Napoleon Dynamite title sequence analysis - Task 2 G321

Napoleon Dynamite analysis...

From this title sequence, you can tell that this film is going to be based on/in a stereotypical American high school . We get this vibe from the sequence as numerous stereotypical American youth related items appear in it. In this short two and a half minute clip, we see different elements of it's youth with items such as a high school student card, and various types of typical American food, such as a corn dog, nachos and a peanut butter sandwich resting on top of a brown paper lunch bag, highly linked with American high school culture featuring in this opening. 

From accurately guessing the setting of the film from just watching the sequence, we can also get a rough idea of what sort of person the main character is going to be like. Yet again, the items that are  featured in this sequence are items that stereotypically affiliate with a 'nerd' or 'geek'. We see a 'U.F.O Abduction Insurance' card very early on in the sequence. This instantly gives us a brief idea that this film may contain a 'nerdy' character due to the fact he/she is interested in space and aliens. 

The next big hint we get is about half way through the sequence when we see a home-made looking ninja star. This tells the audience that the main character is into their action movies and possibly uses this hand-made 'weapon' to reenact scenes from action films and wrestling programmes he/she watches.

Shortly after seeing the 'weapon', two library books appear in the sequence. Yet again, this is another clue to helping us find out the type of character featuring in this film. not just the fact that there are library books, but the fact that the two books they have rented out are called 'Bigfoot and Me' and 'Sciences and Centaurs'. This is another addition to their beliefs and interests in space and mythological creatures.

Nearer the end of the sequence, two drawings appear one after the other containing pictures of ancient looking fighters and warriors fighting dragons and large looking birds. This is another sign of the passion he has for war and mythology.

Towards the end of the sequence, a few stationary items appear on scene with the names of the writers carved into pencils and written on rubbers. This is a clever way of showing the audience who wrote the play, still in a way that relates to the character, a nerd who uses a lot of stationary to do his work and drawings.

The sequence finishes with a plate of the most stereotypical American food resting on a table from a birds eye view. A burger and fries. On the burger lay the name of the director written out in a sauce before being aggressively squashed by the top half of the bun, like an immature child.

This sequence is very clever in giving a huge amount of information without showing us any of the characters appearances or the setting of any of the scenes. It sets up the film and gives a brief set of information to the audience without ruining any surprises the film may have in store. In this clip, we see the names of everyone heavily involved in the film, plus the genre and style of the film and its characters all at the same time. Despite the simpleness of this opening sequence, it gives more than enough information and details to set up the rest of the movie.