Media Studies

1. BY ATIYA BOKSH

2. SUMMARY OF THE FILM
 The Purge: Anarchy is a 2014 American action horror thriller film directed and written by James
DeMonaco. It is the sequel to the 2013 film The Purge.
 In the Purge Anarchy, a couple are driving home when their car breaks down just as the Purge
commences. Meanwhile, a police sergeant goes out into the streets to get revenge on the man who
killed his son, and a mother and daughter run from their home after assailants destroy it. The five people
meet up as they attempt to survive the night in Los Angeles where all crime is legal for one night.

3.  The trailer starts off straight away as
intense by the use of a countdown and
fast paced harsh music along with a
man commentator announcing ‘In 5
seconds, you are about to experience
anarchy.’ in a serious and a demanding
voice. This alerts the audience that the
movie is about the absence of a
government and the absolute freedom
of individuals in which they are free to
do whatever they want. This suggests
that the movie will be full of criminal
activities and therefore the audience
will be curious and willing to watch it to
see what it would be like if there was
no rules or a government controlling
the country so they would be interested
in watching this particular movie as it is
very unique from other horror movies.

4.  There are various camera angles of the city
which is based in America mostly done in a
birds eye view as the scene is shown from
directly above. This is a completely
different and somewhat unnatural point of
view which can be used for dramatic effect
or for showing a different spatial
perspective. This can mean that the
audience are seen as ‘God like’ as they are
watching everyone take part in the purge
and how they would react if there was no
rules. Therefore, this technique has been
used effectively as it shows that the purge
is entirely taking place in America and that
is an activity in which every citizen can take
part in.

5.  In the middle of the trailer, the purge is starting
to take place as you see a man loading a gun in a
sharp movement. This indicates that the movie
will contain highly powered weapons and it
symbolises that the character's are afraid of the
world and insecure in themselves that they rise
against anyone who degrades them. They live
their lives in fear, and project that fear into
violence, an attempt to make others as
frightened as they are. Also, in the trailer it says
‘some people do it for revenge’ and ‘some
people just want to survive’ showing that the
purge is a matter of life and death.
 After that, a man commands ‘If you're not
purging, we advise you to get off the streets as
quickly as possible’ which emphasizes the fact
that the streets will be full of danger and raises
the tension between the audience.

6.  As the trailer paces up along with the intense
music and sound effects getting faster and
sharper, you see various camera shots of
criminal activities taking place. For instance,
someone riding a bus with fire, a gang with
dogs, guys dragging women from the roots
of their hair whilst screaming in pain and
various citizens wearing masks. This is done
in order to create an anticipation between the
audience and a feeling of being excited or
anxious uncertainty as to what might happen.
 The trailer specifically focuses on a man
wearing a joker like mask that is white and
says ‘God’ on the top. This suggests that he
thinks he is superior than everyone else and
no one can tell him what to do.

7.  During the end of the trailer, the pace
slows down and sad emotional music is
playing in the background that contains
an enquire. This symbolises death as
they are usually played at funerals. This
may be due to the various events taking
place in the purging as nothing can be
done in order to prevent it. Also, the use
of sound effects in this trailer has been
used very effectively. For example, the
use of gun shots which emphasizes the
murders in the movie.