Planning-Applying Theories to D.O.B

Levi Strauss 

Levi Strauss created a theory that all narratives incorporate 'binary opposites' An example of this could be love and hate in a romantic comedy or bad and evil in a thriller film.

In my film we have used the binary opposites of good and evil. Firstly we have used 4 teenage characters who all have stereotypical appearances which connote the innocence of youth, essentially the pinnacle for representing good. However we have also incorporated evil into our film as we have a ghost who is haunting and trying to kill these 4 characters, the conflict between these binary opposites can be seen in our intertitles "They must fight back". The low angle shot of India being hung also shows the extent of evil that the ghost represents, directly contrasted by a long shot of Sean running away showing how he is innocent and providing the binary opposite of good.

The film actually also incorporates another set of binary opposites in character personalities. We have the female character we look to fight back against the supernatural haunting, seen in the final shot of Hayley saying "how do we stop this?" The binary opposition to this is found in the attitude of the males in the film who decide they are better to run from the troubles to try and escape the haunting. As the film progresses these binary opposites become more clear and greatly contribute towards the films narrative.

Stuart Hall's Readings

When looking at stuart Hall's theory of how audiences receive media, we are looking to get a preferred reading of a viewer that would experience elements of intense fear and understand that there is a potential for danger for everyone. Our target audience is wide, although when looking into it further we are likely to get a preferred reading for teenagers aged 16-19 as they are the closest to the age of the characters we are representing in the film.

A negotiated/oppositional reading would be a consumer who is not as fearful of our film and doesn't experience the same level of fear that we are trying to create. This would lose the element of horror from our film therefore not conform to the conventions of the genre we are looking to achieve. A negotiated reading therefore would understand the plot line and what narrative we are conveying, without experiencing the same level of fear as preferred reading would. Whereas a oppositional reading would not follow the plot-line and may not even experience any heightened fear.

Uses and Gratifications Theory

Personal identity is offered to the audience in our thriller trailer as we are targeting a similar target audience to our characters. Our characters are all seen in school and as we are targeting an age group which are likely to still be in education they can relate to the characters social position. Further to this our use of familiar settings such as school and a house allow the audience to put themselves in the shoes of the characters. Our film also offers personal relationships for the audience as many people like to watch horror films with other people rather than alone. Therefore our audience is likely to use the film as a social way of watching a film with others. Personally I know this is the case as I have been to watch other horror films such as Oujia myself with my friends.