TIPPR 9

I was interested in exploring the structuralist outlook that Claude Levi-Strauss applied when looking at the interpretation of myths. Levi-Strauss looked at how an individual tale or parole fit into the whole cycle or langue. In this case I’m looking at Chosen as the parole within the langue of the whole “The Hire” series.

With “The Hire” BMW set out to exploit the codes from numerous film genres to create a unique ad campaign. They selected a wide variety of directors and allowed them to do pretty much whatever they wanted as long as they used Clive Owen as the driver and featured a BMW in the film. The result was a series of films that ostensibly feature the same character in a variety of situations. It’s an interesting way of creating a narrative around what is essentially an avatar for BMW, because although the driver character maintains some similarities from film to film there are also some differences depending on the needs of that particular film.

In “Chosen” he is a strong but silent good guy who saves little boys and is a clear white hat, good guy. In “The Follow” he could have stepped straight out of film noir detective film, he is morally ambiguous although in the end he ultimately does the right thing. In “Star” he is suddenly humorously crass and addressing the camera directly. We know nothing about his character beyond his accent and his ability to drive very, very well. Where is he from? Who does he work for? Each film shows him in very different locales; sometimes he appears to be working with the police, sometimes he is clearly operating outside the law. We don’t even know his name, because all that is important is his role as the driver. This is of course a brilliant advertising technique because it allows the audience to project themselves into the role.

At the same time these films also allow the directors to sell themselves. Each film is a clear reflection of its director. “Chosen” references Ang Lee’s other films, particularly “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “The Hulk”. The other films are equally reflective of their creator’s ouvres. So to bring this back to structuralism, “Chosen” is best understood when looking at it as a piece of the larger ad campaign. With each film contributing a different perspective of what is a BMW driver to appeal to the largest possible audience as well as using each film to sell the other works of the directors involved with the project.