Barthes Theory

Appling Barthes' Theory




1. The opening of Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny shows the origins of Jack Black's character, and shows his upbringing. It is a montage sequence and summary of his life up to the point that the movie really begins. It is a prologue of sorts. His character also meets the other main protagonist of the film, Kyle Gass, and they play together for the first time.

2.  How will Jack Black's characters origin affect his character in the movie? Will him and Kyle Gass go on to become an amazing rock band? How will Jack Black survive in Hollywood with no money or house? Why was Kyle so harsh to Jack Black when they first met? And what is the pick of destiny?

3. The main characters are Jack Black and Kyle Gass, who make up the band Tenacious D. Together, they represent friendship, even though in the start of the movie it is unclear if and how they will end up together. Jack Black represents the rebellious hero who breaks out of his oppressive upbringing to presumably become ridiculously successful by the end of the film. Kyle Gass, in the opening, provides the role of reluctant best friend.

4. The image of Dio is used on a poster, along with various other Rock Stars. This provides us with an idea of which direction the music will take in the film. It draws on the audiences previous knowledge of rock music.

The Hollywood sign. This is a very famous city in the world, and it gives the audience certain expectations as to the subject of the film, based on our previous knowledge of Hollywood and what goes on in the city.

In the title sequence, we see many tarot cards and old religious imagery. That suggests that the film will not be entirely realistic, maybe with future telling or ancient monsters being involved. The devil is also featured quite alot, and based on previous knowledge of the devil, the audience can make decisions as to what is going to happen.

5.  Music is clearly a massive theme in the movie, seen through the fact that the film actually has an opening number. It is unusual to see a film like this have music in it, but the opening number makes it clear that this will continue. The film is also about a band. And the music theme is continued as Jack Black is holding a guitar all the way through the opening, and he meets Kyle Gass while he is playing guitar. It is clear this film is going to be about music.

Religious imagery. Used in the actual title sequence, we see many images of religuous stories and characters such as the Devil. This makes it clear that we will see more of this theme as the film progresses.