Media Narrative Analysis of Rush Hour

Analysis of Rush Hour

Rush Hour is an action movie starring Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan. Various narrative techniques are used for example enigma codes. The girl character in the film gets kidnapped by a Chinese gang which creates mystery as to who is behind the kidnapper of the girl. Furthermore, action codes are also used as a technique to signify a violent scene that will take place. An example of this in Rush Hour is when the kidnapper fires a bullet in the air and then holds the girl hostage; this allows build up tension to the audience. The entire film is dependant upon a linear narrative which follows the beginning, middle and end.

Regarding Vladimir’s Propp’s theory, which was based on Russian fairy tales, the villain is Ken Lueng who creates complication in the narrative by being the leader of the kidnappers of the girl .The hero is Jackie Chan as they are part of the FBI and they were set out a task to track down the kidnappers and rescue the girl. The helper in this case would be Chris tucker as he is the ‘sidekick’ of Jackie Chan and he creates most of the humour in the film as well. In addition, the girl could be represented as the princess as she is the character that needs to be saved by the hero to bring peace and a happy ending to the film.

On the other hand, Todorovs theory was somehow different as he came up with ‘equilibrium’. In relation to this film, the disequilibrium is an unfortunate event or evil character which leads to a chain of events occurring in a film. This can be compared to the villain kidnapper who creates suspense throughout the middle of the film. Moreover, the new equilibrium happens at the end of the film where the kidnappers get killed and some arrested which resolves the whole story of the film and the father of the girl is happy which reflects on the audience as it creates a happy atmosphere and mood.