NDY2

Student: Christopher ONeill

Tutor: Jim Doherty
Unit 6
Developing Responses for creative media products
Star wars episode 7 The Force Awakens

Content Analysis
Star wars is a very unique piece of work because it has several
different elements from various different genres and mixes them
together into a giant space opera. The space dogfights involving the
space ships are heavily inspired by classic war movies such as Hells
Angels (1930). Scenes such as Han Solo shooting gretto in the
Cafina are inspired by the Clint eastwood westerns and samurai and
fantasy films inspire the Jedi. Although it does take place in a galaxy
with futuristic technology star wars is considered more science
fantasy rather than science fiction as it doesnt focus on the sci fi
elements with as much detail as a science fiction show like star trek
would. All of the characters are classic archetypes found in various
classic stories, from Luke Skywalker being the classic hero on a
journey to Han Solo being the dashing rogue,
All of these elements were implemented on purpose by the
producers, star wars is such a giant production which costs a lot of
money to produce so the producers want to make their movie
appeal to as many people as possible in order to assure maximum
box office success.
In many ways star wars episode 7 is a reboot of the franchise, it
reboots the franchise by introducing new characters and mixing
them in with past ones in the hope of the past characters passing
the mantel to the news ones in order to revive the series for a new
generation, the movie borrows heavily from iconic star wars
imagery, this is very intentional as the producers of the film are
trying to tap into the nostalgia of the audiences who remember
these films from their childhood, as a result of this the movie can be

NDY2
Student: Christopher ONeill
Tutor: Jim Doherty
Unit 6
considered playing it safe with the mise-en-scene with only a few
new creatures and designs added in to the background.

Distribution
The producers will try to get this movie distributed in as many ways
as possible since they are trying to appeal to a massive audience.
Their means of distribution varies from cinema to digital download
to Blu-ray; depending on the viewer their means of watching the
product varies depending on their preferred choice of viewing, for
example, a older audience member would like to watch the movie in
a theatre while a younger audience member wouldnt mind
watching on their smart phone.
Semiotics
A lot of things, which happen in the movie, are very reminiscent of
real life; the most blatant example would be the first order being
compared to the Nazis of World War 2. The storm troopers in the
giant rallies being given a speech by their general are very
reminiscent to something like the Nuremberg Rally. Since it is a
science fantasy film that takes place in a far off galaxy there really
isnt as many cultural signs and symbols as other films.
Narrative Structures
The producers of this film played it very safe in that they pretty
much redid the story of the original star wars film, it follows the
same classic hero going on a journey from a new hope while also
following the same plot elements such as the droid holding plans
that the villain want and the giant weapon that the heroes have to
stop from destroying a solar system. In many ways this can be
considered a multi strand story, as there are multiple characters all
of which have just a much relevance to the plot as the other,
although there is a main hero she shares the same amount of
screen time as all of the other heroes of the tale. This has more of
an open narrative as it ends on a cliffhanger, which will lead into
episode 8. The movie is in chronological order with only a few
flashbacks, so overall the movie can be considered linear with a few
non lineal elements added in, keep in mind that this is the first
movie in a new trilogy. The movie also ends with an elongated
action scene for the climax.
Representation
The movie has received good reviews for its diverse cast. The 3
new main stars are all unique, the main character is a female and
the 2 secondary actors are black and white. This is intentional, as
Disney wants to make a movie that appeals to everyone regardless

NDY2
Student: Christopher ONeill
Tutor: Jim Doherty
Unit 6
of race or gender, the only main race that is not present in the
movie as a prominent role is Asian. There really arent any
stereotypes in the film that stick out.