Mock exam LR

EBI/LR: A more sustained answer needed for Q2 -> improve timing. Write two more paragraphs, considering Proppian character roles and how American values/ideologies are represented.



Relating to Propp character roles, there is no one hero, as a whole America(ns) are represented as the hard working everyday people by their facial expressions, they aren't showing negative facial expressions or 'evil' villain like facial expressions so we, the audience, are more likely to consider the Americans as the good guys/heroes (which is stereotypical in films where it's Americans vs 'The other'/foreigners). 'The others'/foreigners had more unsettled looks and more aware of their surroundings and had more negative facial expressions such as anger or disappointment which allows us to consider them as a threat or a villain in Propp character roles, they had a sort of enigma to them (Barthes enigma codes), they seem as if they were about to create a disequilibrium relating to Todorov's theory. These character roles and binary opposites of good vs evil (Levi theory) along side the other theories help prove Medhurst theory of stereotypes, where he suggests that they are used as a shorthand to help communicate quickly with the audience and allow representation of the characters be expressed greater in a short time, allowing us the audience to identity the characters and differentiate the hero from the villain.

The dominant and stereotypical representation of Americans being patriarchal and having American values and ideologies such as being organised, working in teams (teamwork), being educated, calm under pressure and confident are all represented and reinforced by the quickness and effective teamwork shown between the communications of the characters from air traffic control to the main office building and from the employees to the managers. They also celebrate success e.g. when the manager/boss speaks to an employee and says "Good job". Everyone is represented as just everyday people, their clothes aren't glamourous, they are represented as just another human being which allows audiences to relate to them. Educated characters are shown through the constant use of jargon from the characters, it represents them as professional and educated. Low-key lighting in the air traffic control room allows the audience to feel a sense of seriousness, it represents the place and people as serious, the environment is a serious workplace and no place for fun, the characters are all doing their own thing and represented as hard workers with their serious facial expressions and tone in voice.