Genre: blog tasks

Factsheet 3:

1) Visual iconographies are very important because they use codes and conventions. An example which is used is Science-Fiction. - Star Wars and Star Trek

2) The examples which are provided for the importance of narrative in identifying genre are Independence Day, Deep Impact and The Day After Tomorrow. The representation of heroes is a part of the codes and conventions of the genre.


3) There is difference in representation between characters in action movies and disaster movies. Characters within action movies are presented with strength, dominance and power. The hero is usually isolated. On the contrary the disaster movie usually often places the heroic role within a group of people. Often they all have particular strengths which play a part in solving the problem through the collaboration of a group who works together.

4) Bordwell noted the ways some movies could be categorized. He came up with many more potential methods of categorisation. According to Bordwell films can be categorized via:

  1. Country or period 
  2. Director/ star
  3. Style
  4. Series
  5. Audience 
5) Three ways genre is used by audience are:

  1. prior knowledge of the genre- to anticipate whether or not they are likely to enjoy a text.
  2. compare a text through its shared characteristics with another
  3. They use their knowledge of genre to reject a text.
6) Three ways genre is used by institutions and producers:

  1. Attracting an audience-loyal fan-bases
  2. Marketing texts- film trailers.
  3. Production-which means to look at successful examples of genre and replicate them within their film or TV series. They don't have to invent things from scratch.
7) The Gangster Genre has evolved. The genre focuses on groups of criminals, often romanticises the gangster lifestyle and the texts within this genre are violent and deal with conflict between the police and the criminals. They also focus on rivalry and internal conflict- These themes are the same whether the text is Scarface, Reservoir Dogs or The Sopranos.
Tommy Gun hidden in a violin case- audience found this surprising. It would then be pleasurable and then eventually unimaginative. - it had become a cliché.
Horror is a good example as well. This is because they included sub-genres so the films are very broad. They all have conventions of their own.

Factsheet 126

1) Five films with Superhero Genre are:
  1. Scott Pilgrim Vs The World
  2. Spiderman
  3. Guardians Of The Galaxy
  4. Iron Man
  5. Hulk
2) The sheet states that- "Superhero films offer a range of pleasures for the audience from empathy, catharsis and escapism to narrative and ideological reassurance and the simple gratifications of the visual spectacle and visceral reaction." Therefore producers will keep on making movies like this because we keep on watching them in the cinema- they have become more and more popular over time.

3)Schatz uses the following terms to show how genres are dynamic and that they go through a cycle.
   These are:
  • Innovation
  • Classical
  • Parody
  • Deconstruction
 He says that during the innovative and classical part of the development, genres become transparent. Therefore proving that they don't look at the genre, they look at the way the story is told. After this they become opaque
General

1) The film I will be analysing is The Martian. This is because I found the movie very interesting in the way it presented itself. The storyline was quite unique and catching for the audience.

2) I just saw this movie at the end of year 10, after our exams, so I had no intention of watching this otherwise.

3) The story was more of a personal story. The protagonist is deemed dead, but really isn't. This movie could be highlighted as being aspirational and as a aiming movie. This is because he survives by creating his own supplies. As the audience, we get his perspective of events. This movie is considered as a Fantasy and Drama.

4) Initially, I thought the movie would be Science-Fiction as it is set in space, however as the movie progressed I realised that it is a drama because we see things from his chain of events and also things that a presented are unrealistic so its also fantasy.

5) I usually don't really like Sci-Fi, however I found this movie very intriguing as it was inspirational.

6) The basic themes of this movie are used in a deliberate way by the producers as they present values and ideologies. This is because the movie is a narrative of the protagonists life on the mars. We get to experience his pain, success, failure and joy. This intrigues the audience as it takes them on an emotional roller-coaster. The film could be personal related to an audience member.

7) This film is unique compared to others as it doesn't presents itself as Sci-Fi. This movie is Drama/Fantasy. We usually expect mythical creatures, however they have used a normal story- success and failure and set this on Mars- which is quite adventurous and clever of the producers.

8) I expect Fantasy's to include magical lands and mythical creates, however this movie is factual based- it uses an astronaut and mars. This is realistic. Also for Dramas I expect them to be about loss of a loved one, however this is based on inspiration and achieving a goal, as he survives.

9) I haven't found any generic labels.

10) Personal story- Drama.

11) There is a storm at the beginning of the movie and the protagonist happens to survive, when in reality you would die- so this is a convention of fantasy. Also the fact that they are on Mars.

12) He is able to produce food, such as grow potatoes and survive for such a long time.- this is a bit unrealistic.

13) The texts departs when his crew members make up their own plan of retrieving him- this is because this situation wouldn't happen in reality at all. I f you are left behind you would die and you wouldn't leave anyone behind.

14) The conventions of this movie are very similar to Sci-Fi and a bit of comedy. This could make it a good deconstruction.

15) They use the image of mars- which looks realistic, but too detailed.

Mode of Address

 1) Initially I thought that this movie is aimed at male members of the audience, this is because the movie is quite brutal if you think about it, or people who are interested in space. However as the movie progressed you could see that the meaning is heartfelt and has a feminine touch.

2) This movie addresses you by thinking of the challenges you have in reality and how its hard to face them.

3) It make me seem as a determined and driven person, someone who aspires to reach goals, even if I know they are going to be hard to reach.

4) It could make me seem as a very understanding and aware person as I know how challenges are hard to face.

5) It assumes that I'm interested in how people get past hard situations and succeed even though they are experiencing struggle or pain. How life is lived by people when they are isolated or alienated from the society in general.

Relationships to other texts

1) This film points out a number of differences compared to other films. This is because they use an unusual setting-Mars.

2) This movie doesn't really resemble other movies I have seen, however it does contain elements of Sci-Fi which I have seen in Star Wars etc.

3) They share the setting- its in space.

4) This movie is based on only one person and how they are stranded, a person may be able to relate them self with this movie, whereas Star Wars is about conflict between good and evil and overcoming the evil side, its more serious.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Blog task: binary oppositions and ideology

Media Factsheet 76: News Values

Introduction to feminism:Case study- Everyday Sexism