The Matrix2
GCSE Media studies and English coursework Reading Film: An analysis of
The Matrix
Directed by Wachowski Brothers 1999
`The Matrix,' released in April 1999 directed by the Wachowski Brothers, was an outstanding blockbuster success. The magnificent effort in making the film was rewarded as it won four awards for the British Academy Awards. These were for best sound, best film editing, best sound effects editing and best visual effects. `The Matrix,' was also nominated for three awards. These were for best cinematography, best production design and best editing. `The Matrix' can be analysed in many different ways to recognize the film for being such a best seller.
The audience reads the genre of `The Matrix' as being sci-fi /action by the generic codes that are visible in the film. The audience is able to read any film and realise the genre by its visual language or generic codes. The generic codes in a film are the conventional signs such as the setting, the plot, the theme, the icons and the characters, which helps you recognise the genre without being aware that you have `read' the signs. For example, one of the generic codes in `The Matrix' is that it is set as a typical action film with the dark atmosphere involving hi-tech modern technology set in the future. The rain in the film matches the atmosphere and genre. The situation of the film is another generic code set in a dystopian world and parallel universe. The characters in `The Matrix' are also heavily linked with reading the film, for instance, the aliens, the agents and artificial intelligence, the computer operators and Trinity. The special effects make the audience identify the genre.
The video sleeve also has major conventional elements on it that identify the genre. The figures of the main characters are on the cover. The image of the `chosen one,' Keanu Reeves playing the lead role stands out like the title of the film, as it is glossier...
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