Compare how teenagers are represented in Action Adventure films: Hunger Games and The Amazing Spiderman

The two action adventure films we have studied are Hunger Games and The Amazing Spiderman. These two films both have the two main characters as teenagers; both of these representations of teenagers are not stereotypical e.g. a moody teenager. These two movies have the main characters as teenagers to attract the right target audience; the target audience have to be able to relate to the character in order for it to appeal to the right audience.

In the Hunger Games, Katniss is represented as a brave and caring character although she hides her caring side from other people. Although she is meant to be shown as a strong, courageous female she has special moments in the film where it shows her emotions. Her brave side is shown throughout the movie when she volunteers for Prim’s place in the games – this is her sister. That is also showing her caring side as she risked her own life to protect her family and before she left she made sure her family were protected and taken care of by her friend ‘Gale’. The relationship between Katniss and Prim shows what kind of character Katniss is and how she is meant to take over as the motherly figure. When her father died and her mum went into depression and was not able to look after them anymore, Katniss was the one who took care of her sister and who held all the responsibilities e.g. cooking, cleaning. This is her playing the male role throughout the movie. The audience are able to see how much Prim means to Katniss as everything she does in the games is so she can get back home to see her again, this is after she promised her that she would try and win the games. Again the only reason she hunts is so she is able to give Prim the food she needs even though if she got caught she would be killed or worse – this is her rebelling against the capitol for a true course. The audience again can see how much Katniss loves Prim when she sings for her after she has a nightmare just like how a mother would sing for her child – this is showing her motherly side and representing a mother stereotype.

Although Katniss has a caring side mostly she is represented as being a strong and independent teenager who has a lot more responsibilities that she is meant to have. Her strong personality is shown when she is on the way to the capitol and when she first steps into the games. When she first enters the game the audience can see her panicking before anyone sees her which is showing how vulnerable she is, but as soon as she gets pulled up the tube into the game she puts on a mask and removes any emotion she had. This shows how emotionally strong she is. However as well as emotionally she is also physically strong when throughout the games she has to run away from tributes who want to kill her and when she survives the games it shows the amount of willpower she has. This appeals to the target audience as this attracts a female group as Katniss represents a role model for the female teenagers. We are also shown that she is strong in another part of the film, in the reaping scene, when she is standing on the stage next to Peeta she has no emotion on her

face, where most teenagers would be a crying at the time but she contains herself and keeps it together. In the Arena Katniss is shown as the strong independent woman, this is shown when she heads off in the arena on her own and not paired with someone else. This also shows that she keeps herself to herself.

Katniss is also represented as being a sarcastic teenager but also self-conscious, this represents all teenagers when they try and cover up their vulnerability and insecurities. This is shown when she is on the train to the capitol and is talking to another character named ‘Haymitch’ who plays more of a teacher role, and makes a comment about how no one can like her, this is also mentioned again later on in the film when she is talking to her designer ‘Cinna’ who plays more of a friend role and mentions it to him. Her sarcastic side is shown when she gets individually tested at the capitol and shoots an arrow at their head after no one pays attention to her, she then follows this by saying ‘Thank you for your consideration.’ This again appeals to the target audience as it shows her rebelling because teenagers want freedom and to break the rules so this adds to their interest. Lastly, Katniss is represented as being mature. Katniss has had to grow up quicker than all other teenagers so she could look after her sister when her mother gets depression. Her mature side is shown when she coddles Prim more like a child then a sister. She also represents the motherly figure again when she tries and hunt animals so Rue can eat, this shows that she thought of Rue as a sister as she treats her the same way as she treats Prim. This is not a stereotype of teenagers.

In the Amazing Spiderman, Peter is represented as a shy, quiet guy who keeps himself to himself. He is not stereotyped as the typical teenager e.g. cocky. Peter is represented as not being as confident then other characters - this is shown in part of the movie when Peter is walking down the corridor right at the start of the movie in the second scene. Peter’s body language shows that he is not very confident or believes in himself as he has his head hanging down and his shoulders slouched. Again it also shows that he is not popular as he is walking on his own where other people are walking with their friends this could suggest that Peter has no friends. He does not wear the same clothing as the other students showing that he is again not popular and stands out from everyone else because he is different.

In the same scene Peter is holding a skateboard and a camera, although a skateboard isn’t necessarily a ‘nerdy’ object to have the camera defiantly shows a ‘geeky’ effect as this shows that Peter has ambitions and dreams compared to other teenagers which again shows how different Peter is. This appeals to the target audience as although in the first few scenes he is shown as a shy and boring person his ability to help others is shown when Spiderman is created. Although Spiderman and Peter is the same person it’s like two different sides of the same character are shown. For example, he keeps his head down and shoulders are hunched, but as soon as he is Spiderman he is way more confident in himself and his gifts. Although these two sides of him are totally different there is one thing that remains the same and that is his caring side and wanting to help people who are in need.

This is shown when he is helping a student at the school who is getting bullied in the second scene by the stereotypical school ‘bully’. His caring side in Spiderman is shown when all the students are running away in the school when the ‘lizard’ comes charging in. It appeals to the target audience as the amount of action involved attracts the male audience and the tiny bit of romance attracts the female audience. The costume in this clip is the Spiderman costume with a mask that covers Peter’s face. This suggests something about Peter which is how confident he is with the costume on then he is in his own skin. In the first scene where Peter stood up to the bully he was a bit quiet and didn’t really have any confidence in himself by the way he was speaking and looking around. However when he has the costume on he runs up to the lizard ready to fight and save everyone this suggests that Peter likes to hide behind the mask and not show his true identity, almost like there are two sides of him: Peter and Spiderman.

Gwen is represented as the classic innocent and sophisticated girl that is dressed in posh, tight clothes, really smart and is liked by guys. There is also the typical ‘bully’ – he also is the typical egotistical teenager. There is also the ‘popular’ girls who flirt with guys to get what they want this is shown when a girl comes up to Peter and flirts with him to get him to take a photo for her boyfriend.

Film Analysis

In the high school scene it shows that it is filmed with ambient lighting which helps set the scene and make it more relatable for the audience; however at the end of the scene a brighter light has been used to show that the characters are outside. The editing in this scene has different shots, when there is a conversation between two people there is an over the shoulder shot which shows the face of the person speaking but you can still see the other persons head, in this particular clip there seems to be a lot. This makes the audience feel more involved and understand the conversation better. Also there is a medium shot which is where you can see half a person’s body this is used so the audience can see what style the character has and how they hold themselves so you can tell their personality and understand the character more. There is a bird’s eye view shot which you can see everything from a bird’s eye view this is used to set the scene and make it more tense as this is placed in the fighting shot at the end. When there is action the shots seem to speed up and they slow down when they are in conversation this is because a lot happens when people fight so the camera has to be in different angles to make it seem like they are actually fighting this also makes it exciting – which also adds to the effect. At the end of this scene there is a shot-reverse-shot between Peter and Gwen.

Throughout this scene there are different sounds which show different things, at the start of the clip the first sound is of the school bell showing that the scene is in a school and classes are starting – the director has used synchronous sounds. After hearing the basketball hit Peter’s head the laughter of the three guys who threw it comes next, this shows that Peter is not popular and is a victim of bullying. There is also another part that also suggests this

when Peter tries to protect another kid from getting bullied, he gets laughed at by the crowd watching. This also suggests that he is quite quiet and keeps to himself as when he tells the ‘Bully’ to put the kid down he says it quiet, almost begging him to leave the kid alone.

In the fight scene against the ‘lizard’ character with Spiderman, the lighting used in this clip is used for different reasons then the other scene. The same ambient lighting has been used for most of the clip to make it look normal as the set is of a high school. However a darker light was used at the start of the clip when the lizard is coming out of the sewer by the toilet, this has been done as people tend to be more scared in darker places as they feel more vulnerable and think something may jump out and scare them this is why there is a darker light to show the audience that this character is something to be scared about. The dark light also appears again at the end of the scene when Peter goes back to find out where the lizard is hiding this is showing that this is dangerous, this gives it a horror element. The director uses continuity editing. The editing that is involved in this clip is all very quick; the shots are very fast as the scene is filled with action so the clips have to be fast and quick to make the audience excited, this also makes it more action based which is targeted at the male audience – this is called fast paced editing. Some shots move around while they are fighting for example, when Peter falls to the ground the camera focuses on the lizard and shakes when he runs closer. This is done as they want the audience to know to be afraid of the lizard and be on ‘Spiderman’s’ side. The shots used on this is pretty much a medium long shot where you can see the whole of the characters’ body and also the setting behind them, this shot has been used as the two characters’ are fighting together so you want to be able to see everything that’s happening. The shot moves to a medium shot when Spiderman throws Gwen out of the window the clips also slow down before speeding up again this is aimed at the female audience.

In the hunger games there are many different shots in the reaping scene that are used for different reasons. Firstly, there is a wide shot when looking at the adults in the reaping, this is done for the audience to see the reaction of Katniss’ mum and the other parents in the background of Prim getting picked out of the bowl. This makes the audience realise how the characters are feeling and look at the emotions on their faces. There is also a medium shot mixed with a disoriented shot. This means that the shot was filmed while shaking as this makes the audience aware of how shocked Katniss is of volunteering and how she hasn’t come to terms with it, the audience also feel this way due to the editing by the director. The director has used continuity editing that makes the clips flow more easily without the audience even knowing. There is also a shot-reverse-shot between Katniss and the children standing when she has to walk away inside the building behind.

There is a glass bowl used as a prop on stage in the reaping scene, they hold hundreds of papers with the names of the children that have bought food from the capitol. The bowls look grand but they look similar to a fishbowl, which is similar to what it is like in the hunger

games, it is as if they are in a fishbowl because someone is always watching them. If you compare Effie’s costume to Katniss, her clothing is a lot brighter and looks more like it has been made very carefully with an expensive, good quality fabric, her clothing is also more extravagant. Katniss' dress is in a light grey colour which would blend in with the other children stood in the crowd but next to Effie she looks out of place, we can see the class system, she is lower class and we can see this when comparing her clothes to Effie’s.