AICE Media Studies Blog: Film Codes and Genre Conventions Preliminary Exercise 1

Symbolic Codes Closed Reading of VALERIAN Official Trailer #1 (2017)

In films and texts, the media producers use symbolic codes to give audiences the idea of a certain object or scene but why is it significant to audiences? "They hardly pay attention to the behind-the-scenes while they are watching the movie!" you might argue. Media producers use symbolic code in films by adding meaning to objects, settings, props, etc. to give them meaning. This process allows audiences to actually understand a situation better than just being told about the situation. Take for example: a Sci-Fi film of a werewolf hiding among a crowd of people as a human. Scratches on a wall next to a seemingly normal human would give the crowd in the film and the audience watching the film that the human standing next to the scratches is the werewolf. Symbolic Codes are the visual components that signify meaning in a media production. It is the Mise En Scene of the film. Mise En Scene can include important elements such as: Setting/location/set design, acting, costumes, hair & make-up, color, lighting and tone. Symbolic Codes show what is beneath the surface of what we see, hear and feel. They use techniques, processes, equipment and layout strategies all to connote ideas for the audience. They are also signs where there is no physical relationship between the signifier and the signified. The signifier is purely conventional and culturally specific.

From the trailer, I perceive the movie "Valerian" is about a whole species of aliens that humans found and some sort of force disturbed the planet so the humans had to help the aliens and protect the planet. The genre that I have identified from this trailer is Sci-Fi. Sci-Fi is short for "Science Fiction" and is a genre of speculative fiction that typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universes, and extraterrestrial life.

DID YOU KNOW THAT...?

- The Phrase 'science-fiction' was first found in print in 1851.

- Edgar Allan Poe is often mentioned with Verne and Wells as the founders of science fiction.

- The first sci-fi was published in 1616, named The Chemical Wedding Dress.

In the trailer of the movie, there are some examples of symbolic codes which include the aliens shooting in one clip and a human in a suit in the next. The aliens shooting most likely mean that they are attacking someone/something or they are under attack and attempting to defend themselves. The human suiting up possibly means that he is preparing to leave the space ship and go on some sort of adventure to protect the planet.