Media Homework Todorov's Theory

This is the opening scene from The Naked Gun 33⅓ (Peter Segal, 1994)

1. The Protaganist: Lt. Frank Drebin - Elderly man in a grey suit who is the main focus of the establishing shot
The Antagonist: Villain - Middle aged man in dark coat and hat who starts a shootout with the protaganist.

2. At the start of the sequence, the establishing shot shows a nearly deserted train station which is peaceful. This is the equilibrium shown at the start of the film. The Close ups also show the protaganist and the clock, which gives particular focus on the fact that the genre may be partly action. The fact that the protaganists suit is a light colour also implies that he is a good guy, as the contrast of light and dark soon follows.

3. There is a short disequilibrium in the opening sequence which is shown when the villain enters in his dark coat with his "gang". This then ends up in a shootout, which breaks the quiet state of the train station. Later on at the end of the sequence, we find out that it is a dream and that the protaganist is a retired detective. This implies that there will be a disruption that will cause him to come out of retirement to help out.

4. At the end of the clip there are clues that the journey will involve stopping some sort of criminal activity. The dream of the shootout in the train station also implies this, as the protaganist is "overwhelmed" by the amount of crime

5. At the end of the film, the bomb is stopped and the criminal is captured. The new equilibrium is similar to the old equilibrium, as the detective retires again and all is back to normal.