Déjà Vu Trailer

1. Values and Ideology • One man against authority? Ordinary man caught in an extraordinary situation – very a la mode. Washington = “Everyman”. C.f. Tom Hanks. • Saving lives – being a good American citizen; patriotism. • Possibly the fluidity of time – very popular at the moment, c.f. “Memento”, “Donnie Darko”. • Representations • “Cool” black hero in shades – connotation that he’s a police officer (uniform, etc). • Black female heroine – typical woman who needs to be “saved”. A cliché? • Seems to be a typical city in America – urban, busy, seen by the buildings, etc. • Perhaps stereotypes are used as a “shortcut” - the genre does not demand “complex” characters. • Institutions • Touchstone Pictures and Buena Vista – both divisions of Disney – do we expect a certain type of film from that? • Big budget production and distribution company – films like “Flight Plan” and “Signs”. Mix of genres of films • Audiences • The lead two actors are black, so perhaps there is a black target audience • Judging by the complexity of the story, the amount of action and the actors involved, this would probably be a 15. Also, no children in the trailer (although perhaps conotations of children from fridge magnets) so nothing that children would relate to. • With a male lead, stark titles, the genre, the use of a male voiceover, the clichéd woman, its target audience is probably men. • Narrative • Connotations from trailer – man has “killed” a lady who he now has to save. • Child involved? Seen by fridge magnets and child’s doll being thrown down. • The concept of “Déjà Vu” means that the narrative might jump forward and backwards (or might mix together – fuzzy white titles at the end might suggest this) . • There seems to be some involvement by a police organisation. • Why is it “sav” instead of “save”? Lots of unanswered questions brought up in the trailer – keeps audience’s interest (entices them to watch the film) plus link to thriller genre. • Fridge magnets seen more than once – link to the title and the “feel” of the film. Déjà Vu Trailer • Language and Forms • Male American voiceover giving the plot details – shows that the film is American (also seen by the actors and setting). Voiceover is dramatic – link to genre. • Iconography of sun and moon – suggests time passing but perhaps also a supernatural element (link to the title). • Fast editing causes a feeling of confusion - very typical of an action/thriller and link to the confusion of the main man. One shot is sped up – link to time from the title. Lots of fade-ins and fade-outs gives the impression that we are only seeing aspects of the plot. Also gives a surreal element – link to title and possible genre. • Music is obscure. Other sounds include the sound of a heart beating – suggests action and tension. Sound of a clock ticking – link to idea of time and the title. • Fuzzy titles at the end might suggest that time is mixing? • Titles are in black and white – dramatic, simple and give the impression that the film takes itself quite seriously. • Genre • Thriller/action, seen by the use of actors, music, fast editing of the trailer, narrative. • Lots of explosions - connotations of action film (and big budget), e.g. cars blowing up. • Perhaps some sci-fi elements – idea of “déjà vu”. • Denzel Washington – genre actor? Link to knowledge of him as an actor and his works.