In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

My romantic comedy opening uses the pre-established codes and conventions of the romantic comedy genre by employing common mise en scène elements found in this hybrid genre, such as photos of the protagonists as illustrated below in the screen shots from my film.







Romantic comedies use photos as a symbolic device in order to connote a relationship between the protagonists. They also indicate the longevity of this relationship which I have further highlighted where in one photo the female’s hair has been dyed a different thus revealing they have been together for some time.

I had initially planned to incorporate the mise en scene element of flowers in my opening shot; however I disregarded this idea as I felt that flowers may be too feminine for either of my characters. As a result, I decided to replace the flowers with a plant but ultimately dismissed the shot as it did not add any significance to the film’s opening in establishing it as a romantic comedy.

Both my original storyboard and the unused shot of the plant are located below.

My film opening sets up the film’s narrative which relies on the plot device of a couple meeting their potential in laws. This is a very typical scenario which is frequently depicted in many mainstream romantic comedies such as “Meet The Parents” (2000) and its sequel “Meet The Fockers” (2004) therefore meaning my narrative would not alienate my audience but instead provoke feelings of comfortable familiarity.

The humour in romantic comedies often stems from the conflict created by the protagonist’s contrasting personalities thus establishing juxtaposition as a fundamental element in this genre. I decided to further develop this juxtaposition by heavily applying Levi Strauss’ narrative theory of “Binary opposition” in order to intensify both the contrast and subsequent conflict which ultimately results in the humour being optimised.

The following screen shots taken from my film illustrate my use of binary opposition.


In this screen shot of the male protagonist’s bedroom he is presented as a clean, tidy and organised individual. This is symbolised through the mise en scene of meticulously organised shelves and a spotless room. The white and pale blue walls and pale blue bedding connote the male protagonist’s calm, non- confrontational and naive nature.

Contrastingly, the female protagonist is presented as unorganised which is metaphorically symbolised through the overly cluttered mise en scene which dominates the shot above. The dark colour of the mahogany wood furniture suggests that she is not as cheerful as her fiancé and perhaps has a darker side.

The screen shot above demonstrates my use of lighting in further establishing the protagonists as binary opposites. The male protagonist bedroom is brightly lit connoting his cheerfulness which is also denoted by his smile. The fact that he is looking out of a window where the blind is drawn up metaphorically reflects his open minded personality.



In comparison, the female protagonist’s room is darker in its lighting as well as being shadow infested which connotes her frustrated and pessimistic personality. The significance of the drawn blind on the window mirrors her distant and withdrawn persona which is further enforced by the fact that the female is facing away from the window.

I also used score and dialogue to highlight the differing personalities of the protagonist. A slow, relaxing and romantic instrumental was employed for the male protagonist whereas an aggressive, piercing and overwhelming rock instrumental was used for the female. I purposefully constructed the male protagonist’s dialogue to include corny sayings such as “grumpy Gus” and “see you later, alligator” in order to highlight his annoying enthusiasm. The female protagonist’s dialogue is to the point as illustrated when she answers her phone with the line: “What do you want?” -showing her frustration.

Although I believe familiarity is important in a film but I also feel it is crucial that each film explores its genre to its full potential which can only be achieved by opening your mind creatively and challenging the codes and conventions associated with that genre.

My film opening challenge’s the codes and conventions present in romantic comedies by inverting stereotypical gender expectations. This was achieved by the male being more feminine in his persona for example he is not afraid to express his emotions and therefore is very affectionate as seen (below) when he is kissing the phone.

Stereotypically men view expressing their emotions as a sign of weakness as it displays their vulnerability. He is also conscious of his appearance as demonstrated by the conventionalism of his attire for example; he is initially in a matching set of pyjamas and later dressed smartly. He is punctual and reliable which further challenges the male stereotype.

In contrast, the female protagonist remains dressed in her scruffy and non matching night clothes thus challenging the feminine stereotype. The dark quality of the lighting also gives connotations of unkempt appearance which again contradicts the view that the female character should be more feminine and thus more presentable. The expletives used by the female protagonist are vulgar and crude which defy the notion of femininity.

I deliberately chose to include the “Kill Bill : vol 1" bluray as I felt the film’s protagonist (Black Mamba) is a perfect example of gender inversion where the woman is masculine, independent and dominant mirroring the qualities of the female protagonist in my film opening.