Four lions
Who is being represented?
Muslims
In what way?
In a debatable way, in which some people think is an eye opener whereas others think that it is a stereotype
Why is the subject being represented in this way?
This subject is being represented in this way as within the past 10 years the media has influenced the fact that the general public find ‘muslims’ responsible for a large percentage of terrorism around the world
Is the representation fair and accurate?
Like many stereotypes it is inaccurate, as there are approximately 1.67 billion Muslims in the world. However the people behind terrorists attacks are a very very tiny proportion of that and some may even argue those behind it are not even Muslim as Islam is a religion of peace and followers believe the killing of one person is like wiping out the whole of humanity.
Media Languages and Forms
What are the denotative and connotative levels of meaning?
The connotative meaning of the movie is that most suicide bombers are confused and are not sure what there fighting for or why there doing what there doing,
What is the significance of the text’s connotations?
The significance of the connotations are that the bombers shown in the movie are confused, connoting that all suicide bombers are confused.
What are the non-verbal structures of meaning in the text (e.g. gesture, facial expression, positional communication, clothing, props etc)?
The facial expressions and clothing was typical of certain types of Asian men, such has hats and beards. Also props such as replica guns and flags are similar to those highlighted by the media to have been used by actual terrorists.
What is the significance of mise-en-scene/sets/settings?
The settings highlight the public and Medias fear of home-grown terrorists. The movie shows terrorists from London city who were born and raised there who then plan to bomb their own city.
What work is being done by the sound track/commentary/language of the text?
Occasionally the characters spoke in Urdu, The language spoken by Pakistanis, Again highlighting the fact that terrorists are Pakistanis.
Narrative
How is the narrative organised and structured?
The structure of the narrative includes all the things thought to be have done by terrorists, such as recruiting, training and then causing terror.
How is the audience positioned in relation to the narrative?
The audience alienated from the movie, allowing them to watch the movie from a neutral view without being too emotionally attached or the narrative being able to influence their thoughts on the movie and the issues shown.
How are characters delineated? What is their narrative function? How are heroes and villains created?
The characters are portrayed to be confused and not sure of what they are doing
research reviews/newspapers/magazine articles
http://blog.moviefone.com/2010/05/07/terrorist-comedy-four-lions-causes-major-controversy-in-uk/critical response:
Four Lions received mostly positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a "Certified Fresh" score of 81% based on 110 reviews with an average rating of 7.2 out of 10. The site's general consensus is that its "premise suggests brazenly tasteless humor, but Four Lions is actually a smart, pitch-black comedy that carries the unmistakable ring of truth."[18]
The Daily Telegraph wrote "[Chris Morris's] evocations of the claustrophobic mundanity of the Muslims' lives, their quarrelous banter, their flimsily pick 'n’ mix approach to the Koran all feel painfully, brilliantly real."[19] The Daily Express rated Four Lions 4/5 and praised the performances in particular, calling the film "brilliantly cast with all the actors displaying sharp comic timing and both [Riz] Ahmed and [Kayvan] Novak also bringing out the touching humanity of their characters."[20]
Upon its screening at Sundance, The Los Angeles Times and The Hollywood Reporter gave the film extremely positive reviews, the latter describing the film as "a brilliant takedown of the imbecility of fanaticism" drawing comparisons with This Is Spinal Tap and The Three Stooges.[21][22]
Amongst the reviewers that gave the film negative and mixed reviews were Nigel Andrews of The Financial Times, who called the film a "spectacular miss".[23] The Guardian's Jeremy Kay, who wrote "as a satire on terror, Four Lions seems to be a missed opportunity".[24] Andrew Pulver, writing for The Guardian, gave the film a more favourable review, stating that "Chris Morris is still the most incendiary figure working in the British entertainment industry."[25]
The UK premiere at the National Media Museum in Bradford was followed by a question and answer session with Chris Morris, Jesse Armstrong, Sam Bain, three of the principal actors and two of the producers. Morris stated that he does not find the film at all controversial and that attempting to cause controversy is "one of the most boring things you can do".[26]
The movie created controversy between the family's of the 7/7 bombings and the creators of the film. Rob Webb, whose sister Laura, 29, died on the train bombed at Edgware Road, said: 'Some of the families want it banned and I can completely understand why they want that as suicide bombing is not particularly amusing.
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