Genre is a type of category of a media product, in which the distinctive features are recognisable through being repeated over time. Although the codes and conventions are flexible and dynamic.
The genre of thriller has different sub sections for example...
- Psychological thriller Eg- 'Seven' (Fincher, 1995)
- Crime thriller Eg- 'Law abiding citizen' (Gray, 2009)
- Political thriller Eg- 'State of play' (Macdonald, 2009)
Conventional characters to thriller genre
- Antagonist (Usually a man)- to follow stereotypical gender ideology that men are more powerful than women. In thrillers this character is usually UNidentified or has a dark persona.
-Protagonist- usually the lead character seen as the 'hero', both men and women play this role. This person is usually chased but not killed by the antagonist.
-Stock characters- played by both men and women, are characters that take a secondary role; in thrillers are usually friends/ family of the main character.
Typical locations and settings for thrillers-
-Woods- to give a feeling of isolation and no source of help.
-Houses- are one stock location used in order to connote the idea of privacy and the character is usually alone.
-Underground locations- in order to again give the impression of being secluded and making the characters seem more vulnerable. The setting can also reflect this as underground locations are usually dark and dirty reinforcing the idea that dark means something bad will happen.
Iconography of thrillers-
Objects and icons such as finger prints, guns, knifes, bibles, an item of jewelery, photographs and weapons are all used in the genre of thriller as recognisable iconography. This is what the audience unconsciously expect to see in a thriller.
Suitable costume-
- Costumes in thrillers are usually, dark (black) cloaks or general clothing for the antagonist.
-Bright colours for the protagonist which also usually wear casual every day clothes in order to create a sense of realism.
- In some cases when the protagonist is a woman she may be wearing revealing clothes in order to sexualise her and make her seem more vulnerable.
- The stock characters generally wear casual every day clothes again giving the impression of realism and making it seem more of a thrill knowing that it could happen to anyone. It also creates a connection between the audience and the film as they can really experience the emotions the characters feel. Therefore reinforcing the genre of thriller.
Lighting and colour-
- The lighting is usually dark in order to create a sense of the 'unknown' increasing the thrill of the film. This then grabs the audiences attention and makes them feel nervous about what is ahead of them.
-The colours used in thrillers are also typically dark and dull, mainly black, brown and grey. This connotes the idea of the 'dark side' and dark colours creating the idea of evil and bad things.
Well done - this is exactly what is needed in terms of a genre analysis, particularly consideration of sub-genres.
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