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How are the protagonist represented in Attack the Block (2011) and The
Avengers (2012)?
The two films I will be analysing are Attack the Block (director: Joe Cornish; 2011)
and The Avengers (director: Joss Whedon; 2012) to see how the protagonist are
represented. In both films there are several protagonists so in this essay I will be
focusing on one main character from each film. Moses played by John Boyeya from
Attack the Block and Iron Man played Robert Downey Jr. from The Avengers.
In The Avengers the first time the audience sees Iron Man he is under water fixing
something. The director has used a close up on his mask and hand; this shows the
detail and colours used on the mask, red and gold. Red represents Iron Mans
energy and danger meaning people should fear him, this is really shown when he is
fighting against the antagonist, Loki. The gold on his mask symbolises his wealth,
everyone knows that Tony Stark is rich and he wants people to know it. Tony Stark
shows this when he is in
his tower, it is huge and in the middle of
the city, in
the middle of all the action. When you
see him
again he is in his superhero
costume
making a very dramatic entrance. This
entrance represents him to be strong and dominant by the
use
of the low angle shot used
when he
lands on the ground, the
camera is
looking up to him making him look
taller
and
representing him to be more powerful. This
compared to
the other people in the scene makes him look
ready to fight the antagonist Loki. Also when he is coming into the scene there is
diegetic rock music, AC/DC, in the background and this brings energy to the scene
that also keeps the audience interested and excited to see what happens next.
Although the diegetic rock music stops when Iron Man goes to fight the antagonist,
Loki, Iron Man carries the same strength and energy when he is going to his fight
with Thor after. Even though there is a gap between his fight with Loki and Thor he
still brings the same amount of force to both.
He likes to shows a lot of authority when hes fighting Thor by not backing down, they
show this by the low angle shot. By the camera looking up to Iron Man, it makes him
seem taller and more dominant. It shows him not giving up during the fight and
always ready for more, this shows how he likes to show control and power over the
other characters in the scene. By the camera being at this low angle it also makes
him looks more powerful. When he talks with his superhero costume helmet on his
voice changes, you can hear this when he says, I have a plan, attack, it makes his
voice sound more mechanical and makes his character more believable. It is also
showing Tony Starks alter egos, Iron Man, identity. When he first meets the other
band of protagonists he is wearing a suit, this makes him look more superior to the
rest of them. This represents him to be a very dominant character and very business

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while the others are not dressed like this. It makes him look like a leader to the other
characters that need guidance.
The editing used in The Avengers is very fast pace and this helps with it coming
across as the action film it is. The use of the cuts when Iron Man is fighting an
antagonist or anyone else, this makes Iron Man look fast and active, they also help
with the creating a verisimilitude atmosphere for the audience to understand that Iron
Man and Thor are in a heated confrontation. He is made to look very dominant and
people are made to think of him in a very authoritative way.
In the opening sequence of Attack the Block the director, Joe Cornish, misleads the
audience into thinking that Moses and his friends are the antagonists as he
represents them as rebellious and they are mugging a young lady that they soon
befriend, Sam. This represents the youths of South London in a rebellious and
mischievous way making some the audience think that they all act in this manner.
Over the course film the audience learn that theyre not the antagonists but they are
actually the protagonists that are trying to save the day from the real antagonist, the
aliens.
The costumes in Attack the Block are very stereotypical. Moses and his friends are
dressed in hoodies, jeans, and heavy coats and have hats and scarfs to hide their
identity. Moses wears a hat and scarf to cover his face. This represents them as
suspicious as you cant see their faces and it makes them look like they are up to
something. For the period of time the film is set in, modern day, and the location it is
set, South London, their costume choices are seen as a typical stereotype for the
audience that is watching. The young female protagonist, Sam, however is dressed
in very casual clothing, dark jeans and a dark top. Sam, unlike the younger
generation of kids she soon becomes friends, doesnt wear anything to hide her
facial features so you can see her face and what she looks like whereas the younger
generation do not want their identities to be known to the some of the characters in
the film or the audience. This represents them to seem more mysterious, rebellious
and puzzling for the audience as Moses is the main character and protagonist the
audience would think that he would want to be known as a good guy.
The editing they have used in Attack out Block is fast pace with a lot of cuts. The
director has used these a lot in a chase scene when Moses and his friends are trying
to run away from the aliens. The camera usually cuts from a close up of the
characters faces to allow the audience to see their expressions and emotions to
establishing shots or a birds eye view for the audience to see the location and
surroundings. When the director uses a birds eye view this would allow the audience
to observe a chase scene of the protagonist trying to get away from the antagonist.
They also show a lot of close ups to show Moses facial and body expression from
the front and close ups from the side to show his face. This also allows you as the
audience to see the injuries he has obtained throughout the film like the scar on the
side of his face that we got due to events in the film. This represents Moses as very

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violent but it is a good quality of his that is shown because although he is

represented
as
a
delinquent he actually
ends up saving the day.
The juxtaposition of the
slow motion that is used
in the scene Moses vs.
The
Monsters
builds
tension for the audience
so they want to know
what happens next. The
lighting used in this scene
is very low key, the lights
in the building are flickering on and off over Moses making him looks dangerous
meaning people should be frightened. The high angle shot that has been used while
he is running makes him look powerful and representing him as a dominant
character but then when he runs pass the camera it makes the monsters look like
they are taking Moses dominance away from him. The focus on the firework and
lighter then back to his face showing his nervousness that he doesnt really show
that much during the course of the film representing him as a more vulnerable
character at this point, this also shows his leadership as it is just him by himself while
he has allowed the rest of his friends in the film go to safety.
In both of my chosen films: The Avengers and Attack the Block, the protagonist,
Moses and Iron Man want to hide their identities from the public in the film and the
audience because they dont want people to know who the real them are. They both
also change their names in the film, Tony Stark calls himself Iron Man, but you do not
find out what Moses real name is. Some people would say that they do this because
they are scared about people knowing the real them and it is all a cover up for
people the audience and characters in the film. Many superhero films are set in big
cities and popular areas like New York like where The Avengers is set, unlike Attack
the Block; it is not set in the main city. Many people think about New York City as
being a place of entertainment and by The Avengers being set in New York it brings
entertainment to the audience. Both films follow Todorovs narrative theory. They
both start with equilibrium, have a disruption that the protagonist have to try and fix,
recognition of disruption, attempt to repair and then end with a new equilibrium.
Attack the Block and The Avengers both share similar mise-en-scene,
cinematography, sound and editing to show how the characters are represented.
Both of the main characters have costumes that hide their original identity making
both of them look more mysterious, different and bring a different effect to the
audience and to the other characters in the film. As the audience know that the
protagonist, Moses and Iron Man, are both the their alter ego and their ordinary lives
characters, the characters in the film on the other hand may not know this and this

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will give a different affect for the characters in the film and the audience. Both of my
films use a lot of close ups to show the characters strength and emotions to
represent them in a certain way to make them look strong, powerful and dominant.
They have used a lot of fast pace editing and cuts when showing the protagonist in
fights against the antagonist. However both of the diegetic and non-diegetic sounds
are used differently. In Attack the Block they use a lot of non-diegetic sounds to help
move the scene along, they also use diegetic similarly but this is usually a music
soundtrack. Whereas in The Avengers they have used more non-diegetic soundtrack
than diegetic sounds.
Word count: 1733

The Avengers (2012)

Attack the Block (2011)

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