The Theory of Films
Task 1:
David Frankel directed The Devil Wears Prada, this film is considered a modern film that is the perfect representation of feminism with fantastic portrayals of strong female lead roles by both Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway. The synopsis to The Devil Wears Prada is that a recent college graduate, Andrea Sachs (Anne Hathaway), lands a job that every girl in New York would die for, personal assistant to Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) the editor-in-chief of Runway Magazine. As the film digresses Andrea makes big changes to her appearance which subtly alters her personality, she goes from being a shy girl with poor fashion at the bottom of the "food chain" to a confident, well dressed assistant going above and beyond to impress her stern boos. That being said her efforts to impress Miranda do not go unnoticed and it becomes apparent she is the favourite personal assistant. Eventually Andrea starts to lose all of her friends and romantic interest as they point out that she is becoming a mini version of her boss.
David Frankel has directed a number of films including Collateral Beauty, Marley & Me and Hope Springs. Collateral Beauty is a film about a dad that tragically loses his daughter. As the years go on he becomes depressed and writes three letter to Love, Time and Death in a bid to seek answers about the universe, once he finds his answers he resumes back to the real world with a new enlightenment about the world he lives in. Marley & Me is a film about a couple that has just got married and moved into a new home together and decide to adopt a golden Labrador puppy that grows up to be very mischievous. As the family enlarges and the couple have a daughter that they welcome and soon move away to Pennsylvania, tragically as the dog gets older he passes away but the film is mainly about family. Finally Hope Springs is a film about a couple that have been married for 31 years but have lost all intimacy between them. In a final resort to reignite the spark they attend couples counselling and against all doubts it works for the couple as they fall back in love with each other and renew their wedding vows. None of the films mentioned are classed as feminist films however that doesn't mean there isn't slight feminist elements in them.
Frankel has worked with a number of big names including Meryl Streep a few times, Jennifer Aniston - who was made famous by her lead role as Rachel in "Friends"- Will Smith, Helen Mirren and Owen Wilson. Most of the actors/actresses feature in family or heartfelt films that make the audience think or appreciate aspects of their lives. This is where The Devil Wears Prada differed from all the other examples. Meryl Streep was chosen because in most of her roles she plays are typical housewives of course there are a few exceptions like Donna in Mamma Mia. Anne Hathaway, the other main actress, plays another feminist role of the head strong Andrea. Stanley Tucci plays Nigel, Andrea's only friend at work. His character spends his time devoted into making Andrea the perfect assistant Miranda desires.
The lighting used throughout the film is bright signifying Andrea is the light in Miranda's life showing her goodness, almost as if she were a guardian angel. Every scene there is conflict between Andrea and her friends or boyfriend low lighting is used to foreshadow a sadness that is to come.
Originally there was The Devil Wears Prada novel by author Lauren Weisberger which eventually turned into a film 3 years later, this was Frankels inspiration for the film. However Weisberger feels as though Frankel humanised Miranda too much which made her lose her ice-queen edge which is so apparent in the book. It is said by reviewers that the movie and the novel convey very different messages but this is due to them being consumed in different media forms.
In the movie both main characters Miranda and Andrea have significant others however by the end of the film both relationships come to an end as it is made clear to the audience that Miranda’s marriage ended because her husband couldn’t deal with not being her main priority and he is seen by the audience as her accessory when out in public and not as an equal. The Devil Wears Prada is a drama and comedy genre. The drama throughout the film is clear when both of Miranda's personal assistant constantly fight each other to be the best.
Conventions throughout the film include all of the girls having to be supermodel size skinny, they have to be pretty and be highly fashionable. This helps to convey how strenuous the fashion industry can be on young girls and can effect their body image.
Amy Heckerling directed and wrote Clueless. A film about a 16 year old girl in high school navigating her way through adolescence and what she wants in life. Alicia Silverstone who plays Cher goes to school with her two best friends Stacey Dash (Dionne) and Brittany Murphy (Tai). All 3 friends have different dynamics they bring to each other however ultimatly they are all viewed as the same "air heads" that care more about fashion than grades. Although Cher's father is a big time lawyer so she uses her learnt persuasive skills from him to convince her teachers to change her grades and make them better. When her debate teacher becomes stubborn in changing her grades Cher takes it upon herself to find her teacher a love interest that she thinks will make him happy. Eventually with the help of her best friend Dionne they help her teacher fall in love and he ultimatly becomes a happier person. Whilst Cher is busting finding her teacher a new love interest she gets distracted by the new boy Christian who we later discover is gay. Throughout the film Cher emphasises that she doesn't feel it important for her to conform to society and have a high school boyfriend, partly because she feels they aren't intelligent enough for her, backing up that clueless is a feminist film.
Amy Heckerling has worked on the 1989 and 1990 films Look who's talking and Look who's talking too. The film stars John Travolta and Kirstie Alley. It is about following the life of a baby and what he thinks when he watches and experiences the world around him both the good and bad.
All scenes have high lighting because the film is portraying Cher's life. In one scene towards the end of the film she comes to the conclusion she is in love with her ex step brother Josh (Paul Rudd) and she is standing in front of a fountain then when she finally comes to this realisation the fountain lights up with bright colours to show that she is happy and joyful about the conclusion she has come to.
Clueless genres include romance, comedy and chicflik. All the perspective genres come together nicely to create the film. All genres are blatant throughout the film. It explores the struggles of being in High School and the social pressures they are made to face such as losing your virginity, finding a life partner and making sure you always look the best and get the best grades.
David Frankel directed The Devil Wears Prada, this film is considered a modern film that is the perfect representation of feminism with fantastic portrayals of strong female lead roles by both Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway. The synopsis to The Devil Wears Prada is that a recent college graduate, Andrea Sachs (Anne Hathaway), lands a job that every girl in New York would die for, personal assistant to Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) the editor-in-chief of Runway Magazine. As the film digresses Andrea makes big changes to her appearance which subtly alters her personality, she goes from being a shy girl with poor fashion at the bottom of the "food chain" to a confident, well dressed assistant going above and beyond to impress her stern boos. That being said her efforts to impress Miranda do not go unnoticed and it becomes apparent she is the favourite personal assistant. Eventually Andrea starts to lose all of her friends and romantic interest as they point out that she is becoming a mini version of her boss.
David Frankel has directed a number of films including Collateral Beauty, Marley & Me and Hope Springs. Collateral Beauty is a film about a dad that tragically loses his daughter. As the years go on he becomes depressed and writes three letter to Love, Time and Death in a bid to seek answers about the universe, once he finds his answers he resumes back to the real world with a new enlightenment about the world he lives in. Marley & Me is a film about a couple that has just got married and moved into a new home together and decide to adopt a golden Labrador puppy that grows up to be very mischievous. As the family enlarges and the couple have a daughter that they welcome and soon move away to Pennsylvania, tragically as the dog gets older he passes away but the film is mainly about family. Finally Hope Springs is a film about a couple that have been married for 31 years but have lost all intimacy between them. In a final resort to reignite the spark they attend couples counselling and against all doubts it works for the couple as they fall back in love with each other and renew their wedding vows. None of the films mentioned are classed as feminist films however that doesn't mean there isn't slight feminist elements in them.
Frankel has worked with a number of big names including Meryl Streep a few times, Jennifer Aniston - who was made famous by her lead role as Rachel in "Friends"- Will Smith, Helen Mirren and Owen Wilson. Most of the actors/actresses feature in family or heartfelt films that make the audience think or appreciate aspects of their lives. This is where The Devil Wears Prada differed from all the other examples. Meryl Streep was chosen because in most of her roles she plays are typical housewives of course there are a few exceptions like Donna in Mamma Mia. Anne Hathaway, the other main actress, plays another feminist role of the head strong Andrea. Stanley Tucci plays Nigel, Andrea's only friend at work. His character spends his time devoted into making Andrea the perfect assistant Miranda desires.
The lighting used throughout the film is bright signifying Andrea is the light in Miranda's life showing her goodness, almost as if she were a guardian angel. Every scene there is conflict between Andrea and her friends or boyfriend low lighting is used to foreshadow a sadness that is to come.
Originally there was The Devil Wears Prada novel by author Lauren Weisberger which eventually turned into a film 3 years later, this was Frankels inspiration for the film. However Weisberger feels as though Frankel humanised Miranda too much which made her lose her ice-queen edge which is so apparent in the book. It is said by reviewers that the movie and the novel convey very different messages but this is due to them being consumed in different media forms.
In the movie both main characters Miranda and Andrea have significant others however by the end of the film both relationships come to an end as it is made clear to the audience that Miranda’s marriage ended because her husband couldn’t deal with not being her main priority and he is seen by the audience as her accessory when out in public and not as an equal. The Devil Wears Prada is a drama and comedy genre. The drama throughout the film is clear when both of Miranda's personal assistant constantly fight each other to be the best.
Conventions throughout the film include all of the girls having to be supermodel size skinny, they have to be pretty and be highly fashionable. This helps to convey how strenuous the fashion industry can be on young girls and can effect their body image.
Amy Heckerling directed and wrote Clueless. A film about a 16 year old girl in high school navigating her way through adolescence and what she wants in life. Alicia Silverstone who plays Cher goes to school with her two best friends Stacey Dash (Dionne) and Brittany Murphy (Tai). All 3 friends have different dynamics they bring to each other however ultimatly they are all viewed as the same "air heads" that care more about fashion than grades. Although Cher's father is a big time lawyer so she uses her learnt persuasive skills from him to convince her teachers to change her grades and make them better. When her debate teacher becomes stubborn in changing her grades Cher takes it upon herself to find her teacher a love interest that she thinks will make him happy. Eventually with the help of her best friend Dionne they help her teacher fall in love and he ultimatly becomes a happier person. Whilst Cher is busting finding her teacher a new love interest she gets distracted by the new boy Christian who we later discover is gay. Throughout the film Cher emphasises that she doesn't feel it important for her to conform to society and have a high school boyfriend, partly because she feels they aren't intelligent enough for her, backing up that clueless is a feminist film.
Amy Heckerling has worked on the 1989 and 1990 films Look who's talking and Look who's talking too. The film stars John Travolta and Kirstie Alley. It is about following the life of a baby and what he thinks when he watches and experiences the world around him both the good and bad.
All scenes have high lighting because the film is portraying Cher's life. In one scene towards the end of the film she comes to the conclusion she is in love with her ex step brother Josh (Paul Rudd) and she is standing in front of a fountain then when she finally comes to this realisation the fountain lights up with bright colours to show that she is happy and joyful about the conclusion she has come to.
Clueless genres include romance, comedy and chicflik. All the perspective genres come together nicely to create the film. All genres are blatant throughout the film. It explores the struggles of being in High School and the social pressures they are made to face such as losing your virginity, finding a life partner and making sure you always look the best and get the best grades.
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