Barthe's Theory

The Butterfly Effect (2004)

1. Identify the key actions within the opening - what kinds of actions are included and how is the narrative moved forward?
At the very beginning of the movie, we see Evan (played by Ashton Kutcher) run in to what looks like an office in the dark, move the tables and chairs to block the door, and hide under the table. We see him picking up a notepad and quickly write on it; writing '...I might be able to save her.' This helps the narrative to move forward, as we understand that he wants to try and save 'her', who we guess is someone he loves. Also, as we see that he is writing onto a notepad, this is really important too - as he needs to write things down to travel back in time, which we see later on in the film.
After this scene, we see the opening credits, and we then flip back to 13 years earlier. We learn that Evan has quite a close relationship with his mother, but barely ever sees his father. (At the end of this clip we realise that he has never actually seen his father, and his first encounter is located in his father's pyschiatric institute.)
The next few scenes show Evan at school, at home and at his friend's house, and in all three scenes, we learn that he seems to blank out and forget his actions - 'I don't remember' and 'Where am I? Where'd we all go? I was just somewhere else!'
We also see that he's slightly disturbed and has a disturbing life, although he doesn't remember anything. At school he drew a picture of him killing people, at home he picked up a knife, and at his friend's house, he found himself being filmed for child pornography.
So in these opening 10 minutes, we have seen a lot of Evan's past and we can learn a lot about him, and this helps the story of the film move forward.

2.  Identify the enigma codes within the opening - what kinds of questions are posed and how is the audience meant to read these codes?
As explained in question one, there are many things that happen in the opening sequence, especially in Evan's past. We find ourseleves as the audience asking 'What happened to him, why couldn't he remember anything he did?' as well as 'Why did he draw a picture of himself killing people, and why did he suddenly hold a knife when he was in the kitchen?'
This makes us wonder a lot about Evan and if there is something wrong with him; why does he keep doing strange things and keep forgetting about them? Does he just black out, or is someone possessing him? But even if we are unsure and slightly confused, we know that it will all be answered later on the movie.
However, it's not only Evan's past which makes us question what is going on - even the first scene when he is in present time. We're asking 'what is he doing? Is he being hunted/chased down? Why is he writing under a table, and who is 'her'?'
So as we can see, many questions and enigma codes are raised in this opening, which make it a great way of drawing the audience in and making them want to watch the rest of the film.

3.  Identify key characters and think about what they represent in the opening.
The main key character in this film is Evan, and we can see that he is a troubled child, with a disturbing life. He is always find himself doing strange things, not remembering anything he has done, being abused by his friend's father and living without a father of his own. He represents the main part of the film and we follow his journey: we sympathise him, are shocked by him, and we almost want to go in to the film and help him.
Another key character we see in the opening sequence is his mother. She helped to bring Evan up on her own - her husband/his father is staying at a pyschiatric ward - and she loves and is terribly worried for her son. We can see she is a loving mother and is trying to help him, by bringing him to get his brain checked and bringing him to see his father, but we can also see she seems a bit helpless, and this is shown by her crying in the car, and asking for help.

4. Interpret the cultural codes in the opening.  What kind of knowledge is being drawn on? social/historical/political/art and culture etc.  Highlight the 3 most important references in the opening that help with audience understanding.
The film starts with a quote saying 'It has been said that something as small as the flutter of a butterfly's wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world.' This immediately shows the audience that the film is about small changes and how this effects fate, and this is reinforced by the saying 'the butterfly effect', which is the title of the film.
There are also very obvious settings in the film, meaning they don't have to say where they are, but because we are familiar with the settings, we know exactly where they are. For example, at the very beginning of the film, we don't need a close up on a sign saying 'OFFICE'; we know where he is because of the tables, water dispenser and files. And also, in the past when Evan's mum drops him off to school, it doesn't show the name of the school or anything, but we can tell it is a school just by the shape and structure of the building, and the ring of the bell.

5.  Identify key themes and analyse how they are presented visually/technically.
The key themes in the opening sequence would be enigma and the unknowing, as the characters in the film, as well as us, are wondering what is going on. This is presented by Evan's mysterious actions and how he has gotten to where he is, as he doesn't ever remember anything.
There is also a theme of sin/crime, as when he does these mysterious actions, there is always a knife and killing involved, and when he found himself at his friend's house naked, we see that their dad is filming them.
Finally, there is also a theme of fear and worry, and this is mostly represented by Evan's mother, as well as Evan's teacher and doctor, when they all worry for Evan's mental health and stability.