* Throughout the film the protagonist in the film is being represented as a shopaholic (Rebecca) which is shown through many scenes in the film. For example, as the film begins the audience is shown a shopping scene as the first scene which shows the protagonist as a child (Rebecca) and her mother buying her cheap products. This scene refers to the title of the film as it allows the audience to understand that because Rebecca did not get expensive products when she was a child but once she got older she became a shopaholic. This shows that females are represented as shopaholics and cannot control themselves when they are shopping.
* The representation of females within the film is accurate as many females are not able to control themselves when shopping and is a fair representation. This representation will allow females to watch the film and be able to relate to it and also understand the consequences of not controlling the amount of shopping they do. This connotes that the film is able to connote to many females and be able to watch the film for Personal Identity according to the Uses and Gratifications theory.
* Throughout the film, males are represented as caring towards females and this is shown through the character Luke as he is always supporting the protagonist Rebecca. For example, this is shown within the first ten minutes of the film where Rebecca needs to change a cheque in to cash for a scarf and Luke who does not know Rebecca at the time offers to help. By this scene, it connotes to the audience that males are represented as friendly within the film and supportive as in the first scene that Luke is shown he is shown as helping Rebecca.
* The representation of males within the film is fair as it allows the audience to see that if they are able to relate to the narrative, there will be someone that will be able to help them and support them. This connotes that the narrative of the film is allowing the audience to find a way to resolve the situation and seek help which allows the representation of males in this narrative to be fair.
* Throughout the film there are many connotations that may arise in the audiences mind. For example, when Rebecca goes for the interview she coincidentally is having an interview with the man she met a few minutes before which provides a connotation in the audiences mind that Rebecca will not get the job. This begins to create enigma in the audiences mind as to what will happen next and will Rebecca be able to get the job and pay back her debt. This creates enigma in the audiences mind as to what will happen next? how will Rebecca pay back her debt?. This also creates excitement in the audiences mind as they will want to know how the narrative will progress.
* By having a range of different connotations throughout the film, the significance of them is largely important to the audience as it creates enigma in the audiences mind. This is because whilst watching the film the audience will have many different connotations of the scenes that are being shown to them. As a result, the audience will be interested in finding out what happens in the film and if there connotations of the scene or film were correct. This means that it is important for 'Confessions of a Shopaholic' to allow their audience to have connotations about the film as this will persuade them to carry on watching the film and find out what happens.
* The clothing used during the film is very posh and smart and expensive clothing as Rebecca (protagonist) dresses in expensive clothes as she likes to buy expensive clothing. The use of expensive clothing connotes to the audience that 'Confessions of a Shopaholic' is not a film that has a audience of a specific class as any type of class can gain a credit card. By the use of the clothing, the audience is given an impression that the protagonist is rich whereas she is not really rich but is using her credit cards. This connotes that by the use of clothing, the audience is able to have many different connotations within their mind that are not completely true.
* The mise en scene has a vital significance in 'Confessions of a Shopaholic' the reason for this is because by the mise en scene the audience is able to relate to the protagonist and also get an idea of how the protagonist is feeling. For example, at the beginning of the film there is a medium shot of shoes and bags which allows the audience to understand the obsession of shopping. This is vitally important in this film as it is based around females who are shopaholics and in order for the audience to relate to the film, it is important for the mise en scene to hold a vital importance within the film. Also, when Rebecca goes shopping there is a close up shot of all the expensive products in the shop that is likely to persuade females. This is important to be shown so that the audience can understand the protagonists view properly rather than not be as involved in the film.
* The language used in the film by the characters is posh especially by the male character Luke. This emphasises to the audience that there is characters that are posh in the film but there is also characters that are medium class (Rebecca). This shows the difference in the characters as Luke is upper class due to his posh language and due to him having a successful job but he can control his spending and is not a shopaholic whereas Rebecca who is medium class cannot control the money she spends and is a shopaholic. This allows the audience to see the difference in both economic classes and understand both characters in different ways.
* The use of sound in the film allows suspense and tension to build up in the audiences mind. For example, when Rebecca is trying to get the letter back that she sent to 'Alette', there is sound within the background that creates tension and stress as to what will happen. This allows the audience to relate to Rebeccas's situation and try to understand it. By the use of this sound, the audience gets enigma codes in their mind as it is important to Rebecca to get that job. This connotes that the significance of sound in the film is important as it creates certain questions and tension in the audiences mind. However, if there was no sound in certain scenes, the audience may find it hard to understand the situation and the scene and this shows that the impact of sound in 'Confessions of a Shopaholic' is important and conveys meaning.
* In the film Rebecca is presented as a princes who is in trouble and needs to clear her debt and her obsession of shopping and Luke is seen as the hero as he helps and supports Rebecca get out of her obsession of shopping and try to clear her debt rather than spend more money. These characters are created as Rebecca is vulnerable and is not able to stop herself from spending and is in need of help which labels her then as the princess whereas Luke is created as the hero towards the end of the film as he begins to understand Rebecca and wants to support her through her time to get through her obsession and help her sell her belongings which then allows the audience to understand that Luke is the hero and is the one that saves the day at the end.
* Throughout the narrative, the role of sound is important as it conveys meaning and allows the audience to understand what is happening within the narrative. For example, when Rebecca is shopping, there is sound used within the background that creates the atmosphere of excitement which many females may feel when shopping. This conveys meaning as the audience is able to relate to the shopping scene and also feel what Rebecca is feeling at the time. If there was no use of sound during the shopping scene, there would not be as much excitement and the audience will not be able to understand fully how Rebecca is feeling and her excitement of shopping. This means that in order for the narrative to create meaning in the audiences mind, there must be a use of sound that will be appropriate to the scene and will keep the audience entertained.
* The ideologies that the narrative creates is that many females are shopaholics and cannot control the amount of money they spend and do not think of the consequences. This is an ideology created that may relate to many females in real life and the narrative is basically creating the ideology that some females are shopaholics who cannot get out of their situation but there is a way to get out of this problem which is shown in the film. This allows many females to watch the film and get entertained by it but also see the serious side of it to be able to solve the problem. This connotes that 'Confessions of a Shopaholic' is creating the ideology that any female can get out of this problem and sort themselves out.
Genre . . .
* The genre that 'Confessions of a Shopaholic' belongs to is comedy and romance. The reason why this film belongs to these genre is because the film has many comedy scenes involving Rebecca's obsession of shopping and also has romance scenes between Luke and Rebecca. The generic conventions within the text for comedy is shown as when Rebecca is shopping and talking to the plastic clothes model which is comedy for the audience as she is in a store talking to a plastic model. Also, there is scenes in which Rebecca is going crazy to buy a scarf which shows the comedy side of the shopping spree. The generic conventions shown of the genre romance is shown as once Rebecca and Luke kiss, the lighting is high key and the background music that is used is soft music which creates the atmosphere of romance.
* The characters in the film are generically determined and this is shown as Rebecca who is a humorous character is shown clearly as a funny character. For example, Rebecca's obsession for shopping is shown to the audience as her making a fool out of herself which shows the comedy side of Rebecca. Also, when Rebecca is drunk and writes a rude letter to Luke, she is shown as a funny character due to her criticisms towards Luke. However, Rebecca is not seen as a romantic character as she treats her love of shopping like a man as she compares shopping to a man. For example, this is shown when Rebecca says "you cannot exchange a man within 28 days" and this shows her passion towards shopping rather than a male. This connotes that the personality of Rebecca is not shown clearly to the audience but the audience is slowly shown the personality of Rebecca in order to enjoy the film.
* The character Luke's personality is also not shown clearly to the audience. This is because when Luke is introduced, he is introduced as a normal character rather than a character that will hold a important role in the film. Also, Luke is shown as a 'boring' businessman and his comedy and romance side is not shown until later on in the film. This connotes that 'Confessions of a Shopaholic' is keeping their audience entertained by creating suspense and not revealing the characters personalities at once.
Media Institution . . .
* The institution of 'Confessions of a Shopaholic' is 'Touchstone Pictures' which mainly produces films of Walt Disney. The film in distributed in a variety of ways. The ways in which the film is distributed is . . .
- Trailer which will mean that the audience will be able to have an insight of the narrative and be able to see the actors that are in the film. This will then help the audience decide if they want to watch the film or not by looking at the genre, narrative and actors.
- Posters which will allow the audience to be able to see the release date of the film and also see the actors involved in the film. By having a poster, it will be likely that more people will know about the film as posters will be placed in a variety of different places. Also, by having a poster the audience may be able to decide how each actor is played in the film by looking at the pose and clothing of the actors in the poster.
- Reviews which will mean that people will be able to read about the film and be aware of how it is and what other people think of the film. This means that people will be able to decide if they want to watch the film or not by reading reviews by other people who have seen the film. For example, if a film is rated five stars then people may choose to watch the film whereas if it is rated one star, it is unlikely that some people will prefer watching the film.
- Merchandise which will allow the audience to be able to purchase products that are related to the film. This will mean that the audience is able to be more involved in the film. Also, by having merchandise the film is allowing the film to be more well known by the audience and also let the audience feel that they can buy products if they want. For example, if there was a hand bag related to the film, many females would prefer to get the hand bag which will mean that the audience will be more involved.
Media Values & Ideology . . .
* The values that have been put across in 'Confessions of a Shopaholic' is that females are shopaholics and cannot control themselves when shopping. This shows that females are labelled negatively within this film as it connotes that females cannot be trusted with money. A ideology which is put across in the film is that females are able to get through this problem and be able to resolve it which is shown in the film. This connotes that the film is allowing the audience to watch Rebecca's obsession in a comedy way but then also see the serious side of the matter and find ways from the film to resolve the issue. The ideology that is put through in the film is that the audience who are able to relate to this are able to watch Rebecca's state in a comedy way and also learn from it.
Media Audiences . . .
* The target audience of the film 'Confessions of a Shopaholic' is females from the age 16 - late 30's. The film does not target a specific socio-economic group and this is because any female is able to gain a credit card which is why this film does not target a specific socio-economic group.
* The assumptions that are made about the audience within the film is that the audience is likely to consist of females who like to go shopping and females who may have a obsession of shopping as this type of audience will prefer to watch the film. The audience is likely to receive the text in a humorous way as females who like to do shopping are able to watch the film in a humorous way and may be able to relate to it and laugh at themselves. This shows that the size of the audience is likely to be large as many females will want to watch a film which is related to shopping and this is because many females prefer shopping. As the audience will be mainly females, it is likely that a large amount of females will be watching the film. Also, there may be many females that may be in debt or may be shopaholics so it is likely that many females will watch this film either for entertainment or for Personal Identity according to the Uses and Gratifications theory.
