Textual Analysis - Mohammed Hussain (Stormbreaker)

Film title : Stormbreaker

Date of release : 21.06.2006 (UK)

Director: Geoffrey Sax

Writer: Anthony Horowitz

Genre : Action

Sub-Genre: Thriller , Family, Adventure

Main Cast: Ewan McGregor (Ian Rider), Alex Pettyfer (Alex Rider), Bill Nighy (Alan Blunt) , Damian Lewis (Yassen Gregrovich), Sara Bolger (Sabina Pleasure) , Missi Pyle (Nadia Vole) , Mickey Rourke (Darrius Sayle) ,

Alex Rider thinks he is a normal school boy, until his uncle is killed. He discovers that his uncle was actually spy on a mission, when he was killed. Alex is recruited by Alan Blunt to continue the mission. He is sent to Cornwall to investigate a new computer system, which Darrius Sayle has created. He plans to give the new computer systems to every school in the country, but Mr. Blunt has other ideas and Alex must find out what it is.

I am going to apply Todor'vs equililbrium model. The equilibrium of Stormbreaker is that Alex Rider is a 14 year old school boy who lives with his uncle and carer. His uncle is usually away from home. The euilibruim is disprupted by the death of Alex's uncle. In this disruption subsequently, Alex discovers the true nature of his uncle who was actually a spy. Therefore he has to seek revenge for his uncle. The new-equialibrium in this movie is Alex's investigation of a computer system which is bugged and linked to the killer of his uncle. Alex evemtually seeks revenge as he stops the world from catching the computer virus. The man who created the computer system tries to kill Alex, however the same man who assasinated his uncle saves him in the end and shoots the owner instead.

The man who murdered Alex's uncle, yet saved him in the end..

Alex Rider on a mission..

I am going to apply Levi Strauss 'binary opposition'.  What this means is general opposittes for example, our understanding of the word 'villain'  depends on the difference between that and its oppossite which is 'hero'. The way these binary oppositions work in Stormbreaker are quite evident. For example, Alex is a schoolboy, yet a secret agent. These two clash as usually it is someone who has been well taught and past the age of youth education who is a secret agent. The woman who is the guardian of Alex after his uncle dies is called 'Jack'. In British society, it is widely recognized that Jack is a masculine name, yet his guardian is a woman. There is of course a hero in the film aswell as a villian.

The film is quite typical of its genres. In a film where a young child is the hero, it is quite usual that the child does not die. After the death of his uncle, Alex is of course traumatised yet encounters things he never imagined. The training he had recieved from a young age and the bilingual speaking talents he had been taught all came to use in the end as Alex began to realise why his uncle taught him these things. His body language shows he is new to the world of secret agents to begin with, but as Alex further develops through the movie his body language changes. His costume is also quite typical. At school he wears a school uniform and whilst at work with secret agents a leather jacket, a backpack to carry gadjects and sometimes vehicles such as a quadbike. Alex starts off with a bike, an asset to many teenagers.

The extent to wich the storyline is typical to is genre is quite evident. Alex does eventually save the world as expected, regardless of the twist at the end where the same man who killed his uncle, saves Alex as he owed him the favour. Hero's face many ups and downs in the quest for victory and so did Alex as he was held hostage yet eventually broke free. For example, our understanding of the word 'coward' surely depends on the difference between that word and its opposing idea, that of a 'hero' (and to  complicate matters further, a moment's thought should alert you to the fact that interpreting words such as 'hero' and 'coward' is itself much more to do with what our society or culture attributes to such words than any meaning the words themselves might actually contain