The structuralism of a film means the system of the semiotics (signs it uses) - the iconography- or the meaning of an object. In the film scream this theory is evident, as it uses many of the paradigms that various other films use. This helps the audience to distinguish the difference between the types of genre they are watching.
In the opening sequence there are a number of paradigms shown to the audience. The iconography is the sounds, signs and symbols or what is shown. The first paradigm is screaming. This goes with the idea that the film is of the horror genre, and is a consistent convention throughout horror movies. We are then shown the first character, who is a teenage girl. This agrees with the idea that horror films are aimed at teenagers to impose fear, and so use teenagers to create the fear. We learn that she is a ‘flirty’ teenager, as when she is on the phone, she talks about going on a date with him. This agrees with the convention, that the sexually active girls are killed first, and the virginal girls live to the end. The next paradigm we see is a shot of a tree. It shows that it is night time, and in the middle of nowhere, which corresponds with the idea that horror films are always set in remote places so as to make sure that no one can help the victims. It also confirms people’s fear of the dark, as it is a fear of the unknown, hence why the film is set at night.
When the girl finds out that she is being watched whilst on the phone, she panics and locks all of the doors. This is a paradigm of a horror film as it shows that she is scared and so barricades herself in.
Crying is another concept of horror. The girl is shown crying and begging to the killer down the phone, which also goes along with the theme of the feminist point of view- that men like to see women in a vulnerable position.
This is also a concept of the killer playing mind games, creating a sense of physiological fear for the audience. Later, we see that the killer has tied her boyfriend up to torture him, but also her. This is another way of creating physiological fear for the audience, as they can relate to the character.
In addition to this, the killer also asks her a series of questions where he says if she gets them right her boyfriend will live, although his intention was always to kill him.
The sounds of this scene are a code of a horror film. Although we do not see her boyfriend get killed, the sounds signify that he has been killed. We hear a ‘splat’ noise which confirms to the audience that he is being killed in a gruesome way, which involves blood as this is the sort of sound we associate it with.
Another paradigm we see in the opening of the film is that the killer is in a mask, and is in a black cape, signifying that his identity is unknown to the audience and character, which helps them to relate with each other. This goes along with the idea that we fear what we don’t know.
There is however a convention of the opening which is abnormal of films from the horror genre. The killer uses a knife to stab the girl, which is uncommon of other horror films, as the method of killing seems ‘too easy’. Horror films tend to use killing methods that produce torture so that it is a slow and painful death.
The film uses mainly point-of-view shots so that we can see from the character’s view what they are experiencing, which helps to evoke fear in the audience, and to enable the audience to converse with the character. There are also a few high-angle shots of the girl in it, to show that she is in a vulnerable situation and exposed to the killer.
The structure of the film is very basic, like those of other horror films. This means that the director is able to build up fear in other areas of the film instead. Like other horror films, it is set in a very remote place telling us that no one is able to get to the girl when she is in danger. There is also a killer, whose identity is hidden from us.
There is a strong theme of social commentary throughout the opening sequence; for example the idea that men like to watch women in pain and suffering. There is a strong sexual link to this as when the killer stabs her, the knife is penetrating her which links back to the basic idea of sex for men.
There are times when we can hear the director voicing his opinion through the characters too, which links to the idea of post-modernism as it is going against the ideas of iconography in a film. The girls is talking about scary films she like and talks about “Nightmare on Elm Street” which has the same director as the film she is in- Wes Craven. She says this is her favourite film, but comments that the sequels are not as good, which is a bias comment of the director, as he didn’t direct any of the others.
Overall, I think that the opening sequence closely follows the structuralist theory of other horror films, and that is clearly shown in the iconography in the film. It is also shown through the structure and the themes of the time it was released, which is an assenting asset to evoking fear onto the audience.
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