Comparing Opening Sequences -> Grease + AHS

Comparing Opening Sequences

Grease vs American Horror Story

American Horror Story, 2011, dir. Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk

    

Grease, 1978, dir. Randal Kleiser

GENRE

Grease

• The genre presented isn't very fixed, rather it seems to be a combination of a teen drama, musical, romance, and a comedy
• Teen drama - characters introduced are all teenagers getting ready for school
• Musical - heavy musical themes like the upbeat positive song playing mentioning the title of the film title, along with the characters dancing and singing to it.
• Additionally, the credits say '(actor name) as (character name)', like 'John Travolta as Danny', the key word 'as' makes it clear it is a show as these sort of credits are typical for stories/pure fiction, the font is also comic-like, further enhancing this.
• Romance - the two main characters presented are polar opposites, the sequences of a boy and a girl close to each other suggest that a romance will occur between them due to associations with opposite genders.
• Comedy - the style of the drawings is cartoonish and exaggerates the characters features, their animations/actions are also very exaggerated to enhance comedic stereotypes

American Horror Story

• The genre is very clearly presented to be horror
• the soundtrack sounds disturbing, its slowly paced, low pitched, and mysterious
• Iconic horror imagery is shown in flashes, such as skulls, blood, knives, and creepy dark rooms
• The font of the titles is in a gothic style against a dark background

MAJOR KEY TITLES

Grease

• All 21 titles are shown, the more prominent titles include character portraits next to their respective actor credits
• The rest of the titles are mainly showcased as part of the character's world, such as on billboards, and appear on the screen for a few seconds each before moving on to the next, whilst the AHS credits just jarringly flash for a second or so before disappearing

American Horror Story

• The only titles shown are 6 of the main cast, the two creators of the show, and the title of the show
• No indication of which actors play which roles is shown like in the Grease opening, only their names against a black screen flashing briefly in between the rest of the creepy shots
• The only distinct credits are given to the creators of the show as it reads 'created by Ryan Murphy & Brad Falchuk'

TONE

Grease

• The tone is presented to be lighthearted and comedic, this is mainly clear due to the very upbeat funk/disco song playing along to it
• The animations are very colourful and their style is bouncy, not meant to be realistic or taken seriously, simply as a fun way to briefly introduce the characters and their archetypes

American Horror Story

• The tone is presented to be disturbing and morbid, this is made very clear from the soundtrack and imagery
• The soundtrack sounds creepy and unsettling, and paired with the sudden flashing images create very mild jump-scares
• The imagery is gory and sinister, like the body parts in small jars and mysterious medical equipment

TIME & SETTING

Grease

• The style is strongly reminiscent of the 1950s due to iconic period imagery shown, like a drawing of Elvis Presley, or the characters' costume, hair, and the cars they drive belonging to or being typical of that time period (e.g. the 'greaser' look)
• The look/layout of the town they are in and the cars in it reveal it is set in the US, the song is also sung in an American accent, helping to set the location
• The teen characters getting ready for school suggest that it will mainly be set in high school - the shot of the school at the end is the only image that fades from animation to real life

American Horror Story

• The setting and time is less clear cut than that of the Grease opening, but from the occasional quick and shaky flashes of the location, we can make out that the majority of it takes place in a creepy dark basement filled with morbid items
• The beginning includes shots of very old photographs of toddlers, possibly suggesting at least part of it takes place in perhaps the early 20th century

NARRATIVE HINTS

Grease

• A love story between the two main characters is hinted at from the juxtaposition of male & female characters
• Themes of cliques/”gangs” as it shows groups of girls/boys dressed in similar clothes hanging out together
• Cars seem to be important in the story, shots of the teenagers driving fast and irresponsibly in them suggest themes of teenage rebellion

American Horror Story

• The shots of body parts in jars along with medical equipment could suggest the storyline of some crazy scientist or doctor taking experiments too far

CHARACTERS

Grease

• 'Danny' appears to be lazy from how messy his room is, he also seems vein as he focuses on his looks a lot, he is presented to be cool and a rebel with his friends, he is perhaps a leader to them - this is due to the 'greaser' look connoting rebelliousness and being a 'bad boy'
• 'Sandy' seems to be wealthy from her room and fancy nightgown, feminine from her delicate pastel coloured clothes, kind and gentle from her smile and light walk, she is presented as a beautiful girl who is perhaps a little naive, a 'good girl'
• This juxtaposition between the polar opposite characters of opposite genders strongly hint at a conflict narrative romance

American Horror Story

• No real characters are shown except maybe a couple of shots that appear to be from the perspective of a character, perhaps a killer, or someone exploring the scene as they hold a flashlight in front of them
• The shots of the white dress connote an innocent female character, perhaps hinting at a character like this, maybe as a victim

WHICH ONE IS MORE SUCCESSFUL?

Both sequences are very successful at establishing the type of film/show they are from tone and genre. Whilst I think that the AHS opening is more effective at clearly stating its genre as clear cut horror and its tone as disturbing, and the Grease opening is a little harder to confidently identify; in my opinion, the Grease opening offers a more interesting and entertaining introduction to the narrative. It perfectly encapsulates the energy of the rest of the film and introduces us to the stereotypes the characters adhere to very smoothly, yet doesn't really reveal anything about the plot except pointing out major themes - this gets the audience familiar with the setting, but still leaves room for curiosity. The AHS opening is still very engaging, but in my opinion is a little too vague as it doesn't really include any real information on what might come up, leaving the audience questioning whether the show will actually include anything they would be interested in watching, or is simply very stylised.