Representation

The Netflix original film, Extraction 2, it depicts men as cold-hearted and serious. In the movie it also illustrates that grown men should be strong and have no vulnerable emotions. For example, the lead character, Chris Hemsworth plays Tyler Rake, who is shown as a strong masculine man who has no vulnerable emotions or actions such as crying. Tyler Rake is expected and shown to put up with his struggles and being a man about them. Other aspects of the film that portray Tyler Rake as a strong masculine man are his costume design, body type, and the shots and angles in which he appears in. For example, in image 1 it shows Tyler Rake at a slightly low angle, which conveys power and dominance. In images 1 and 2 both costume designs are masculine clothing that are typical for an ideal man. Both have neutral colors that don't make them stand out or make them seem flashy, like what a female would wear. Moreover, in image 3 it shows what Chris Hemsworth's physique looked like when he was playing for the role of Tyler Rake. It is clear that the creator of the film wanted to portray the main character, who is a secret soldier, to have a physique that was fit and muscular, the ideal physique of a man.

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Another Character from the film Extraction 2 is Sandro Radiani, a teenager. This teen is shown as being lost and gullible. For example in the video below it show Sandro calling his uncle Zurab who is the antagonist, Sandro is unsure if this is the right choice and asked his uncle questions to clarify. In the end he is convinced by his uncle and does what he asked. The image below is a screenshot from the video that shows a close-up of the teenager's face to focus on the detail that he is scared and uncertain of what he is about to do. This represents teenagers as being gullible because it shows how Sandro, a teenager, fell for his uncle Zurab's trick. Moreover, teens are also made to be seen as people who are lost and don't know how to make the right decision. For example, during the climax of the film, this character has to make a decision to kill the man who murdered his father or save him, but it is conveyed that he is having trouble in making a decision that is right.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYuCsHrCXoQ&t=2s 

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The antagonist of the film is Zurab, the leader and founder of a Georgian mob. He plans to take revenge for his dead brother, who was murdered by the protagonist, Tyler Rake. Zurab is shown to be a person who is bitter and serious throughout the whole movie. He has one goal in mind and he does not want anybody to get in his way to achieve his goal to avenge his brother. For example, in the video link below it shows Zurab conversing with his uncle about avenging his brother. His uncle is trying to prevent him from having more people killed, including from Zurab's mob. Afterward, Zurab gets annoyed with his uncle and decides to shoot him so that nobody prevents him from avenging his brother. The fact that he is prepared to kill anybody from getting in his way illustrates that men are ready to hurt or attack anything in order to obtain something if they are serious and focused enough.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxvwqToGKF0 

Different types of media that portray male characters the way this film demonstrates theirs will affect the way people see men. The Extraction 2 film demonstrates a good man as a strong, independent man who is serious and has almost no vulnerable actions. Therefore, this will place in people's heads that men should not be vulnerable and hide their emotions since it is seen as being resilient and strong for a man. On the other hand, in Extraction 2, young men like Sandro is portrayed as being gullible and a dumb person that doesn't know how to do things right. According to, people will be less likely to respect teenagers even though some are more mature and intelligent than people illustrated like the character Sandro. In addition, adults may think that it is easy to convince teens to do something they are uncertain about since they will view them as being gullible. Moreover, the enemy of the protagonists is illustrated as being serious and angry throughout the whole movie. Therefore, people who watch films that portray antagonists or any character like this will start to believe that all men who are serious and angry are willing to hurt anybody, including their family, to claim whatever they want. This could also be seen by the audience that if a man is serious and angry, they can accomplish whatever they want. Productions should try to make male characters seem more open to reality to have more emotions and views in life and decisions. 

Genre Research Activity

 Comedy

Comedy is a genre that aims to amuse the audience and always includes a happy ending. It consists of humorous dialogue, physical humor, and exaggerated situations in order to create laughter. As a matter of fact, Comedy movies actually benefit our health. This is because it causes people to laugh, which releases endorphins in their bodies. Therefore, it is beneficial for people's mental and physical health. This form of entertainment was established by Aristophanes from ancient Greece around the 5th century BC. Aristophanes was a famous playwright of ancient Greece; he was known as the "Father of Comedy." 

A sub-genre that I will be discussing will be parody comedy movies. A parody is a movie that imitates other movies and subjects for a comedic effect. Parodies use their humor to mock or criticize their subject.  

Content:

In parody movies, they have characters that imitate characters of the original work. These characters are usually shown in a humorous or exaggerated manner, demonstrating specific traits of the original character for comedic effect. An example of this would be Austin Powers, who is supposed to represent James Bond. Parody movies also use a satirical storyline which is a storyline that mocks the plot of the original work. This is done by altering the plot to some extent or exaggerating the plot to create comedic situations and absurd scenarios. Another factor used in parodies is clever dialogues that use famous lines or catchphrases from the original movies. For example, in Spaceballs, the quote "May the Schwartz be with you" is adapted from "May the Force be with you" from the Star Wars series. These lines are usually seen in a humorous context. Another factor in parody films is breaking the fourth wall. Breaking the fourth wall is when a character in the film is talking and engaging with the audience. Therefore, this adds an additional layer of comedy by surprising the audience's expectations. Visual gags are also used in parody films. They are references to iconic scenes or imagery from the original film. Moreover, some parody movies combine details from multiple sources, creating crossover parodies. For example, a film might parody characters from different movies or genres, blending them together in one storyline. Overall, parody films are purely based on exaggeration to demonstrate the characteristics and traits of the primary film. This exaggeration is used to create humor and illustrate the ridiculous plot or characters of the movie they are trying to imitate. 

Production Techniques:

Parody films often use specific production techniques to effectively mock and exaggerate certain aspects of the original film they are making fun of. These techniques help enhance the comedic effect and help create an engaging and entertaining experience. A production technique used in parody films is creating a detailed set and costume designs to recreate the look and feel of the original work. Another production technique used in parody films is the use of specific camera work. Parodies may replicate specific camera angles, shot compositions, and visual styles from the original film. By replicating the camera work, it will create a sense of familiarity and add a humorous twist. Moreover, in parodies, editing is very important since montages, jump cuts, and quick pacing of shots are often used for a comedic effect. Editing also helps with the timing of jokes, visual gags, and punchlines, which ultimately enhances the humor. In addition, parody films usually include music and sound effects from the original film. These films may extract the same sound, or they may create a sound effect or music of their own that is similar to the original sound.

Marketing:

When marketing parody films, it is important to have a trailer that shows the film's humor. Production companies do this by including memorable parody scenes, clever dialogue, and visual gags to give the audience a taste of what to expect. Another way to advertise a movie would be to target a specific audience online. Platforms like Google ads offer detailed options to focus on viewers who are likely to watch a parody of one's specific subject. Moreover, parody films can also be marketed by creating merchandise based on the parody, such as posters, action figures, or clothing. Fans of the original film are likely to buy merchandise from the parody due to it being associated with the film that is being mocked. Lastly, another way to market a parody film is to have screenings and premieres of the movie. You could do this by inviting influencers, celebrities, and media representatives to create more excitement for the film. If the film gets positive reviews from these premieres, then it can cause more excitement and attract more viewers.

Samples:

Scary Movie (2000)

"Scary Movie" is a 2000 parody comedy film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans. It is a parody of popular horror and slasher movies. This parody mainly focuses on the films like "Scream," "I Know What You Did Last Summer," and "The Sixth Sense," etc. The story is about a group of teenagers who find themselves stalked by a masked killer after accidentally killing a man. This film mocks and over-exaggerates phrases and iconic scenes from various horror movies to create a humorous effect. Therefore, it is considered a parody film because these are the main aspects that make up a parody film. This film also has props and costumes that resemble masks, weapons, and other items that resemble the original movies, such as "Scream" and " I Know What You Did Last Summer." 

Spaceballs (1987)

Another parody film would be "Spaceballs," a science fiction parody film directed by Mel Brooks. The movie is based on the "Star Wars" series. In a galaxy that is far away, the story is about the adventures of Lone Starr and his sidekick Barf as they are hired to rescue Princess Vespa from the evil Spaceballs, led by the villain, Dark Helmet, who is supposed to be depicted as Darth Vader. In this film, it uses many costumes and props that resemble the original weapons of "Star Wars," such as the lightsaber. In addition, quotes from "Star Wars" are also imitated. For example, the iconic line "I am your father" said by Darth Vader to Luke Skywalker is said as "I am your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate" in Spaceballs.

Other Parody Comedies:

Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)

Tropic Thunder (2008)

Not Another Teen Movie (2001)

Hot Shots! (1991)

Naked Gun (1988)

Sound Blog Post

 In the sound project, we had to create a recording of an audio that conveys a story of the scene. The audio recording has to be 1 to 2 minutes long. In the audio recording, we were limited to using 7 words. We also had to pick 4 sounds that were going to be foley, and we had to video record ourselves making the foley sound effects. What we needed to submit was the audio recording with the foleys embedded, the video recordings of us making the foleys, and screenshots of the editing of the video recordings. Therefore, there were three files to submit.

First, we filled out a brainstorming sheet with words that indicate the different types of sounds we will use for the audio recording scene. On the sheet, we had to fill in words that were primary sounds and secondary sounds. We also needed to include a small description of the scene and the 4 foley sounds that we planned to create. Then we made sure that all the words we filled in on the sheet would increase the quality of the recording so that it would help the audience visualize the scene. After we completed the brainstorming sheet, we then created a planning outline of the different sounds we were planning to use for the final product.

Once we finished the soundscape planning outline, we began searching for the sounds we typed into the soundscape outline. In order to find the sounds we required, we searched through the YouTube app. Then we went by the order of the outline and checked each one until we reached the last sound effect to make sure we had every sound effect we needed downloaded. Before we began adding and editing our sounds, we needed to create the 4 foley sounds. My partner and I split the foleys into two. I did the footsteps and the boiling water while my partner made the sound of taking bread out of the bag and placing plates on the table. Finally, when we obtained all of the sound effects, we started editing them together to create a scene. 

These are the screenshots we took of the editing.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1khw-cjUKNDoNpd58J3hBkuqYhk2K3tpr/view?usp=sharing