Trailer Analysis
SONAM NGUYEN
Narrative structure and themes
Equilibrium
The trailer begins with the female protagonist narrating behind several clips of her past,
stating that she was hired to be ‘crème de la crème in an exclusive industry’ before her
‘friends’ betrayed her by trying to kill her for leaving the group in order to start a new life.
Disequilibrium
The equilibrium discontinues as soon as the narrator describes her plot –to kill the people
who betrayed her. This is evident as the pace of the music changes from up beat to action
packed as she says ‘I choose, KILL!’. There are uses of comedic value throughout the trailer,
especially when she is fighting the first antagonist –and her daughter walks in. Secondly
when she cuts the Asian man’s sword into pieces.
Equilibrium continues
The equilibrium continues at the very end of the trailer, when the female protagonist says
‘The hard part’s over’. This shows that she has defeated all of the antagonists in the 1st
volume of Kill Bill.
Themes:
postmodernism (eg breaking the fourth wall)
Genre:
Comedy
Action
Crime
Characters
Throughout the trailer, we are able to see a list of characters. These include:
Protagonist
Beatrix
Kiddo (portrayed by Uma Thurman)– also known as: Black Mamba and The Bride (the main
character/female protagonist)
Antagonists
O-ren Ishii
Vernita
Elle
(Lucy Liu) – also known as Cottonmouth
Green (Vivica A. Fox) -also known as Copperhead
Driver (played by Daryl Hannah) –also known as California Mountain Snake
Budd
(Michael Madsen) –also known as Sidewinder
Others
Pai
Mei (Gordon Liu) –a Chinese Kung Fu master
Camerawork and editing
Camera shots
High
angles- the antagonists are usually captured in high angle shots. This is important as it makes them look weak.
Low
angles- shows how powerful the protagonist is, compared to the villains.
Mid
shots – Breaking the fourth wall when the main character says ‘The hard parts over’.
Extreme
close up – an extreme close up is used on the protagonist’s eye, in order to show her emotions to the
audience, whilst a knife is being thrown at her.
Establishing
shot- at the end of the trailer. This shows the audience how many men (that are in suits) the protagonist
needs to fight.
Editing
Fast
paced – shows how much action will be taking place in the film.
Fast
zoom – also adds to the pace of the trailer.
Sound
Diegetic
Diegetic noises that are relevant to the theme of the narrative include:
The
sound of swords and knives – these diegetic sounds are all included into the trailer in order to add to the sense of
action.
The
sound of the school bus honking – this creates a sense of humour/comedy, and it also is relevant due because it
can be seen as a motherly instinct to stop fighting when a child is in the room.
The
sound of a motorcycle – also adds to the action/quick pace of the trailer.
Non diegetic
The
An
sound of flames and gunshots during the titles – signifies even more action.
array of soundtracks which vary from different ranges of rock music (heavy guitar solos..etc)
Dialogue
‘It’s either kill, or be killed. And I choose kill!’ – emphasizes on the plot/narrative of the film.
‘Go home to your mother!’ – another representation of comedy.
Titles
In terms of the titles used in Kill Bill Vol. 1, the
audience can see that the main colour is yellow
–which is a relevant color in this film, as it conveys
both betrayal, as well as power. The main
character (The Bride) wears a yellow jump suit
and drives a yellow car. The black lines are
meant to be signified as blood during the trailer,
however they made it black in order to show it to
a larger audience. The font is sans serif and bold
which means it’s both simple and very readable,
making it easy to remember for the audience
members.