Kick Ass Analysis

In class we were set the task of watching the movie 'Kick Ass' and were told to analyse the seven key areas of representation (Gender, Ethnicity, Age, Physical Ability, Class, Sexuality and Regional Identity) as well as the four key areas of textual analysis (Mise En Scene, Camera Work, Sounds and Editing).
As soon as the film starts, we can immediately identify that the character who is about to become Kick Ass is Dave. Dave is a white, teenage nerd who is a lower class of society who has no physical disablilty and lives in the suburbs of New York, however, he has an English accent. Dave comes across as straight at the start of the film, but more is revealed as the film goes on, this goes against the stereotypical image of a person who is likely to become a superhero. His binary opposite is his ultimate enemy, Frank D'amico. Frank is older than he is, richer than he is, therefore of higher class, however, Frank acts as though he is from a working class in his mannerisms. We see other people within the play who seem to be of importance, such as the two criminals who threaten to stab and end up stabbing Dave. One of the characters is black, young, fully able bodied, of low class and the other is white, young and fully able bodied. Both men are fairly well built and look like stereotypical criminals as they are wearing gangster clothing and are performing illegal acts such as theft and attempted murder. However, these characters turn out to be red herrings.
Throughout the film, close ups are used at heightened moments of tension, usually during a gruesome event such as when Kick Ass gets stabbed. There is a repeated scene to show difference between past and present when Dave and Katie come across one another in the corridor. The first time, there is close up of Dave when Katie speaks, so it seems as though she is talking to him when she says 'Hey gorgeous'. However, she was actually talking to the girl behind him, adding a comical element to the film. The girls then laugh as they walk away, which helps to emphasise Dave's natural 'Nerd' label. The second time this happens, Katie is actually talking to Dave, and this time he turns around to make sure, however, this is after Dave has been beaten up and there has been a rumour that he s gay, so Katie is talking to him as she wants a gay best friend. This fits into one of the key areas of representation because althouh Dave is hetrosexual, he pretends to be homosexual so he can be friends with Katie.
Once Dave has decided to become a superhero, he goes out looking for heroic acts to perform, when he comes across a lost cat. This is a very slow-paced part of the film, however, there are quick glimpses of shots which are very fast pace, hand held shots and there is diegetic sound  which forshadows danger in the near future. The scenes then collide and the action comes on the scene which was peaceful, which gives a huge impact on the audience. There is a fight scene involoving kick ass which involves many close ups of injuries which happen.
The tough, rough and ready world of the city strongly contrasts with the suburbs that Dave lives in, so this reflets regional identity in a mild form, however, it does still show how cultures and lives differ from city to country. During one scene, Kick Ass enters a run down set of flats with dim lighting and threatening non-diegetic sounds. On the entrance of the flat that Kick Ass enters, the mise en scene is a stereotypical heaven for the media of gangsters. The gangsters are black barring two, there is a prostitute in the room with them, they are playing violent video games, smoking drugs and they are getting drunk. The room has many locks which suggest they are trying to hide something, and when Kick Ass tasers one of the gangsters as an attack, he starts to get beaten. The main gangster leans forwards to stab Kick Ass when you see him come to a sudden holt, you see a samurai through his body. When his dead body drops, Hit Girl is stood behind him, this is the first that we see of her, and the dramatic entrance helps to emphasise her strength.
We are then introduced to Hit Girl's Father, Big Daddy. This hero uses intertextuality, as he looks almost identical to batman, except for the name change. Later in the film we are introduced to yet another superhero, Red Mist. Red Mist is not a 'real' superhero, but a plan to bring down the three other superheros. This happens in second but last scene when Red Mist falsely leads Kick Ass into thinking he is a genuine superhero, he captures Big Daddy and Kick Ass, and his Dad (Frank D'Amico) gets his men to severely injure and in this case kill Big Daddy. Due to this scene being such a major part of the film, the producers managed to cram in many close ups of the injuries, wide shots of the scene which shows a warehouse (a stereotypical place for arranged criminals to kill people) which is empty except for the seats which Kick Ass and Big Daddy are sat on. There is diegetic sound of gun shots and punches and chaos during the attempt of Hit Girl trying to save her Dad and Kick Ass. The action is viewed via Hit Girl's viewpoint to help show her battle.
At the end of this scene, Big Daddy has been severely burned and is dying. Soft, slow music is played during his death and Hit Girl cries, this emphasises the emotions of the scene.
The main characters are binary opposites of one another, for example: Big Daddy and Hit Girl. Big Daddy is about 40 and is male, Hit Girl is 12 and is a female. Red Mist is of high social status and is from the city, Kick Ass is of low social status and is from the suburbs. These binary opposites help to make the film more interesting and the playing against stereotypes helps to interest the audience more.
Fast pace editing and CGI are used to help create the scenes such as: Kick Ass being stabbed, people being shot, the jet pack and Frank D'amico's death.
The music throughout cleverly represents mood, such as emotional music was performed by a choir. When Hit Girl is entering Frank's flat, there is country and western music which suggest mischief. Rock music during the action. But most importantly, when Kick Ass rescues Hit Girl 'An American Trilogy' by Elvis Presley is played. The final part of the film is Red Mist sat in his Dad's chair with 'Make Me Wanna Die' by The Pretty Reckless playing in the background as non-diegetic sound to leave the audience anticipating a second Kick Ass movie.