Media questions based on “Boogie Nights” opening scene.

How does the narrative engage the audience?

There are many ways in which the narrative engages the audience in the opening 5 minutes of “Boogie Nights”. The main way is that the viewer sees all of the action unfold as the camera does. We are taken on a tour of the set, using the technique of a constantly moving camera shot. Other camera angles also used to help us feel part of this effect are over the shoulder shots. The viewer is made to feel part of the story- like they are walking around the room themselves. Another way which the director has helped us to become engaged in the film through the narrative is the fact that we are introduced to many characters almost immediately. The common codes and conventions which we all know allow us to almost determine what role each of the characters will play in the film, and the audience is immediately gripped. This links to how, just from this section, we can link Propp’s theory to the film. By making assumptions from the opening scene, the hero seems to be the gentleman which a suspicious look on his face who we see at the end. Although seemingly powerful at the start, our codes and conventions suggest to us the lady who comes into the club with her husband would be the princess. It seems that, perhaps, as the film goes on, she will need help. Finally, the villain is a harder role to determine from this first section. However, perhaps the husband, or the man who leads the husband and wife into the club at the start.

How are woman represented in the opening of “Boogie Nights”?

The era that this film is set in plays a very important role in the way in which woman are represented in the opening to the film. Firstly, they are represented in a sexual way, and at many points, the male characters will be admiring the females. We can strongly see this in the line: “sexiest bitch”. It is not the lady’s husband who tells her she is sexy, which shows that the women are openly admired by all males. A second point is that they are represented to be very feminine. This is enhanced in the way that they dress, and they way that they carry themselves. They seem to care about their appearance, and we can see this from the costumes. For example: the glamorous dress which wife wears. Thirdly, when the wife talks to the younger girl on roller blades, we get a sense of how much power the woman have. Another point where we see that the woman characters in this film will be dominant and have power is when the wife shrugs off the comment her gentleman peer makes about her appearance. She is able to ignore what she says, showing she has a certain amount of dominance over the male characters in her society. The wife in this opening scene has significantly more lines than her husband, showing that the audience are to pay more attention to her.