Taken is a 2008 action thriller movie starring the likes of Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen and of course Maggie Grace who is the kidnapped teenager. Taken is based on a script by Luc Besson and was directed by Pierre Morel. Liam Neeson plays the role of a former central intelligence agency operative who sets about tracking down his teenage daughter back after she was kidnapped by slave traders while traveling in Europe.
In this movie the kidnapped teenager is represented as “the object” when she is taken away by the slave traders. As far as the kidnappers are concerned (Maggie Grace) who is the kidnapped daughter of Liam Neeson is just another victim that has been targeted. The slave traders are Albanian Mafias, and they are part of a gang dealing largely in sex slaves.
Personally, I don’t believe that the subject that is being represented is neither fair nor accurate. The reason being is because when the teenage daughter is being targeted she is being seen as just another person to be turned into an addictive drug user and a whore. The connotations of this are extremely powerful in terms of what she is being forced to do.
Narrative..
Liam Neeson is a retired CIA agent who buys a karaoke machine for his seventeen year old daughter. Finally, when Liam Neeson gets to his ex wife’s house which his daughter lives at gives her present but is out staged by his daughters step father who buys her a horse. Having left the party, three of his friends arrive at his house for meal at his house that was forgotten by him. As they leave, Liam Neeson who is also known as Bryan is convinced by his friend Sam to take up a job with him: working as bodyguards for the famous singer Holly Valance.
When the concert ends Liam Neeson escorts Holly Valance out of the venue and manages to fend off an attacker. The next day, he has lunch with his daughter, only to find that Lenore (Famke Janssen) has accompanied her so they can persuade Bryan to sign a parental consent form allowing Kim to go to Paris with her 19-year-old friend, Amanda (Katie Cassidy). Bryan agrees on the condition that Kim calls him immediately once she lands.
When they arrive, Kim and Amanda meet Peter who persuades the two to share a taxi. When they arrive where the girls are staying, he tells the girls that his friend is having a party and offers to pick them up, obtaining their apartment number. As he leaves, he opens his cell phone and gives information about the girls to an unknown person.
While on the phone with Bryan, Kim witnesses Amanda being abducted. Bryan informs her that she will be taken as well, and gives her instructions. As Kim is being taken, she shouts out as much about her kidnapper as she can before she is knocked out. One of the kidnappers takes the phone and listens to a threat from Bryan before smashing the phone. Bryan made a recording of the call, and Sam analyzes it. Sam tells Bryan that the kidnappers are the Albanian Mafia, and they are part of a gang dealing largely in sex slaves. Bryan contacts Stuart to secure a private plane, and travels immediately to Paris.
In Paris, Bryan tracks down Peter, who is hit by a bus after trying to escape, and then Bryan tracks down Kim just as she is being sold in a darkened room but is knocked out before he can stage a rescue. After regaining consciousness and liberating himself from his captors, Bryan finds Saint-Clair and kills him, but not before finding out where Kim was taken. Bryan tracks down the yacht belonging to the Arab sheikh that bought Kim. Bryan boards the yacht and kills all the guards on board. He then kills the sheikh and frees his daughter. Bryan comforts Kim and takes her back to the United States. At the L.A. airport, Kim is reunited with Lenore and Stuart. A couple days later, Bryan takes his daughter Kim to Holly Valances house and she helps Kim improve her singing.
Media representation..
The two prime characters that are being displayed in this movie are Maggie Grace who is the kidnapped daughter and wannabe singer, and the father Liam Neeson who is an ex CIA agent who still has a set particular skills. The film clearly illustrates crime, thriller as well as action to redeem his daughter from the Albanian mafias. Close to the start of the movie the ex CIA agent and the father of the teenage daughter Liam Neeson shows off his deadly skills when he is taking on the mafias. Towards the end of the film it clearly shows us that the mother of the kidnapped daughter as well the daughter herself more aware of what they are getting themselves into when they go abroad.
When in the hunt to retrieve his kidnapped daughter Liam Neeson who is the biological father quickly rushes to his ex wife’s place and starts to ask questions just minutes after the kidnapping to try and get as much information as possible. In the process of doing so the teenage daughter’s stepfather tries to give minimum amount of information as he can so he can turn out as the hero and to safe the girl himself. By doing this so he has given Liam nelson extra determination to get back his daughter himself.
Media languages and Forms..
Because the genre of this movie is crime, thriller and action packed the clothing and the facial expressions are crucial because this gives the sense of when to expect action and when not to. As the audience you are able to identify the facial expression of a particular scene. For instance, when Maggie Grace is hiding underneath the bed in the bedroom and her biological father tells her on the phone that she’s about to be taken her facial expression then shows shock scared and angry as she is constantly crying for help.
In some stages of this film you are able to witness some horrific images and could make you as the audience really upset. You can easily pinpoint these occasions through the actors or actresses body language and secondly through their facial expressions. As the target audience I believe that understanding the level of emotion that is being portrayed in the movie can be established not only by their body language but by the use of soundtrack.
At the mise en scene of the house when the teenage girl is being kidnapped I believe that it is ideal to have the kidnapping scene as its more intense and would entice the audience more. With the moving from room to room this raises enigma codes in terms of which room she will end up in. The use of the different soundtracks when filming a scene is important so the audience can identify which part of the scene this is. For instance, when Liam Neeson agrees to let his daughter go to France the sound track for that scene is light and calming. On the other hand, when he soon discovers that his daughter has been kidnapped, the audience immediately realises the hard and loud banging drums that anticipates the audience.
Media Institution..
The twentieth century fox corporation is one of the six major American film studios which are located in the centre city of LA. 20th century fox is known for its outstanding movies and is well established across the world. Producing movies such as Taken, Avatar and All about Steve have proven big hits under the help of 20th century fox.
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