Clayton George Wickham - final thesis

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is a cut to the logo on the outside of the vehicle that says “Unger Institute of Mental
Health,” and the camera pulls back as the vehicle, now shown to be a van, drives
away and the shot dissolves to the opening titles.
The information this sequence provides differs little based on experiential
positioning. The key variable element for reading is character identification and
recognition. The central character of this sequence is young Tommy, who, due to
the appearance of the same actor as the previous film, will immediately draw the
attention of the franchise viewer. The new viewer, however, even if they do not
recognize Corey Feldman by his appearances in other films and television, is drawn
to him visually, because of his bright yellow raincoat.
The franchise viewer, however, is at a disadvantage, as the familiarity of the
character and context of Tommy would lead them to believe this opening sequence is
an actual occurrence within the world of the film, as opposed to a dream, and is
occurring at a time contemporary to the original release. The music, dress and
fashion of Friday the 13 th Part III 3-D and The Final Chapter heavily imply that it is
contemporaneous to the film’s release. A New Beginning, on the other hand, leaps
forward to the ‘present’ of the film after Tommy awakes, potentially disorienting the
franchise viewer, because of his/her familiarity with and attachment to Corey
Feldman in the role of Tommy. The new viewer lacks this contextual baggage,
conceivably understanding the earlier sequence to occur in approximately 1975, as
the fashion is not time-specific, and the only music playing is the orchestral score.
This allows the new viewer to shift from young Tommy to 17-year-old Tommy more
easily without being confused by the quantum leap between the two films. Although
the adjustment to this temporal disparity is not likely to last long, this change along
with the potential for familiarity and attachment to Tommy demonstrates at least a