Primary Research results - Questionnaires

Having sent out a number of questionnaires to people of a variety of ages, and different genders, I recieved 21 replies. I divided my replies into two different categories; one for people under the age of 20, and one for those who were over this age. This helped me to distinguish the different trends and preferences of different age ranges as I felt that they probably would differ. I also wanted to do the same between the opposing genders, however, surprisingly I did not find much difference in the results.

The teenage audience came to an average age 17.25. All of them were of middle-class backgrounds, however, this is the primary market of cinema-goers so I felt it needed to be done this way - despite this, there was a mix of ethnicities. They all displayed typical teenage interests of music, films, sports, fashion, reading, socialising and alcohol.
They all claimed to watch a movie once every week or every two weeks, and the most popular genre of film appeared to be comedy, with every single person saying that they watch this type of film. Ironically, however, no one actually named a comedy as their favourite film, instead either choosing more serious films such as war and sci-fi, or a film that reflected their personal interests, such as a musical or a sports movie. When asked why they liked these films, they said that they either liked the message behind it, the strength of the characters , or the ability to become involved within the story itself. Crime, drama, action and horror films were the second most popular group of films behind comedy.
3/4 of the group claimed that they had seen a foreign film before in their life. These were mainly Japanse animation / martial arts movies, however, there were two girls who said they had watched Latin based films. Half of the group could name at least one Mexican film and the same percentage claimed to have seen at least one. These people could also name at least one director / actor / actress.
When asked which of films they had seen out of the list of films I have been studying, the most commonly seen film was Alfonso Cuaron's "Harry Potter 3", which only one person had not seen. This was followed by "Children of Men" (from the same director) which half the group had seen. A couple had seen "Hellboy" and "Blade 2" by Guillermo Del Toro and only one had seen "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" by Robert Rodriguez, or Del Toro's "Pan's Labyrinth". No one had seen, and hardly any had heard of Innaritu's movies. The early films of other directors also proved to be widely unknown.
Despite not seeing many of these films, their opinion if the ones they had seen was quite positive in that they either regarded them as satisfactory or found them really enjoyable. When asked which of these films they would be interested in seeing, the top two results were "Babel" and "Pan's Labyrinth" as they had recieved high critical acclaim this year. The latter two films from the "Mariachi" trilogy were second on the agenda with "The Devil's Backbone" and "Hellboy" getting one mention. Strangely, no Cuaron movies were picked out in this section, despite his films being the most well-known.
At the end, the audience were asked what they look for in a film. The general reply was that they look for a good storyline, strong characters whom they can relate to, laughs, something that is original, something that is thought-provoking.

The adult audience came to an average age of 35. Again, they were all from middle-class backgrounds, with a mix of ethnicities. Their interests were much less general than those of the teenage audience and they appeared to be a lot more personal. They tended to either like things or they didn't.
They claimed to watch a movie pretty much once every two weeks on average, however, the results were very jumpy. People either watched films often or they barely watched them at all; in a similar way to the personal interests. The most popular genre of film was again comedy with over half of the sample saying that they enjoyed watching these. This was closely followed by action films and thrillers. Strangely enough, again no one listed a comedy as their favourite film, and prefered to choose more serious films; particularly dramas and thrillers. When asked why they liked these films they answered that the message of the story was good, the characters were interesting and the storyline was gripping.
6 out of the 13 people claimed to have seen a foreign film in their lifetime, with a few of them being Japanese martial arts movies. However, three of the people listed Latin based films; two of which displayed a stong interest in Spanish / Mexican cinema. (As it turned out, one of them had a wife from Argentina, and one actually taught Spanish cinema at A level for this World Cinema topic!) However, just under a third of the sample said they had heard of at least one Mexican film, and the same percentage had seen at least one. However, only two could name a Mexican director / actor / actress.
When asked which films they had seen from the list of my principal texts, the most widely seen film was again "Harry Potter 3", however, only just over half of them had seen it. One vote behind was "Blade 2", shortly followed by the two latter "Mariachi" movies and "Hellboy". Surprisingly, "Children of Men" and "Pan's Labyrinth" were not so well known amongst the adult audience, however, every single film on the list had been seen by at least one person. Mainly the older films were the least heard of.
The opinions on the films were again either that they were satisfactory or that they were really enjoyable. "Babel" was top of the audience's wish-to-see list with "Pan's Labyrinth" closely second. The rest named "Hellboy", "Children of Men", "Desperado", "21 Grams" or none.
Finally they were asked what they looked for in a film and the response was pretty much identical to that of the teenage audience. However, there was one rather interesting answer in which a man who said he had not seen, heard of, nor was interested in seeing any Mexican movies, had at the end, when asked what he looked for in a film, responded with the answer "gritty realism". Ironically, that answer pretty much summed up Mexican film itself - it just goes to show how little some people know about the industry.

Overall, I feel that my questionnaires were very useful in providing information, however, the relaibility of them may not be so strong in that that the samples could of perhaps been bigger (there was only 8 in my teenage audience group). However, the results proved to be difficult to analyse altogether at the end and it was a very time-consuming process so I know that this may not have been possible. Perhaps, I should have tried to incorporate more number based, or tally style answers in the questionnaire itself, in order to make the analysing easier.

Title expanded

What key aspects led to the resurgence of contemporary Mexican Cinema and in what ways have they made an impact on the Hollywood industry?

Focus Group session

Start off by showing them a clip from "Children of Men". Discuss what they like / dislike about what they see. Compare to other Hollywood movies. Are there any similarities / differences? Is there anything that makes the film unique?



Now show them the scene from the "Pan's Labyrinth" DVD entitled "The Second Task". Compare it to "Children of Men", which was released the same year. Discuss what they like / dislike about this film. How is it different to the types of Hollywood films we are used to seeing? How did they feel about having to read subtitles?

Thirdly, show them the opening scene of "Amores Perros". Despite it being an older and lower budget movie, how did the action in the opening scene compare to typical Hollywood movies? Would audiences be prepared to watch this kind of thing? What are the likes / dislikes on it?

Finally, show an action scene from "El Mariachi", and if there's time compare it to a clip from "Once Upon a Time in Mexico". Rodriguez is a highly regarded Hollywood director nowadays. What was it about his first film that led to his success?

Overall, what are the key elements of these films that have allowed these directors to make their mark in Hollywood? And how strong have they made their mark? Do you think many people would still go and see these films? What are the limitations? Does Mexican cinema have a potential to challenge Hollywood?

At the end, make note of any other films they may have seen by the same directors, or using any of the same actors / actresses. Organise time for one-to-one interviews with one or two.

Study Guide Online

http://www.cornerhouse.org/media/Learn/FM%20PANS%20LABYRINTH.pdf

An online study of world cinema with "Pan's Labyrinth" as its case study.