Lego Movie Questions

Just as with physically produced films, the clapper board features 'slate' details of the directors, the scene and the take. Additionally, ‘Don’t Skip’ in the scene on the clapper board is significant in this scene because this indicates that a non-plot related clip is going to follow from this, which is Batman’s speech.

Pastiche:The clapper signifies the introduction to a text and in the trailer; this prop can be considered pastiche because this material is often used for ‘real life’ production for takes, but instead it has been used for an animation genre and is therefore taken out of context to signify the take of Batman’s speech.

Intertextual References:Intertextual references are featured in the scene as it features the Batman character which originally came from existing products such as Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy. Furthermore, the clapper board can arguably be an interterxual reference because this prop is often used during the production stager of film production or to indicate the beginning of some movie bloopers.

Meta:This scene is Meta because this is a text within a text. Because the scene features a clapper board before Batman’s speech, this signifies that a separate text is going to follow before the main text. This text is Meta because the speech is off topic and then follows with the main text which is the actual film trailer.

These postmodern terms link to the self-reflexive awareness of the text as an artificial construction.

Just as with Lego kits, the coffee board advert shows instructions on how to purchase coffee in modern society. The coffee board emphasises the expense of coffee products and this is a result of postmodernism because this is on overly priced occasion that is influenced by the media on the consumers.

Meta:This scene is self-referential because this particular board occurs in many Lego products to represent a new meaning. By using the Lego products in this scene, it encourages the marketing and advertising of the franchise.

The ‘Flattening’ Effect:The ‘flattening’ effect is a depthless vacuous world in which reality is superseded by marketing and advertising. This effect is applied to this scene as this is visually marketing and advertising Lego products for the audience to purchase because it is displayed on screen. As we live in corporate worlds where criticism and negative emotions are marginalised, success and homogenous lives are encouraged. This is why the following scene to this board shows Emmet highlighting that the coffee is overpriced, but is victim to social conformity and is claiming it as ‘Awesome’ to highlight the homogenous lifestyle.

These postmodern terms link to the purpose of “critique of consumerism and social conformity”.

In this sequence, the traffic moves in uniformity due to the capitalist oppression of President Business. This means that the traffic move at the same time, at the same speed and are all the same. The movement of the traffic is equal because everyone in this world are following instructions on how to live their lives and are therefore victim of both capitalist oppression due to the forceful was of living as well as social conformity because everyone is doing the same.

Simulacrum:The traffic’s uniformity is an example of simulacrum because this is a representation of what the traffic looks like under capitalist oppression. Whereas in modern society, traffic does not operate in the same manner, so the representation of this is an idea of what traffic could look like if applied to modern society under the same conditions.

This postmodern term links to the self-reflexive awareness of the text as an artificial construction

In this sequence, Batman is striking a gate control to activate it. But multiple attempts have failed until one Baterang falls onto the control to activate it, where Batman follows by claiming that it was his ‘First try’. This scene portrays the ironic distance between Batman’s seriousness in this movie compared to Nolan’s trilogy.

Bricolage:This scene contains bricolage because the setting for the scene mainly consists of the science fiction crossed with action. This is because the gate control concept typically originates from the science fiction genre and the Batman character originates from the actions genre.

Parody:This scene is also a parody because Batman attempts to activate the gate control multiple times without success. This is a parody because we expect this character to hit the switch the first time but has been mocked for comedy purposes to contribute to the bricolage of the scene.

These postmodern terms link the "ironic distance between Batman’s seriousness, as if he were in a Nolan film and the character’s actual absurdity".

In this sequence, the Micro Managers are summoned by Lord Business to cause damage to the public. The Micro Managers enter the city through a large space-craft and fly down towards the frame. This scene shows that the capitalist oppression has led to desperate measures in order to stop Emmet, ‘The Special’.

Bricolage:This scene features bricolage because the genre of the Micro Managers originates from the science fiction genre rather than the action/fantasy. The combination of these genres helps to create a new meaning to the text.

Intertextual References:This short sequence features many intertexual references concerning the Micro Managers. The first intertextual reference is that the Micro Managers are similar to the Toclafane from Doctor Who – The Sound of The Drums (2007). I have noticed this intertextual reference because the appearance of the models is similar to the designs of the Toclafane and the entrance to the world is also similar because in the episode, the Toclafane enter through a tear in the sky to cause damage, similarly to the Micro Managers. Lastly, another similarity between the two is that they are both controlled by a capitalist power; Lord Business and The Master. Another intertextual reference with this scene comes from Avengers Assemble (2012). The creatures that come into the world through the Tesseract are similar because again these creatures are being summoned upon and brought down to the city to cause damage.

These postmodern terms link to the self-reflexive awareness of the text as an artificial construction and the Critique of the action/fantasy/sci-fi genre.

In this sequence, we are introduced to Good Cop/Bad Cop appearing out of a police car window. The character is attempting to stop the protagonist, Emmet, from escaping with ‘The Piece of Resistance’.

Bricolage:This scene features bricolage through the weapon used by Bad Cop. Bad Cop appears to be equipped with what appears to be a ray gun, which is a weapon associated with the sci-fi genre. The inclusion of this weapon is suited to the target audience as it may be considered inappropriate to used more realistic appealing guns for a young audience. The weapon creates a new meaning to the text and to the character.

Intertextual References:The first noticeable intertextual reference is the appearance of Bad Cop is similar to Agent Smith from The Matrix. The glasses that he wears and vacant expression is similar to the antagonist in The Matrix. Additionally, the appearance and glasses are also a reference to the police officer in the movie Psycho. The stern impressions of the character and intimidating vibe that emits from the character are somewhat similar to Bad Cop because he is always threatening and intimidating to the protagonists.

Parody:The actions that Bad Cop gives when something doesn’t quite go his way. When this happens, he repeatedly kicks any nearby chairs to release his frustration. This action is for comedic purposes for the audience due to absurdity of the action.

These postmodern terms link to the self-reflexive awareness of the text as an artificial construction and the Critique of the action/fantasy/sci-fi genre.

In this sequence, the audience are introduced to the character Vitruvius. The character is introduced trying to defend the Kragle by wielding his staff to warn off Lord Business.

Intertextual References:

The film features an intertextual reference for the character. The appearance of the character is similar to two wizards from large fantasy genres, Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings franchise and Dumbledore from the Harry Potter franchise. The elder role to the protagonists is similar to these two wizards and the staff that Vitruvius is equipped with is a typical prop that a wizard is equipped with.

These postmodern terms link to the self-reflexive awareness of the text as an artificial construction and the Critique of the action/fantasy/sci-fi genre.