the video.#

- Romantic element toward the end, change to romantic music, kissing, saying how Chris loves Tina.

- Ends on a very funny clip, him running someone over and then shouting 'Haha! F**k you!'

 

Genre - Black Comedy

Director - Ben Wheatley

Stars - Alice Lowe, Eileen Davies, Steve Oram

Release Date - 30 November 2012

Budget - £9,300,000

Grossed -

Production Co. -StudioCanal

 

Review:- "I really wanted to like this, yet I left the cinema feeling underwhelmed. The basic set-up is pretty straightforward, which I think may be part of the problem. Whilst the main pair of characters are played well, the plot doesn't really develop them, or the set-pieces, in any meaningful manner. So it feels like there's a lack of depth in what unrolls in front of you.
Yes, there are some funny scenes and some humorous lines indeed, and the shots of the English countryside in particular are beautiful and haunting. However, it comes across as a sketch show bundled up into a longer piece and you can see the various outcomes of scenes being flagged up clumsily throughout.
Basically to me, this feels like the result of a conversation between the writers that was along the lines of "Wouldn't it be really funny to do a film about a couple of sociopaths who go on a caravan holiday together?" and hasn't really had much more put into the mix. Throw in some obvious continuity errors (people speaking with their mouths shut, car doors opening and closing themselves, etc) which distracted me greatly, this isn't really the great British comedy that it's been made out to be. As someone said to me, it's a film that feels a bit too pleased with itself....sorry.