Legally Blonde - opening sequence analysis

The main title in “Legally Blonde” is positioned in the middle of the picture in pink and white font to make it stand out against the background and to give us an idea of what the film is going to be like.  The title is written in a font that looks as it has been written by hand which suggest that the film isn’t going to be very serious and it’s going to be an easy watch. The pink lettering in the opening credits and cursive writing affect the female stereotype of 'pink'. When the title begins to be written the image behind becomes more in focus so by the time the title is fully written the image behind it is also clear so everything becomes clearer now we know the title and what the film is going to be about.  

We know a lot about the main character by the end of the sequence. Throughout we see her getting ready but her identity is built up and kept from the viewer until the card reaches her room, as she is the most important character.  We are given lots of clues about what she looks like, what type of person she is and what she like.  We can tell from the clues that she is a girly girl who cares lot about what she looks like, we can also see that she is popular, from the homecoming queen banner, likes designer bags, from her Tiffany necklace and Prada shopping bag, and also is caring and thoughtful as she has a dog which looks well kept and is dressed up in matching clothes to her. We only see her face when the music is finished and when the letter is finally passed to her and we find out she is Elle.  

The first few camera shots are of the girl pampering herself which only adds to our first stereotype. Stereotypes are shown clearly in this opening sequence and overall in the film in general. This film aims to confront the stereotype and tries to put end to any sexism and stereotypes.

Not many things are given away in the opening scene, this is because they want to keep the audience wanting to know what’s happening but the clue about the plot is from the card we follow through the scene. This is an example of an enigma code in the opening scene as we are questioning what the card is for and why Elle is is getting it. This keeps the audience hooked as they want to know what the card is for and whether it is going to be a large part of the movie.