AT Analysis an opening sequence: Representation and ideology, Media Audiences, Institutional context

Inception (Christopher Nolan, 2010)

Representation and ideology

• One of the dominant ideologies shown in the text is that of the 2 children playing in the sand on the beach as this is a stereotype of young children however this is juxta opposed by the man who has been what appears washed ashore. Another value that is held is the power of the man who approaches the man who has been washed up upon the shore with a gun stereotyping he is dominant and is powerful, however his source of power is from his gun.


• The first social group represented is the little children and this is represented by them playing in the sand however they leave and another man enters as move on to the adult people we see in this typical thriller that it is the male who is prioritised in the narrative and generally those who are older as they are seen as of more importance and the children have little significance.
  
• The representation of the children is represented by what they are doing and there location the same goes for the other characters as the buildings appears to look like a fort. The clip is an asynchronous narrative and therefore shows the very end of the film although it is not apparent.

Media Audiences

• The target audience for this film is leaned more towards males due to its sub category of action, however appeals to alot of other audiences such as art house due to the other category of mystery being a more niche audience. The ratting for the film is a 12 so limits it being a family film and establishes the content within.
  
• A possible audience reading of the text is that the man washed upon shore is lost and as he meets this other man he is reminded of where he is and why he is there. Another way of reading the text is that these 2 men are enemies as the man says " have you come to kill me" leaving us on a cliff hanger as to why he says that which is later explained in the film.
  
• The way in which I read this text and evaluate it is that the man washed ashore is lost and looking for someone, then he is reminded of why he came here and what his purpose is then the flash back tells us the story before to build up to the end. The way in which my background affects this reading is coming from a 17 year old boy I perceive the situation in a different way in which a female would as it is more to my liking of the genre of the film and therefore can appreciate the text more. My age means I'm old enough to understand the text alot more and can interpretate it alot better compared to that of a younger mind they may not be as comprehensive as i am however may have some of the same age as more with a higher comprehensive level which means age doesn't always determine your knowledge and understanding. Coming from a middle class background means that I'm more likely to be in a higher education however strictly speaking this is not always true and therefore its is not only about this factors alone that will separate the way I read and evaluate this text it is all of them combined.

Institutional Context

• The star in this film is Leonardo Dicaprio. This is important in this film as he is a very bankable star which will help make the profitability of the film increase, he is well known for this genre and therefore people perceive that he has a set standard to his work. Another star used in the film is Michael Cane, he is considered a big star and very versatile in his work, known internationaly like Dicaprio also helps to increase the film's profitability. There is a star you would not expect to find in this genre and that is Ellen Page. She featured before in the film Juno(Jason Reitman, 2007), a teen rom-com, a very different genre compared to thrillers however she to appears to be very versatile in her work and suits the role perfectly.
  
• Warner bros produced this film Inception, this film is an industrial film which is reinforced by the fact it was produced by warner bros. a big media conglomerate this is why it was able to get funding for this film and allowed the backing off the bankable stars.
  
• One of the main stratergies used to market the film was to put huge posters in the city of New York covering sides of sky scrappers. This was a clever technique as helped to show the scale of this film and the hype about it as it was rumoured about how the film was on the verge of not being made due to the concept of the film.


• The institutional context is evident in the opening through the mise-en-scene of the clip as it is in an exotic location with the beach shot with this palace in the background supporting the fact about having a big budget to have all these wonderous locations plus further in the film the CGI used is outstanding and is defenitally due to the institution.