Textual Analysis of Buried Titles

Buried - 2010 Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Robert Paterson, Ivana Mino Genre: drama, mystery, thriller Rated: 15 Duration: 95 minutes Plot: Paul is a U.S. truck driver working in Iraq. After an attack by a group of Iraqis he wakes to find he is buried alive inside a coffin. With only a lighter and a cell phone it's a race against time to escape this claustrophobic death trap. Released: 29th September 2010 (UK) All of the titles appear to move upwards suggesting a feeling of travelling down through the ground. They are all on a black background suggesting the dark will be a prominent feature throughout the film. The title of the film appears swiftly as the word 'buried' scrolls up the screen. This makes it appear as if the camera is moving down through the ground. It is positioned on the bottom right of the screen and takes up approximately a quarter of it suggesting that the title closely links into the film itself. It is a yellow/brown colour linking to the underground/buried theme of the film. It is a basic, quite bold font that allows the audience to easily read it. The letters then fade as they travel up the screen. The photo of money appears to be cut into strips and is accompanied with small writing. This shifts in a diagonal movement from the bottom left-hand corner to the top right. The people's names are written in white and their role in the film production is in yellow. Both have the same font but the white is slightly larger suggesting the names are slightly more important.

Audience Theories

Uses and Gratifications: The theory was developed by Bumler and Katz. It suggests that audiences use any media text for various reasons as suggested below: • Diversion (Escapism) - escape from everyday problems and routine • Personal Identity - finding yourself reflected in texts, learning behavior and values from texts • Personal Relationships (Social Interaction) - using the media for emotional and other interaction e.g. substituting soap operas for family life • Entertainment - Using the media as a source of entertainment • Surveillance (Information) - Gathering information from the media e.g. documentaries, weather reports We will consider why our audience will be watching our thriller piece and take this theory into consideration during production. Hypodermic Needle: According to this theory the media is like a syringe which injects ideas, attitudes and believes into the audience who have little choice but to be influenced. For example, according to the theory, if you watch something violent you will be inclined to do the same violent thing. We need to take this theory into consideration when making our film. Our piece may have scenes of violence or stalking and we need to consider how this will affect our audiences. Active/Passive Audiences: An active audience is an audience that thinks about what they have seen on screen after watching it. What they see has the potential to affect them physiologically. A passive audience is the opposite of this and they do not think about what they have seen and it doesn't affect them afterwards. Identification and Sensitization: Identification - violence in the media releases tension and desires through identification with fictional characters and events (catharsis). Sensitization - violence in the media can sensitize people to the effects of violence.