Homework: A-A clip genre analysis

Narrative


Men in Black has a traditional three part structure. The Equilibrium has James Edwards as a police officer in New York, who is attempting to run after a criminal. The disruption comes as he realises the criminal is not human, and he is told the world is going to end. This leads to him being recruited for the 'Men in Black' or the MiB, as agent J for short. An alien with the intent to capture 'the Galaxy', an energy source, lands and causes havoc. The restoration comes as the alien is killed and 'the Galaxy' is found, inside a cat's necklace. Agent K is retired by J using the neuralyzer.


Iconography


The film has many individual images that are very distinctive, such as the miniature but insanely powerful gun the noisy cricket, the aforementioned neuralyzer, the car, referred to by J as 'a ford POS', and also the main characters in their suits. The outdoor scenes are often very dark, whilst the scenes at the MiB headquarters are brightly lit and futuristic. It features many conventions of action adventure/ Sci-Fi films.


Characters


Hero: Agent J, or James Darrell Edwards III - a witty, strong former police officer who fits in with many standard conventions of action adventure films.
Helper: Agent K (You never hear his former name) - He acts as a mentor to J and has worked at the MiB for a long time, enjoying a high ranking in the agency.
Villain: The Bug - This stereotypical alien is trying to get 'the Galaxy', without any regard for what would happen to the Earth.
Donors: Chief Z, Frank the Pug, Jack Jeebs and Beatrice, Edgar's wife.
Princess: Dr. Laurel Weaver, a doctor who later becomes J's new partner after K's retirement,


Setting


The film is set almost completely in New York and many of the distinctive scenes that are outdoors are set at night, such as the original J alien chase scene, the first of K's scenes and the final battle against the bug. The indoors scenes are very futuristic and the outdoors scenes show a very urban environment that shows the danger of the aliens to humans, as well as bringing out comedy that there are aliens living among us.