Critical Investigation: Project Proposal 1

Deadpool

Working title:

Deadpool: To what extent is Deadpool a fan driven film, or a money making scheme?

Angle:

The sense of dumming down the audience in to viewing content that was previously aimed at children, now to be targeted to the adults, and they too get trapped in this mainstream bubble.

Hypothesis:

Superhero films are now being targeted for the older demographic, and children are going to demand to see these films despite its content.

Linked production piece: 

The linked production piece will be a film, that features content for a r-rated movie (guns, blood etc)

MIGRAIN:

Media Language-

Sound
The sound is very much used to tell the story to the audience. It is the basis of telling the narrative and giving the audience essential plot points so that they can look forward or even understand the story line. Many films recently have not used sound very well to tell the audience what is happening or even, what is going to happen in the movie. For example, Batman V Superman uses pointless speech from the character Lex Luthor just to fill up some screen time instead of giving the audience valuable plot details. In addition, Deadpool uses sound to create the sense of humor that the film has built and is one of the driving forces of the film, making it one of the most important parts of the film.

Editing
The editing used in this film was very well put together. It fitted in with the character. By having various flash backs and cuts connoted the fragmented life that the main character had, and hardships he faced through-out the narrative. It is used to show how the character got to where he is and why he acts the way he acts. In addition, the editing plays a part in building the sympathy for the on screen character as the audience learn more about his past as the story progresses. 

Institutions- The institution didn't want to make the film in the first place as they believed that not that many people are going to be interested in watching a movie like this. s the years went by, the fanbase for this movie grew tremendously and the institution took the risk and asked for the movie to be made. The institution added small segments within the film in order to help it make a profit. One of which is creating its first shared universe film with the film. Deadpool was the fist Twentieth Century film to feature the X-Men cast as well as universe, similar to how Marvel Studios do their movies. This move played a big part in the merchandising of the film as well as advertisement.

Genre- Being a superhero type film allows people to want to watch it, as they are so familiar with these types of films. Although the film is completely different to its superhero counterparts, it still possess similar qualities such as costume and alter ego. The film carries a shared universe that many superhero films now have. However the film has also set aside a new genre for its self, an r-rated genre is the new genre that this film is categorized in. It fits in with the core nature of the character as in the comics (the original place in which this character originated from) was not like the other superhero characters within the Marvel company. The character had a different take, being a much more explicit character and more comedic than the other superhero's that Marvel have.

Representation- The superhero genre is the one that is being represented. It is being represented in a r-rated fashion, something which is unusual for this type of genre. The ones who are making the representation is the institution behind the film, known as Twentieth Century Fox.

Audience- The text is largely targeting an older audience, something that is unusual for a Marvel film to do, as they have been very loyal to their younger demographic. But due to the hard R-rating that Deadpool has received, it is clear that the film plans to attract an older demographic. The film seems to target ages 18+, as it references a lot of adult related things such as sexual content as well as language. The psycho-graphics associated with the text would be explorers as well as reformers, as they may seek change in the mainstream films and demand something new.

Ideologies- The representation of women plays a crucial part in terms of values and ideologies. The film portrays women much negative than compared to men. For example, women are seen as objects when we see the strip club scene as well as the damsel in distress theme being played out. This creates negative ideologies in the audiences eyes as they may disagree with the films portrayal of the film. In addition, another major value seen within the film would be the crude and horrid nature of the film. Casual movie goers, or parents may be horrified with the films content and one of the main problems is the debate if such a film should be Marvel property.

Narrative- The film follows a non linear narrative (and multi-strand narrative) in which flashbacks and other time-lines are shown where needed. For example, the film starts of with Wade Wilson (alter ego of Deadpool) as Deadpool, and doesn't go into detail about his origin until a few minutes later. Typically in a superhero film, there is generally always a liner narrative as the film makers want the audience to grasp the past story of the character as it may be relevant further on. A good example would be, Same Ramey's Spiderman (1) where we see uncle Ben's death, and this story is very important for the third movie where the protagonist goes to trace his uncles killer. 

SHEP:

Social-

• Due to the ban the film had received from China, due to its explicit content, Ryan Reynolds took to Twitter to reply to China by using various swear words towards the government
• there was a lot of advertising for the film which made the film much well known, and the advertising was done so well
• people began making cos-play costumes of the character in order to watch the film, so that they can express their fandom for this moment 

Historical-

• Deadpool character first appeared in issue #98 in 1991
• Was in development since 2004 (as a film)
• Was a film that was not going to happen (institution believed the film won't pass the pilot stage)

Economic-

• the film made $760.3 million at the box office
• is considered the first r-rated film to break a huge number at the box office
•  the film has a low budget (due to the high risk potential the film had) of $50 million

Political-

• film was banned in China
• the institution didn't (at first) want to make the movie r-rated due to the high success rate of their x-men franchise (which was pg 13)

Issues/Debates:

Deemed as an unusual certification choice for a Marvel property character. The film had received a hard r-rating which is seen as one of the most graphic ratings in America. Generally, the types of films rated r in America are of 18 age certificate in England.

Selected:

Ownership and control- The institution influencing such content to be released even though they have a strong track record, and are known for, pg 13 superhero movies. To do a r-rated changes their views.
Media effects- The film does create a lot of controversy in the media. Angered parents, are claiming that the media didn't touch on the nature this film had. As if, this film was like any other Marvel movie.
News values- There was not very much, if any, news takes on this films release. I believe that for a film that's part of the well-known Marvel branding is rated-r, it is in the new's interest and responsibility to raise awareness to parents. Letting them know of the difference this film holds as print versions of the film don't really show the true crude nature of the film,
Regulation and censorship- The film is known for his sexual and crude nature and needs to be regulated. Since there is a huge gap between the British and American ages rating, there needs to be some sort of regulation within the British community in order to ensure that the film is suitable for certain people.
Moral panics- Parents may be worried that r-rated/explicit content is the future for superhero movies. They may be in a state of shock that their children may be prone to watching these types of films simply because it has the Marvel branding on it. 

Theories:

• Male gaze-  The film does contain a bit of pornographic content at the beginning of the film, which may provide audience pleasure for men. As they are seeing a women performing sexual acts. It is the men doing the looking, and the women are watching themselves being looked at. 
• Female gaze- The main character is well known for his looks. Part of the endorsement for the film was the main actor; Ryan Reynolds. He is famously known for his looks and it is no doubt, that the film received a lot of views (not entirely based off of women, but was influenced slightly) by women who want to just see Ryan Reynolds. And since he appears naked in the film, women are dong the looking at the actor.
• Uses and gratifications theory- Since the film was in development since 2004, the leaked test footage had attracted a lot of nostalgic fans who have been clambering for the character to receive his own theatrical film release. Therefore, the majority of the views the film had received at the box office was partly due to the nostalgic fans who have been waiting for Deadpool to be put on the big screen for a long time.
• Gender and ethnicity- The film follows a lot of stereotypical views. One of which is the stereotype of an Indian male. The stereotype of an Indian man being portrayed as a taxi driver is reinforced in this film through the character Dopinder. The film also stereotypes the name using 'inder' at the end of the name to show the audience that the character is from Indian origin. Moreover, the character portrays an Indian accent to make it more comedic. Women in this film are represented more than men. Roles such as 'damsel in distress'is a key role that is made fun of through out the film as well as portraying women as sex objects, as there is a scene where the film takes place in a strip club and there are women who are naked performing on stage. 
• Audience theories- Audience may have two reactions towards the film as it carries good and bad things. Audience may like what they see as it is true to the character from the comics. On the other hand, people who are average movie goers may dislike the film simply because it may be considered a 'shame' to the Marvel Franchise. 
• Genre theories- There is a lot of controversy that circulates entirely on the genre of the film. The film is from the Marvel franchise, most popularly known for delivering its content to a child audience as well as comic book fans. However, Deadpool film is a film  that doesn't follow the norm of it previous Marvel counterparts as it has a completely different tone and setting compared to the other Marvel movies. 

Research plan-

Media texts: Deadpool

Other texts, Watchmen, Batman V Superman and Kickass (1&2), Dredd and The Killing Joke

TV Documentaries/content:

• Film trailers- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIM1HydF9UA
• Documentary- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhaSG2zagbA

Academic texts/books:

• Kendrick James- Hollywood Bloodshed: Violence in 1980s American Cinema
• Arthur De Vany- Does Hollywood Make Too Many R‐Rated Movies? Risk, Stochastic Dominance, and the Illusion of Expectation
• Gina M- Exposure to X-Rated Movies and Adolescents' Sexual and Contraceptive-Related Attitudes and Behaviors
• G Escamilla- Women and smoking in Hollywood movies: a content analysis
• Andrew R- Injury Prevention Practices as Depicted in G-Rated and PG-Rated Movies

Internal links:

• Twitter tweets- http://metro.co.uk/2016/02/04/ryan-reynolds-has-a-strong-message-for-the-chinese-sensors-who-banned-deadpool-f-you-5661609/
• News links- 

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/deadpool-denied-release-china-due-856627

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/feb/18/will-deadpool-lead-to-a-deluge-of-hard-r-comic-book-movies

http://www.wired.co.uk/article/deadpool-most-successful-r-rated-film

https://www.bustle.com/articles/139497-how-deadpool-being-r-rated-could-affect-the-way-superhero-movies-are-made

http://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Deadpool-is-bad-enough-to-be-the-future-6820782.php