Title: Easy A
Director: Will Gluck
Year Made: 2010
Genre: Comedy
Actors: Emma Stone, Penn Badgley, Amanda Bynes, Cam Gigandet, Alyson Michalka, Lisa Kudrow, Stanley Tucci, Malcom McDowell, Dan Byrd,Thomas Haden Church and Patricia Clarkson.
Studio: Screen Gems
Forms and Conventions
What category, or genre, of text is it? How can you identify this?
This is a comedy. It can be identified by the way that the movie uses aspects of everyday life in a humourous way and a character who can make fun of themselves (making fun of the fact that she sounds like a cliche helpless female with cliche romantic problems) and everything else in a often sarcastic way. The characters are all mostly harmless and use several amusing one liners.
What can we learn from this text from its opening minutes?
We learn that this is a lighthearted movie from its uplifting opening song. We also learn that it is modern through the use of google earth and the fact that Olive, the main character, is sharing her story on the internet. It is identified as a teen comedy through the fact that the opening credits are shown through a high school.
What code and conventions does it follow or disobey?
It follows the typical codes of a teen-comedy with it a large part of the setting being a high school and involving teenage sexual adventure and conflicts with authority. "Easy A" also has a comedic narrator who adds to the element of humour in the film as the way that she narrates the story often evokes laughter/amusement and audience realtion. There is also an element of "gag" to this film - with Olive and other characters cracking jokes and the incorporation of humourous visual element such as Olive and Brandon's antics while pretending to have sex. This movie may also be recognised as a romantic comedy as one of the sub plots is a developing relationship between Olive and Todd.
Representation and Ideology
Whose interest does this text serve?
The sudience which is largely compiled of a younger audience (people under 25) and especially females.
Who is present in this text? Who is absent?
Present in this text are a number of teenagers, all of different personalities and values. Also, the wisdom and life experience of a few middle aged characters - (the characters of Olive's parents and teachers). Also represented is some religious faith in the youth group at the high school and in Marianne's father who is a pastor although the subject is not breached in an overly serious manner. Also the issue of homosexuality is represented. Absent from this is the older and younger generations at the extremeties of the spectrum and a broard range of cultures.
Who or what can it be said to represent?
Parts, although not all, of an average teenage girls journey through high school - the aspects of finding her true self and dealing with social pressures, expectations and ranges of emotions. There is the typical issue of the big high school crush that is raised and the never-smooth journey of that is well represented.
What does the text tell us about who made it and when and where they made it?
The creator had in mind the target audience of teenagers who make up a large portion of the consumers of movies and media. They had a good understanding of teenagers and their knowledge and expectations and used this to their advantage to relate to them through the use of humour and comparisons to other media texts - "The Scarlett Letter", "Can't Buy Me Love", etc... It is clear the text is modern through the mentioning of Google Earth etc and the fact that the narration is done via an online webcast. It is known the film is set in California, as a Californian flag is shown and, more specifically, Ojai as Ojai signs are featured and the school is shown to be called Ojai North.
What judgements do you make about the truth, accuracy or effect of this text?
I do not take this text too seriously. I appreciate the honesty of the narrator and think that it is realistic in the way that it deals with all of the events. I do not think it is necessarily an accurate representation of th average girl's time at high school as I do not know of any other girls to have semi-willingly taken on the role of a "whore" and gone around wearing lingerie to school and accepted money from any male student in exchange for them telling all their friends of fictional sexual encounters. In saying that, there are factual aspects represented; using sexuality to boost social standings, manipulation, ostracism, peer pressure, betrayal, fallings out with friends, high school gossip and high school crushes. It is perhaps exaggerated to different extents in the film. The effect of this film is that perhaps teenagers might refelect lightly on their own teen angst and high school experiences and realise they aren't so extreme after all.
What conclusions can we draw from it, what issues does it raise?
Lying can increase not decrease problems and also create new ones. When you least expect it, it might surprise you who is there to support you. Family can often be counted on to support you. Gossip creates mountains of evil. Be yourself.
