Stephen- This is me analysis

This is me- Genre

The opening shows a grey setting, its colours are bland and we can instantly tell something serious has happened. The colours are the semantic code, defined by Rick Altman as codes that give the viewer meaning, as well as the prop air pump. We are all familiar with hospitals and their colours, so we can instantly tell that someone has been injured. Another semantic code is the diegetic sound of the ping from the health monitor, along with the heavy breathing of the patient as his chest rises and falls- combined, we can tell that the sounds tell us he’s in pain and has difficulty breathing; from this intro the genre can be seen as a Drama. At this point there are no clear syntactic codes used.

As we get a pan around the room, however, the semantic codes point to a documentary- the camerawork is showing us the location; as if it’s a habitat from a nature documentary. In addition the narration is in the style of a documentary, telling us what’s happened and how it happened- the combination of these two themes, the drama and documentary, shows us an example of Buckingham’s negotiation and change- by combining the two genres he’s made a Comedy. The tone of the character’s voice shakes off the documentary vibe, its good humoured and gentle yet rough, a typical London accent. The tone of voice is something you’d find in a comedy often, showing us an example of Neale’s repetition of genre codes. Further into the scene when his wife enters we witness no emotional connection between the two, and he comically introduces her: “That’s Beryl, my missus, coming for her by-monthly” indicating that there’s little emotion between the two of them. The facial expressions are also semantic codes; the disinterest is evident in both their faces (while one is in a coma, the other should feel upset), this builds a theme of a loveless marriage, often found in Comedies- this is a Syntactic code and the concept for a comedy is deeply evident now.

The close up of the timer also indicates little emotion between the married couple. The timer is a semantic code, an item that signifies comedic effect- it’s a novelty item that wouldn’t be used in these situations. This semantic code further enforces the genre of comedy. The medium close up of the wife, still showing a look of disinterest, allows us to see what she’s reading- a magazine featuring cruises. The husband goes on to say “believe me; she hasn’t come down for a chit-chat.” This comedic effect allows us to feel bad for the husband but also we feel humoured at the effect.  The husband then goes on to narrate his situation with a light-hearted humouring effect: “more tubes than the London underground” when he describes his life support. The tone and dialogue are both semantic codes, and jokes are a clear repetition in all comedy genres.

As the setting changes to the couple’s back garden, the man introduces it as “This is me precisely two years ago today.” It’s a joke on the title of the short film, as he introduced the story as “this is me.” A joke to do with a title is a theme that is frequent in comedy films, this shows Neal’s repetition with a syntactic code. The change in colours changes the dark colours (Buckingham’s change) to light colours (Neal’s repetition). Furthermore, the use of these two different colour pallets is itself a negotiation and change described by Buckingham. The diegetic sound of the plane over the non-diegetic tropical sounds is also a humours semantic code. The shadow informs us that the film still has a dark subplot. This Is a variation and change from comedic films, that may have kept the good, bright, lighting however the darker lighting keeps the beginning in mind- the man will fall into a coma.

As we get advance further in the scene, we know the disruption- a child. The husband, appropriately, has a look of disgust on his face in a shot-reverse-shot sequence. This is a syntactic theme for a comedy; an adult male with disgust towards children. A repetition in this film is the introduction to the child; “This is Max.” 

We get a semantic action code; a close up of the aeroplane in Max’s hand. From this we can deduce that the plane plays a large role in the man’s condition. This is a semantic code for a comedy; however, as it’s a hilariously small item- further shown humorously when Max eats it. The husband makes light of the situation by saying “That’s why the manufactures recommend it strictly for ages 5 and over!”

Then, we go into a scientific frame of mind: The husband decides to talk facts about the ingestion system; saying it’ll take “2 hours 12 minutes and 32 seconds” for the plane to reach the bowels of the child. This is a comedic situation and semantic to a comedy film.

 

A close up of the plane ticket is also a new semantic code, showing Buckingham’s change in comedic situations. An extreme close up shows the seat number; with beneath written “Right next to the Khazi” as the husband narrates- a very informal term for a toilet that brings comedic value to the shot. The boy then gets up to go to the toilet, while the husband narrates in a condescending, semantic, tone “That’s right son, get it out your system.”

 

The husband then comically goes on to describe the process that occurs when a toilet is used on a plane. It’s shown in a very factual manner, instead of a comedic one, though the man’s common accent makes it comedic nonetheless. The handbook is also presented in a factual manner, instead of in a silly font. This is another of Buckingham’s ‘Negotiation’ where, when incorporating another element of genre- in this case a documentary, a semantic code has been reversed to mean something related to the plot. In this case, the factual book is used as a comedic element, instead of giving actual facts- which makes it funnier than it should be. The plane falls out of the ice in, again, a comedic fashion though incorporated into a documentary style action- it’s reminiscent of a Battle of Britain documentary, as a British plane falls to London.  The Foley sound also adds to this illusion of the ‘Battle of Britain’.

We then see the wife, still not showing any affection towards her husband, shouting to get the BBQ ready. As she walks up to her husband we see the effect the plane has on his head. This is where the comedy gets darker; the man has suffered a serious head crippling, seeing as how far the wing is indented into the head. The man still says “Shit happens”, a common phrase amongst everyday people. 

As the timer runs out, a sound bridge occurs between the final shot of the injury to the hospital, where the man explains that the company settled a dispute in court and his wife earned 10 million. Her attire has seriously changed compared to the earlier scene, as instead of a pink vest she’s now wearing a black leopard printed jacket. This is personification of Buckingham’s negotiation and change we’ve seen in the film; the woman has ‘negotiated’ with the court and has ‘changed’ with the money she ‘earned’. The final shot shows the plane mounted on a trophy stand- a semantic comedy code, showing that the wife is overall very happy with what has happened and has got a trophy to celebrate her own success.