3 Film Openings for Chosen Genre
Week 2, Blog 1
Tuesday, February 4th, 2025
Today we are starting our second week of this Portfolio Project which I am so excited about. As I mentioned in the previous blog, I want this project to be great and group work is always a great way to expand ideas and opinions, for the Project to be great. Therefore, between my classmates: Fatima, Santina, and Julia, with whom I have done previous projects for this class and the communication is always wonderful, we decided, sharing many ideas, that we would like our Film Opening genre to be "drama", mostly centered on teenage stories. Therefore, I am so excited to research, analyze, and discuss 3 film openings of this incredible genre.
Drama
Drama is "intended to portray life or character or to tell a story usually involving conflicts and emotions through action and dialogue. A state, situation, or series of events involving interesting or intense conflict of forces."
Some of its characteristics include
- Major Conflict: In dramatic films, the protagonist is forced to step outside of their comfort zone by conflict. The choices the character makes during their journey determine everything. The plot advances and eventually defines the characters based on their responses and reactions to conflict. Usually, the characters end up in trouble because of their bad decisions.
- Growing plots: Dramas have deep plots that emphasize the focus on characters' choices and the slow growth of conflicts. Slowly increasing tension lets characters deal with complex problems. Conflicts frequently occur from their imperfections or past, and their actions bring the plot connected.
- Characters: A character embodies a certain personality, set of values, and beliefs. The viewpoint that the audience identifies with and is at the center of the conflict is that of the story's protagonist. The protagonist is in conflict with the antagonist. The antagonist is often seen as a villain. The antagonist may, however, be nature, an idea, or even the protagonist working against themselves. There could be an internal or external conflict with the main character.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
The Opening scene starts with the sound of someone typing on a typewriter. There is a black background, Then a string melody starts to sound and lights are given of what could be the point of view of someone in a car. Then the song's lyrics start and more of the drive road and tunnel are visible. After a couple of seconds, the lights go off and more instruments and serene sounds are introduced. Suddenly we see a boy who is writing in his bedroom to his friend a letter. We hear his thoughts and what he is writing, he talks to him about how he doesn't want this "friend" to get to know him, he just wants to know that this "friend" that he is writing to exists. Then he walks into the living room, where his parents watch TV and ignore him. He then explains they pretend he is invisible. When analyzing this film, I can see that the main character is not introduced at the moment the film starts, some seconds are given to show the driveway and a lot of lights that seem like flashing lights, this could represent voltage, danger, and loss of control as the main conflict of the story.
The velocity of the car might mean growing up or the desire to leave a situation, finally, the lack of colors might represent the monotony of life. Then the main character is introduced, he doesn't directly talk, which might indicate he is an introvert, he writes to his friend in a paper letter which seems unusual for his age, it also seems as if he doesn't know exactly who is he talking to, representing his loneliness. Finally, the fact that he goes to see his parents and they ignore him might show again how he feels out of place and ignored by others. The lights when the main character appears are always low and dark, enhancing a sense of dramatic sadness and loneliness in the main character's life. I believe this opening scene is very unusual, still very engaging, and relatable for many teenagers since it shows the reality of many young individuals and their feelings towards themselves and their lives.
The Edge of Seventeen (2016)
The Opening scene starts with a song with a fast rhythm. After that, we see a crosswalk of what seems to be a school, there are a lot of cars and movement, suddenly a red car stops right in front of the camera and someone walks out, we see that this person is wearing a colorful pair of Converse shoes, which might indicate they are a teenager and a student of this school. The camera tilts up and we see it is a girl wearing a very colorful outfit, and walking really fast. The song's lyrics start. She walks around many school corridors, where more students around her can be seen. Then she enters an empty classroom, where only the teacher is visible, she quickly sits on a chair in front of the teacher to talk. She suddenly says that she wants to "kill herself" and doesn't know who else to talk to. She then starts to say some options of how she could do it but she is confused because she doesn't really know how it works. When analyzing this film, I can see that the main character is introduced very rapidly. I can see that the film might be very chaotic since at first there is a lot of movement, loud background music, and multiple variations of shots.
Then by the way that the main character dresses, I can assume that she is a rebellious teenage girl, and by the way she walks fast and her facial expressions, she seems preoccupied with something. The first conversation that takes place is with her teacher, which at first, by her strong statement might be shocking and confusing, however by the way she seems naive about her point, the dramatic scene is sort of comical and even relatable for some teenagers. Still, by the way, she talks, I can infer that she is a teenager who has a lot of stressful situations that she might be experiencing, as well as a lot of social pressures or hard emotions to deal with, which is very common at this age. The loud music and vibrant colors enhance this sense of stress and the overwhelming feelings that the main character might be experiencing. Overall, I believe that this opening scene was very fun to watch and relatable for some people i think still it is very original as well when showing a chaotic and dramatic event and overall genre.
Dead Poets Society (1989)
The Opening scene starts with a lighted candle and then I hear a conversation between 2 men who are then shown whispering something, they might be professors or priests. Then a group of boys are presented holding what seems to be flags or important pieces inside a church's room. They are all wearing a uniform. Important names of the film are given. Then the doors open and the boys walk outside of the room in a line. The colors are very cold and simple, there isn't any vibrant color or loud unusual sound. The boys walk down the stairs into a very large room full of people and they are all wearing cold dark colors, making it all seem very serious and formal since they are in a church. Then, after a man talks, a band of students behind him starts to play a song. The man is holding a lighted candle, which he uses to light the candle that a kid in front of him is holding, then among the other kids besides him, the candles are lightened. People around applause. The man asks the public students that a couple of years before, some boys were asked the question of what are the four pillars, and suddenly everyone in the public stood up.
When analyzing this film's opening, I infer that the main characters aren't introduced in these very first minutes, in fact, I believe this is a prequel scene to who the main characters are and the conflict that evolves around them, which then will create a growing plot. The cold tones wide rooms and the multitude of people, make it all feel very antique and sort of uncomfortable to watch. I believe this serves to represent how kids who are part of religious schools are raised, and how strict and even scary the principals, teachers, or priests can end up being. I believe also that the sound and voice tone of the men enhance this dramatic feeling of confusion and unusualness.
In conclusion, I consider that all of the 3 opening scenes are well at showing what my group and I are interested in. I believe that the "drama" genre mixed with some "coming of age" characteristics was well implemented. I consider that the conflicts and emotions expressed through dialogue that is essential through the dramatic genre were developed in all three opening films. In general, as I investigate deeper on what our project could be about, the more excited and happy I get.
Sources
- Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (2025, January 24). Merriam-Webster.com. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drama#dictionary-entry-1
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