Ferris+Bueller's+Day+Off

Film Title: Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Plot: Ferris Bueller is a senior in high school that enjoys cutting school and spending his days in more entertaining ways than sitting in a classroom. He fakes an illness and is able to skip school by convincing his parents that he is sick. He then proceeds to call his best friend Cameron Frye and the two embark on a chaotic journey. Meanwhile, the school's Dean and Ferris' archenemy, Ed Rooney, has been waiting for his chance to catch Ferris redhanded and attempts to track him down over the course of the day. Ferris and Cameron get Ferris' girlfriend, Sloane, out of school, and take Cameron's father's Ferrari into the city of Chicago. The story escalates when they run into multiple problems, including Cameron's fear of his parents' anger, which he manages to overcome by the end of the movie.

Theme: Always stand up for yourself. Don't be afraid to be and express yourself. Don't let others take this away. American Freedom. (as experienced by Cameron)

Tone: Comedic. Hughes also inserts moral values and expresses them through his characters.

Non-Diegetic Elements:

1. Throughout the movie, Ferris breaks the fourth wall and talks to the audience. He cannot be heard by any of the other characters in the movie, making this non-diegetic to them. 2. As Ferris describes how to fake an illness, titles pop up next to him, listing the steps. The characters of the movie cannot see this text so it is not part of diegesis.

3. When Cameron lies in bed, talking to Ferris, he begins to sing. When he sings his own name, a choir echoes his voice for comedic effect, establishing part of Cameron's character. This cannot be heard by the characters of the movie so it is non-diegetic.

4. After the Chez Quis scene, Ferris' sister can be heard talking to herself as an interior monologue. None of the other characters can here this, so it is non-diegetic to them.

5. At the very beginning of the movie, the credits appear as floating text over the onscreen action. The characters of the movie cannot see these letters so they are non-diegetic. 6. At one point in the movie, Ferris is running back home and he makes a sharp turn. Here, a tire squealing noise can be heard. Since shoes cannot make tires squeals, this is a non-diegetic sound as the characters cannot hear it.

Mise-En-Scene

1. As Ferris is running back home, he runs through various gardens to get there. In one shot, he takes a coke from a man at a grill. The man is carefully placed so that Ferris can easily gray thé coke, which leads to the overall humerous atmosphere of the movie. Ferris isn't doing much harm and does what he wants without worrying too much.

2. In one scene, Cameron is destroying his father's car and slowly making up his mind over his relationship with his dad. In this shot, the light reflects off of the ferrari creating a red shade on Cameron's face. This makes him look extremely angry and shows that he is truly reevaluating his life and defying the things that make him unhappy, which the movie actively recommends.

3. In one shot, Ferris's father is reading a newspaper and on the back a story, entitled "Community rallies around sick youth" can be seen. This refers to Ferris and is a part of the various improbable coincidences that make the movie what it is. Adding the story into the shot is a strategic decision that brings comedy and relates to the movie's theme of being yourself.

4. During the museum scene, Cameron is fixated on the little girl in Georges Seurat's "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte." He is relating himself to her position, surrounded by people that know what they are doing and have everything planned out. Hughes's decision to include this shot shows that Cameron is beginning to reevaluate his life and be himself.

5. 6.46, When the park house attendant steals the ferrari and drives off with his friend, there is one shot in particular that I found interesting and amusing. The camera is placed on the road, and, in a wide shot, the ferrari slows flies over it in slow motion while star wars music plays. The ferrari in slow motion adds to the comedic feel of the movie.

6. 6.30, When the trio are on top of the Sears Tower, one shot has them looking out of the top window. On the right, two men in suits can be seen, wearing colorful carnival hats. These are likely businessmen, however, they feel comfortable engaging in the silly turbulence below and can express themselves freely. This adds to the movies theme of American freedom and self expression.

7. 6.06, In one of the earlier scenes of the movie, Sloane is in her literature class. One shot has her teacher explaining something. In the background, the words "ego", "superego" and "Id" are written on the blackboard. <range type="comment" id="492390346_9">This is a deliberate decision by Hughes, as the movie focuses on the characters egos and superegos and sometimes even ids. For example, part of Cameron's id is the want to please his parents, which is overruled by his superego and the need to express himself.</range id="492390346_9">