Representation & Media theory
I have chosen to analyse the Inbetweeners movie because the movie contains content which represents a group of teenage boys as sex addicts and reinforces the stereotypical view that people have on teenagers, which is that they are obsessed with pursuing the opposite sex. For example, in the trailer Simon and the girl of his dreams, Carly are kissing and she suddenly stops and tells him that they need to talk. Consequently his reaction to this is disappointment as he says "No, not talking!" This is a highly stereotypical view on boys and indicates that they'd rather have intercourse than "talk". Another way teenage boys have been represented is that they are intrigued by females cleavage. The trailer shows a teaser of when the boys are on a night out and every time a girl walks past, all four of the boys follow their cleavage with their eyes to the point where they have to turn around. They are obviously overwhelmed and sexually "turned on" by all the flesh and cleavage on show. Another stereotypical view that is reinforced in the movie is that females are seen as sex objects to men. This is evident throughout the whole movie as all four of the boys go on holiday mainly to have sex. The whole movie features the boys trying to impress or wanting be noticed by girls. Their attempts are usually unsuccessful and this is very comic but also causes viewers to cringe as the situations are very common to teenagers of today. For example, in the trailer there is a part where Jay gets slapped a girl who he touches. His aim was to impress her and to show her sexual affection however she finds it really weird and therefore slaps him across the face. That reinforces the typical view on teenage boys as sex addicts.
Todorov- Equilibrium:
The inbetweeners movie does apply to Todrov's media theory which is that a narrative follows a structure that is separated into three parts: the equilibrium, the disequilibrium and a new equilibrium. At the beginning of the film there is calmness as a group of 4 friends have just finished school and they decide to go on a "lads holiday" to celebrate. On the first night of the holiday they meet a group of four girls who are also from London and each of the boys "pair up" with one of the girls. They are having fun until they meet one of the boys (Simon's) ex girlfriend, Carly. Carly causes the group to get into a big argument and they split into 2 (Will & Simon, Jay & Neil). Simon still has feelings for Carly and this effects his relationship with his friends, the new girl he meets and Carly's new boyfriend. That is the disequilibrium. Later on in the movie the boys become friends again and after humiliating Simon, Carly is soon out of the picture and the four boys end up dating the girls they meet, including Simon who takes a massive risk to win his new lover over. The ending is a state of new equilibrium, as peace is restored. The boys are friends again and they all have new girlfriends.
Propp- Character:
The inbetweeners movie does not exactly correspond with Propp's theory as there is only a certain amount of character types included in the movie.
Protagonists- Will, Simon, Jay & Neil
Antagonist- Carly along with her new boyfriend
Heroine- The four girls they meet on holiday
Mentor- Will (he often leads the group into making the right decisions)
Barthe- Enigma & Action codes:
Enigma codes:
(Questions that viewers of the series would ask)
Will they boys finally loose their virginity on holiday?
Will Simon win over Carly?
What happens at the run-down hotel?
Why does Jay scream whilst he's in the toilet?
Do they win over the girls they dance in front of?
Action codes:
"I better not get stuck with the fat one" -We know hes going to get the fat one & they eventually fall in love.
"Simon, we need to talk" -We automatically know she is going to dump him
"This don't look like the pictures" -Automatically know they've been conned & hotel is going to be really rubbish
