Fictional codes and conventions of the sci-fi genre and the romantic genre

1. Unit 10: Fictional Film Codes and Conventions
Genre 1: Drama/romance
Film 1: Dirty Dancing (1987)
Film 2: Everything, Everything (2017)
As one of the most distinctive and recognisable sub-genres in film, drama/romance films provide
a great opportunity to analyse the stylistic codes and conventions that make up this type of film.
By looking at two iconic films Dirty Dancing (1987) and Everything, Everything (2017), we can
clearly see how generic conventions and characteristics of the drama/romance genre are
present and help the audience recognise and interact with what they see onscreen.
In the romantic-drama genre, although there is a lot of possibilities regarding content in the plot,
the general plot is the same. There’s two characters who have some sort of romantic
attachment. They realise they cannot act upon it because of the ‘problem’. After a while, they
either disregard the problem and get together anyway or solve the problem and live happily ever
after. This conforms strongly to Todorov’s narrative theory that all stories/plots start with
equilibrium, then there is disequilibrium; the characters realise and then solve the disequilibrium
which restores normality.
As this is a hybrid genre (two genres merged to make one), it is easy to get mixed up with
themes as drama and romance each have their own.The main theme in romantic drama is a
love that is hindered by another factor. Usually, in romantic dramas it shows the journey of two
people and their struggles in life which more likely than not, ends up with them both together.
Other themes include injustice, drug addiction, poverty, mental illness, the corruption of power
and racial prejudice. They usually link to something topical, such as politics or poverty. Due to it
being a sub-genre of drama, it is normally realistic.
Media theorist Steve Neale suggests that genre cinemas is made up of repetition and
difference. In repetition, an audience experiences pleasure and satisfaction in the recognition of
familiar forms. Response of audience to a specific type of film relies on a previously established
knowledge of films of this type - making meaning through connections with other texts is called
intertextuality. It is through repetition that genre develops iconography which can become cliche.
Audiences may also derive pleasure from variations from the norm as people do not necessarily
want to see the same thing time and time again. As audiences we expect familiarity, but
demand variation (a blend of convention and innovation).
In addition to this, Steve Neal also has the five functions of genre which are:
1. Reinforcement of a culture’s ideas and values.
2. Creation of a set of audience expectations.
3. Creation of characteristics by producers which audiences recognise.
4. A relationship between audiences and producers which minimises the risk of financial
failure.
5. Dynamism and flexibility- constantly transforming with new examples.

2. Neale’s ideas of repetition can clearly be seen in both Dirty Dancing and Everything, Everything,
both of which employ a number of recognisable genre stylistic codes and conventions.
Arguably, the most iconic scene from Dirty Dancing is the ending scene where Johnny Castle
(Patrick Swayze) and Frances (Jennifer Grey), who was nicknamed ‘Baby” in the film, are
dancing to ‘Time of my Life’.
Reference 1
The type of lighting used in this scene is low lighting which is common in the romantic genre as
it is particularly used when a couple is travelling in a car, bedroom scenes or when the situation
is more serious and romantic. The red lighting has a big impact on the film as the colour
connotes love, romance, desire and strength therefore the audience is able to see the passion
that is strong between the couple. In the image, the audience can infer that Johnny is very
strong and will be strong for both of them in the situation as he has to leave after this dance and
possibly won’t see her for a long period of time afterwards, therefore he is dedicated and willing
to go on with the love they have. In reference 1, the camera uses a mid-shot to present the
couples still pose and the audience in the background looking amazed and wanting to join in
with the dance. The mise-en-scene has a big part in this clip as there is no propps used and
there are multiple things happening at the same time.
Another stylistic code used in a romantic film is the effective use of sound. Romantic films often
use music as well as non-diegetic sounds in order to create an atmosphere for the audience.
The music is usually the current, popular music soundtrack at the time which will appeal to the
key demographics. The soft, emotive music is used when protagonists are in an intimate
movement along with non-diegetic music playing when they begin a relationship with music
building when conflict occurs to leading to a breakup. Overall, sound is used to parallel emotive
sound music which helps to provoke emotion in the audience. In this scene, ‘Time of my Life’ by
Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes is used for Johnny and Frances to have the final dance too.
The song was a big hit at the time it was released and has won a number of awards, including

3. an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for ‘Best Original Song’ and a Grammy Award for
Best Pop Performance by a duo or group with vocals. In the film, the music is used as a diegetic
sound which means that the characters can hear the music as well as the audience in the
scene. This can show that the characters have fell in love and continues the story.
Stella Meghir’s life changing romance Everything, Everything is another film that clearly uses
stylistic codes and conventions of the drama/romance sub-genre in its own way, whereas Dirty
Dancing relies on low-key lighting to maintain the typical conventions of romantic films.
Reference 2
In reference 2, the director has decided to use natural lighting in this scene which challenges
the typical codes and conventions of romance films as they usually use low-key or ambient
lighting. By using natural lighting it adds onto the mise-en-scene as the audience can interpret
that this scene has been filmed on a beach, in a warm, sunny country. Furthermore, the long-
shot camera angle used exposes the background so that the audience can see the palm trees
and that Ollie (Nick Robinson) and Maddy (Amandla Stenberg) are wearing summer outfits
which adds to the beach setting. In addition to this, Nick’s t-shirt can infer that they are currently
in Hawaii which is typical in codes and conventions as romantic films are typically set in an
urban setting such as a beach, a school or local diner and typically known as where a chance
encounter may take place.
Throughout the film, the main sound used is diegetic sound however there is sometimes non-
diegetic sound used. In both Everything, Everything and Dirty Dancing there is a lot of dialogue
used. The dialogue, which is diegetic is used in the romance genre. Dialogue is often used to
show the narrative, behind the characters as well as showing the general personality of those
speaking. The dialogue is used in order to explain the characters to each other and have a
connection likewise to the audience. Eventually, the dialogue will lead to the characters
expressing their feelings to each other. As well as through the voiceover, who is usually the
protagonist, narratives to the audience about the film and also introduces themselves. In
Everything, Everything there is mainly dialogue between Ollie and Maddy as they are the two
main characters so it instantly introduces them into the film. In addition to this, Maddy’s mother

4. and nurse is introduced to the film though Maddy creating a conversation with them. On the
other hand, Dirty Dancing uses dialogue as the main sound throughout the film as it introduces
a number of characters around the main two characters, Johnny and Baby.
In addition to this, similarly both films explores the complex side of love as the plot is centered
on an obstacle that is preventing love between two people and in this case, the obstacle in both
films is family’s disapproval. In Dirty Dancing Babys father disapproves of Johnny and in
Everything, Everything Maddy’s mother disapproves of Ollie due to the illness that Maddy has
however everything changes which i will be talking about in the next section about the narrative.
Reference 3
In reference 3, we can see that both characters are using mobile phones in this scene in the
movie. This is an expected code and convention of the romance/drama sub-genre to use mobile
phones as props even though they are generic to most movies besides that they play a large
part of romantic dramas when receiving phone calls or text messages from the other person in
the relationship. Despite this, mobile phones are always used to create any form of suspense or
tell the audience something that the characters are yet to know. In Everything, Everything
mobile phones were the only way the couple could communicate to each other due to Maddys
illness as she was unable to go outside. This had a major impact on the storyline as Olly wanted
to meet Maddy in person, face to face really bad but couldn’t unless he came to her home and
was decontaminated to remove any contaminants such as micro-organisms or hazardous
materials, including chemicals, radioactive substances and infectious diseases which was a
huge life risk to Maddy. On the other hand, in Dirty Dancing mobile phones were not used in the
film as the film was set in the time period of 1963 and the first mobile phone wasn’t released
until 1983, 20 years later. By doing this it meant that the characters had to talk to each other
face to face if they wanted to or needed to talk which adds more dialogue to the movie.
Expectedly, the audience are waiting to see roses in the film as they are possibly the best
signifier when it comes to the romantic drama. The definition in the colour and texture creates a
beautiful oxymoron. The contrast in texture of the rose’s stalk in comparison to the soft delicate
petals on the top displays the general theme of most generic themes or feel to most romantic
dramas. Directors use this connotation with the rose to portray to the audience the delicacy of a
weaker, timid character and the harsh reality of the world they are currently in. However neither

5. of the films use this generic prop which challenges the typical codes and conventions of the
romantic drama genre.
Section two: Narrative
Alongside stylistic codes and conventions, it is possible to view both Dirty Dancing and
Everything, Everything in terms of narrative code, convention and structure. Theorist Tsetzvan
Todorov suggests that narratives will have a beginning, a middle and an end through five
transformations: equilibrium, disruption by an event, recognition disruption has taken place, an
attempt to repair the disruption, a return to equilibrium. It could be argued that most romantic
dramas follow this narrative theory and there is evidence to suggest that both Dirty Dancing and
Everything, Everything can be seen to adapt to this, in its most basic form.
Firstly, I am going to start with Todorov’s theory to Dirty Dancing. The equilibrium shows a
happy family going on a road trip yo somewhere they can spend their summer holidays. The
opening sequence is just over 3 minutes and consists of the titles in front of the close up shots
of people dancing.
Reference 4
In reference 4, the close ups are filmed in black and white and in slow motion to show the
audience that the characters are passionate about dancing. As the opening sequence plays for
a long time. It allows the audience to interact with the characters. When the shot changes, the
beginning dancing scenes goes into an extreme longshot of a dual carriageway of a car slowly
driving along. After the establishing shot of the setting, there is a clip inside of the car which
allows the characters to introduce themselves to the audience. The shot is a close up shot
which is focused on the main character Baby and also her parents and sister who is also in the
car with her.
The main disruption in the movie is when Johnny is unable to dance with his original partner
Penny as she is found to be pregnant which has an impact on both characters as she cannot
dance. This leads to Johnny needing to find a new partner for the dance and his cousin
suggests that Baby will be the perfect one to learn the dance quickly in time for the show. BY
agreeing to take on the challenge, she resolves Johnny’s problem. After the disruption had

6. happened, Baby and Johnny realise that Baby isn’t a particularly skilled dancer, therefore she
will need to learn the basics on top of needing to learn the dance in a short period of time. The
story becomes chaotic after her dance performance not going well so this questions whether
she is able to perform the last dance with Johnny without messing anything up. As in every
romance drama, there is always a problem that needs restoration and in this case, it is the fact
that Baby can’t professionally dance but eventually succeeds which allows her to perform in
front of audiences after her struggle and worry.
Dirty Dancing is written/filmed in a linear narrative meaning that the storyline is in chronological
order. This is because each section of the film is smoothly linked together and it flows from one
section to another. Due to following Todorov’s theory, each section will make sense to the
audience and there is no confusion to what is happening. The narrative of this film is restricted
because the audience knows as much as the characters do in the film. Also there is no hidden
secrets in the storyline therefore there isn’t any dramatic irony, apart from Baby secretly meeting
up with Johnny behind her family’s backs.
Everything, Everything also plays around with narrative convention, however has a confusing
ending. Firstly, Maddy can’t leave the house and has never been out so she has very limited
interactions with other people and only really knows her mother and nurse Carla until a cute boy
moves in next door called Ollie and then they start a friendship which eventually turned into a
love story.
Reference 5
In the film the director has used filming techniques to make it look like Maddy and Ollie were
able to spend more time together through the architectural designs that Maddy would make in
her home and whenever she was having a conversation with Olly through text, she would
picture herself and him in one of the little rooms that she made and the audience would be able
to see the two of them interacting, as shown in reference 5, even though they were really in their
own homes texting. This helps the viewer to be able to see them having more of a connection.
The director has also used diversity in the film as you never see people of colour as the lead
role in a young adult adaptation and it is always a white person who is the lead role. The plot
twist at the end seems very unrealistic and wasn’t very clear as the twist is that Maddy's mother
is a doctor and has been telling Maddy her whole life that she has a disease where she cannot

7. go outside as it is life threatening however she actually doesn’t have the disease; she was just
afraid of losing Maddy. However this leads confusion to the audience as Carla whom has been
treating Maddy for 15 years didn’t realise that there was actually nothing wrong with Maddy and
that she was completely fine. This maybe was intentionally done to create an ‘open ending’
which can be seen as offering something potentially unexpected to the audience therefore
leaves no absolute resolution for an audience.
Another structural theorist that can be applied to help explore the narratives of the two films is
Vladimir Propp. In his work Morphology of the Folk Tale, Propp suggested that all stories consist
of a limited selection of characters, and also occur within limited spheres of action. He
suggested that the character types are:
1. The Villain: Locked in a constant struggle with the hero, often trying to harm the
princess.
2. The Donor:Gives the hero an object or a piece of information that helps them prepare
for what is to come.
3. The Helper:Assists the hero with their quest, often referred to as their ‘sidekick’.
4. The Princess:Needs assistance from the hero, usually because they are in some form
of danger, typically the princess is the victim within the narrative.
5. The Dispatcher:The character who sends that hero on a mission or quest.
6. Hero:Reacts to the donor and saves the princess, often resulting in them falling in love
with the princess.
7. False Hero:May appear good but has an ulterior motive, or attempts to take credit for
the hero’s actions.
Dirty Dancing’s Johnny Castle could be seen initially as the ‘hero’ as he falls in love with Baby
who can be seen as the ‘helper’ by trying to help with replacing Penny in the final dance before
morphing into the ‘princess’ in which Johnny slowly falls in love with. Baby’s father Dr. Jake
Houseman may be considered as the ‘villain’ as he has bad views of Johnny and doesn’t like his
daughter being around him which causes harm for Baby as she is falling in love with him but
whenever she sneaks out behind her parents backs and they find out, it causes problems
between Baby and her father as he is disgusted in her due to him thinking so highly in her. Once
finding about her and Johnny, he decides for the family to leave the holiday a few days early to
go home to ‘avoid traffic’ but Babys mother goes against this and allows them to stay until they
need to leave. By doing this, she can be suggested to be the ‘helper’.
Everything, Everything can be seen to employ some of Propp’s character types, but
manipulates them in interesting narrative ways. Maddy’s mother can be seen as the ‘villain’ as
she disapproves of Olly who is seen as the ‘hero’ and she is affecting her daughter at the same
time by lying to her about her apparent illness and keeping her away from the boy that she is
falling in love with. Olly is considered as the ‘hero’ as he cares alot about Maddy and when she
leaves the house he is very concerned and tries his best to try and get her back in the house
where it is safe whilst trying to make her happy at the same time, slowly showing his affection

8. towards her. Maddy is the ‘princess’ who the hero falls in love with and she needs his help when
she needs to talk to someone or when she tries to help Olly out with his family problems.
It can be argued that both Dirty Dancing and Everything, Everything both use aspects of
Todorov’s five narrative steps in their story arcs to create disruption and work restoring
equilibrium. Both can be seen to subvert these to some extent through the ‘open ending’
through ANOES in Everything, Everything. Similarly, we can apply Vladimir Propp’s work to the
films with both stories involving a problem and dealing in clear character archetypes such as the
villain, the hero and the princess.
Genre 2: Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Film 1: Spiderman:Homecoming (2017)
Film 2: Black Panther (2018)
In this part of my assignment, I have chosen to talk about the fantasy/sci-fi genre in films.
Fantasy/sci-fi films also provide an excellent opportunity to analyse the stylistic codes and
conventions that make up the genre. Two well known films of this genre is Marvels Spiderman:
Homecoming (2017) and Black Panther (2018). In these films we can clearly see how generic
conventions and characteristics of the sci-fi films are present, and help the audience recognise
and interact with what they see on screen.
The sci-fi genre incorporates hypothetical and science based themes into the plot of the film.
The genre often includes futuristic elements and technologies to explore social, political and
philosophical issues. In many cases the film itself is set in the future, either on earth or in
space.The generic conventions of sci-fi incorporates heroes, villains, quest, advanced
technology and unfamiliar locations (different planets).
Theorist Steve Neale states that genres all contain instances of repetition and difference,
difference is essential to the economy of the genre and he believes that the audience gets
pleasure in recognising familiar props, sets and returning characters.
One of the most iconic scenes in Spiderman: Homecoming is in the scene just after the opening
scene when Peter has received his new suit. In the scene where Spiderman goes out to play
around with his suit and helps out the city when they have multiple problems, one being
someone robbing a bike (reference 1) and Spiderman takes the bike from him and tries to find
out whose bike it is.

9. Reference 1
In this scene, natural lighting is used to show that everyone is living their day-to-day life in the
norm and the director could have used this feature to create a message or show to the audience
that anything could happen when not expected, when showing Spiderman swinging down to the
streets to conquer the thief, it could excite young children as they are big fans of superheroes
and they might expect to see Spiderman in the street after watching this scene. Furthermore, it
creates a positive view as Spiderman is helping out and doing good things rather than bad. The
natural lighting adds a natural impact on the scene which creates a sense of realism for the
audience and allows them to feel the intensity of the dramatic scene.
Another stylistic code used in sci-fi films is sound. In this scene, diegetic sound of the bike
screeching and shots of Spiderman’s webs is used to create an impact on the scene and
realism by ignoring the fact he can shoot webs from his wrists. This is pleonastic sound as it is
used to give extra resonance to the action in the scene. Whilst the pleonastic sound plays, there
is also contrapuntal sound of the non-diegetic sound in the scene as a soundtrack plays in the
background. By doing this it enhances the audiences understanding of the scene and adds
enjoyment so that they don’t lose interest in the film and get bored.
Ryan Coogler’s action packed Black Panther is another film which is part of the MCU that
clearly uses stylistic codes and conventions of the sci-fi genre in its own way. Whereas
Spiderman: Homecoming relies on realistic features in the film, Black Panther uses futuristic
props, costumes and settings that represents the scientific advancements at the centre of the
film. Sci fi films seek to make us believe in the images we are viewing. They use familiar
elements of technology in a fictional way that helps to make the connection between fiction and
reality.
Arguably, one of the best scenes in Black Panther is the car chase scene. In this scene we see
the protagonist chasing the antagonist. By adding this scene in this film, it introduces Levi-
Strauss’ theory of Binary Oppositions. It is argued that meaning in narrative is based upon
binary oppositions and all narratives are organised around the conflict between binary
oppositions such as:
-Good vs Evil
-Human vs Nature
-Black vs White

10. -Protagonist vs Antagonist
-Humanity vs Technology
In reference 2, we can see that the car chase scene has been set in a city based on the skyline
which we see in the background of the shot. By doing this, it adds realism into the film as the
director has used a setting which is set in the real world with futuristic props being involved in
them. The close up shot shows the audience a better view of Black Panther’s suit and they are
able to see the purple running through it. Instantly the audience knows that the purple colour is
the Vibranium in the suit which is a fictional metal, noted for its extraordinary abilities to absorb,
store, and release large amounts of kinetic energy. By adding the Vibranium to suit, it infers that
Black Panther is ready for anything that comes at him and it is practically indestructible.
Furthermore, the purple colour used connotes royalty, nobility, luxury, power and ambition which
links to Black Panthers character as he becomes the King of Wakanda after the death of his
father.
Reference 2
The purple running through Black Panther adds to the ambient lighting in the background which
is usually connected to romance movies rather than sci fi. The colour palette is very similar in
contrast to the black suit which makes Black Panther stand out in this scene. Instantly this could
link to the fact that he is the King of Wakanda and he stands out to everyone and is different to
the average person. In addition to this reference, in the scene where the sound used is very
similar to Spiderman: Homecoming which could suggest that MCU makes their movies similar to
the others. The pleonastic and contrapuntal sound used impacts this scene as it uses upbeat
music which adds excitement for the audience which keeps their interest in the film and also
adds a comedic side to the scene as you would expect a serious, quick pace sound to use and
not a music track. The tone and pace of the music impacts on the editing and filming as there is
always something going on in the scene and it is edited into short, frantic clips to get different
points of views and shots which adds interest and allows the audience to receive entertainment,
escapism and information.
Both Spiderman: Homecoming and Black Panther clearly use a selection of stylistic codes and
conventions linked with the sci fi genre. This allows the audience to fully recognise the films as
genre constructs and according to Steve Neale, derive pleasure from the recognition of familiar
forms. In both films we see mise en scene as important in creating a sense of isolation through
setting (the busy urban streets of Spiderman: Homecoming and the frantic, city life of Black

11. Panther), costumes and props (futuristic, Vibranium cars, web shooters etc). The use of
cinematography techniques also align the films closely to the genre, with both films using a
range of lighting features (natural, ambient, low lighting) to create a sense of realism. Sound is
also key to our ability to recognise the codes and conventions as MCU uses a non-diegetic
soundtrack to accompany the hero in their battle which creates a pleonastic sound as it
intensifies the action on screen. It is known that Marvel often use soundtracks whilst action is
happening on screen to make the audience feel more intense about the situation happening and
to make them more interested.
Section Two: Narrative
Alongside stylistic codes and conventions, it is also possible to view both Spiderman:
Homecoming and Black Panther in terms of narrative code, convention and structure. It is
argued that most sci-fi/action stories follow a similar pattern and there is evidence to suggest
both Spiderman: Homecoming and Black Panther adapt to this. Both have disruptions to an
equilibrium caused by a villain causing trouble. This is shown by the final scene in Spiderman:
Homecoming of the final battle between Spiderman and the Vulture (shown in reference 3).
Reference 3
In this scene, we can see in terms of Vladimir Propp’s theory that the Vulture is the villain and
spiderman is the hero trying to battle him down. The longshot shows us the demonic setting
which instantly shows the audience that the villain is very powerful, strong and tends to destroy
things and makes them question and worry about Spiderman as they are unsure whether he is
strong enough to fight. This scene may be referred to as a ‘closed ending’ where loose ends are
tied up and storylines are presented clearly. This is normally seen as reassuring to an audience
as the ‘threat’ has been discovered and solved. Recognition and an attempt to repair is evident
as Spiderman has came to this explosion to fight the villain.
Similarly in Black Panther, it started off with T’Challa being crowned as King and is living a fairly,
calm life which is seen as the equilibrium. Until a relative , Erik Killmonger, who is forgotten
about, arrives to the kingdom and takes the throne away from T’Challa and causes a
confrontation. This is seen as a disequilibrium. Black Panther (T’Challa) returns from dying and
defeats Killmonger (reference 4) to take back his rightful throne which restores equilibrium.

12. Reference 4
In terms of Vladimir Propp’s theory which can be applied to help explore the narratives of the
two films, we can discover who the different characters represent.
In Black Panther, T’Challa can be easily seen as the hero as he defends his Kingdom, protects
everyone and defeats the villain (Erik Killmonger) who tries to kill Black Panther to become King
and take over the kingdom to make it a bad place however Blac Panther only allows this to
happen for a short period of time as he returns and defeats Killmonger in the final battle. Black
Panther’s sister Shuri is the helper and also partly the donor as she assists her brother with his
quests and gives him objects, equipment and information that helps them to prepare for what is
to come. W’Kabi was originally on Black Panther’s side but after he was defeated and
Killmonger took place on the throne, W’Kabi turned sides and become part of Killmonger’s
group against Black Panther’s family, friends and the Wakanda kingdom. In doing this, he
becomes the false hero as he appeared good but had an ulterior motive and went against the
true ruler.
On the other hand, in Spiderman:Homecoming Peter Parker is the hero and the Vulture is the
villain which can be easily be interpreted due to their actions and motives of helping and
destroying the world. Iron Man is many things, the dispatcher, the donor and the helper as he
gives Spiderman quests, his suit, prepares him for any battles and helps him out in situations
where he needs more than one person or is in danger. The princess is Liz Allan as Peter falls in
love with her but also saves her in the Washington Monument when the elevator falls and Liz
falls with it until Spiderman shoots his webs to catch her and safely brings her up onto the floor
before it is too late. This makes the idea of Spiderman being the hero in the film stronger as he
saves someone's life whilst risking his at the same time.
Both Marvel films use aspects of Todorov’s five narrative steps in their story arcs to create
disruption and work restoring equilibrium. Both uses an after-credits scene as a teaser for the
next Marvel release which excites fans and can be suggested to be an ‘open ending’ as the
audience wants to know what happens after that scene and is left on a cliffhanger built with
excitement. Similarly, we can apply Vladimir Propp’s work to the films with both stories involving
a quest, and dealing in clear character archetypes such as the hero, villain and the donor.