Comparison of Shallow Hal and About a Boy.

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Media Coursework

In Shallow Hal we follow the main character in his attempt to find a beautiful women, up to when he meets a famous self-help guru, Hal has very low views and opinions of women, we soon find out that Hal has been told to focus on the inner beauty of people and from then on, that’s all he sees, until he finds the women that he loves and has the ability to visually see her as she originally is, which brings Hal’s old personality back into play. This experience that Hal has been through, has made him realize the faults within his own life, and so therefore appreciates people for who they are and takes the opportunity to be with the women that he loves.

About A Boy shadows the lives of two people who seem very different at the beginning, but we later realize that this is not the case. Will is a wealthy, young, attractive inheritor of his father’s money. Who, like Hal, has low expectations of women. Marcus is a teenage ‘geeky’ school student, who has to cope with being bullied, his mother trying to commit suicide and having no one to talk to or rely upon. The two main characters meet accidentally when Will is on a date with Marcus’ mum’s friend and has to look after Marcus whilst his mother is in hospital recovering from her suicide attempt. The two characters don’t seem to get along at first, but soon establish a strong, but unusual friendship.

In Shallow Hal there are a number of outsiders, but the main focus is on the main character, Hal. We also get the image that his girlfriend Rosemary is also alienated from every one else because of the way that Hal sees her. Throughout the film we see a number of other characters that are also isolated in some way from the world. Such as the children on the burns unit, Leroy, Rosemary’s ex. Boyfriend, and Hal’s best friend, Mauricio.

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In About A Boy we have a much clearer view of who is an outsider. We automatically pick up that Marcus is an outcast from everyone else, later on within the film we identify that Will is also an outsider, even though this is not thought at first.

The significant media techniques that I will be focusing on throughout both films will be; panning, flash cutting and long/ wide angle shot. I will also compare the different/ similar techniques presented for lighting and music in both films.

        

The first media technique that I will be concentrating on ...

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