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1. The Force Awakens
The Force Awakens
Director: J.J. Abrams
Studio: Walt Disney Studios, Bad Robot Studios
Release date: 17th
November 2015, UK
Filming locations: England, Iceland, Ireland, Abu Dhabi and the USA.
Budget: $306 Million USD Box Office: $2.066 Billion USD
Purpose:
The purpose of this movie was to make a large profit for the Walt
Disney company by targeting the large and mostly male fan base of
the star wars brand that have already have a connection to the brand
via either the praised original trilogy or the controversial prequel
trilogy. It appeals to its male audience through the large amount of
action movie tropes such as explosions, lasers, battles and sword fights
that are used throughout the picture as men are stereotypically more
likely to enjoy these than women. With these tropes seen in the
screenshot of the film below.
Dogfightbetweentwospaceships.
Lasers
Fire

2. The Force Awakens
Another way this film appeals to its audience is via the use of nostalgia,
with characters and certain objects from the original movies returning
to attract fans of the previous films by showing them conventions of
the star wars genre they’re familiar with or have a sentimental
attraction to. This not only helps to attract older fans of the franchise
but also appeals to both male and female fans of the star wars
franchise.
Another group that Disney have aimed to appeal to is women, who
stereotypically would be less interested in the franchise than men but
are encouraged to watch the film by the inclusion of female strong
female characters such as Rey, Princess Leia, and Captain Phasma. As
well as introducing more female characters into the star-wars franchise
they have also put them into more powerful positions, leading male
characters, a strong contrast from traditional and subservient female
action movie characters.

3. The Force Awakens
Man followingwomanwho’s
leadingthe way
Strong,determined
face

4. The Force Awakens
Genre:
Star-wars the Force Awakens, like all other Star-Wars movies, is a
science fiction motion picture and because of this, it is loaded with Sci-
Fi codes and conventions, these include but are not limited to codes
such as: dolly shots to follow action scenes, close up shots to show the
audience the appearance of an alien or otherworldly creature and wipe
transitions between scenes that have become staple of the star wars
movies. There are also a great deal of Sci-Fi conventions such as
Lasers, spaceships, planets, aliens and robots.
These ‘C&Cs’ are used to establish the film as a Sci-Fi and to
persuade customers who are fans of the Sci-Fi genre into watching the
film.
Form:
The Force awakens openly advertised that it was shot on 35mm and I-
MAX 65mm film for a single action sequence on the planet of Jakku.
Robot/Droid
Strange desertplanet
Alien/extra-terrestrial
Creatures

5. The Force Awakens
The director decided to return to film as he believed it would help to
make the film feel more closely to the original films released in the
1970s-1980s and advertised the distancing of the film from the digitally
shot, controversial prequel trilogy. Film was also chosen as the director
believed that 35mm film holds a tangible quality that digital film
cannot. This decision helped to attract older fans who are fans of the
aesthetic of the original trilogy while maintaining a quality in picture
suitable for younger modern audiences.
Style:
Director J.J Abrams has chosen this nostalgic 80s style to pay homage
to the original star wars movies and has used this to give the film a
more retro feeling that he achieved this by using less CGI and more
practical effects such as physical props for the cast to interact with,
detailed costumes instead of motion capture suits and shooting on
location instead of a blue screened studio. This more ‘old
fashioned’ style of filmmaking can be seen throughout the film. The
return to the style and methods of the original star-wars films appeals
to the older fans who grew up watching them, reminding them of their
childhood. These older fans probably also now have children of their
own who they’ll bring to watch the film, introducing new customers
to the franchise.
Content & Meaning:
In the establishing shot below we see Domhnall Gleeson playing
General Hux, commander of the first order giving a speech from an
elevated position to his legions of storm-troopers spread out before

6. The Force Awakens
him on ‘Star-Killer Base’. The imagery presented relates closely to
German fascist movements of the 1930s-1940s with similarities being
found in the
chosen black, white and red colouring of the First order. This also was
the colours used by the Nazi party on their flag the ‘Swastika’, with
more similarities being found with black uniforms worn by the First
Order officers such as ‘General Hux’ that strongly resemble the
uniforms worn by the ‘SS’ during the second world war. By
presenting the First Order as similar to the German Nazi party the
audience is clearly shown who the antagonists of the movie are
manipulated into forming a negative response to their presence while
also helping to show the First Order as an aggressive military state who
assert their power through fear and war – much like the German Nazi
government of WW2. The use of a wide shot also helps to present the
First Order as powerful by showing the audience its foreboding vast
armies spread out to the horizon, suggesting that the First Orders
military capacity is ‘endless’ and also making the audience wonder
how powerful they really are and how they have become so. The
sound in this scene in the trailer composes of a couple of low

7. The Force Awakens
drumbeats with a low base hum, creating a dark and foreboding
atmosphere that helps the audience to associate the First Order as
dangerous and helps to relate to the militaristic nature of the first order
by the use of drums, an instrument commonly used by military
marching bands.
In the wide shot above, we see Daisy Ridley playing Rey, the
protagonist of the force awakens walking across a desert dune of
Jakku, with the droid BB-8 following beside her. From her drab
coloured and ragged costume the audience is instantly shown that Rey
is a poor character due to her scruffy looking clothing. But, her poverty
in this case compliments her character as it suggests to the audience
that she is a tough independent character, with her lack of wealth or
substantial security forcing her to learn how to fend for herself and
make her own way in the world. By establishing Rey as a strong female
character, Star-wars the force awakens breaks the norm of women In
action & Sci-fi movies being submissive and supporting the male hero
and adopts a more progressive outlook by having a female character

8. The Force Awakens
that can fend for herself. Rey also helps to attract women to the Star-
Wars franchise, a franchise that is stereotypically targeted towards
men, as it allows women to relate with and admire a character of their
own gender, all the while attracting women to the franchise who
previously thought that it was for men only.