Evaluation Question 1: Genre Theory for Media Studies

1. EVALUATION
QUESTION 1
GEORGE ROGERS

2. GENERIC
CONVENTIONS
I believe that my film is a mixture of several genres and genre types. Genre can be
classified in a variety of different ways, being a thematic genre such as ‘Horror’ or
‘Sci – Fi’ or a genre linked to an era such as a ‘50’s style film’. I think that my film
has elements of the 80’s action movie genre such as Robocop and the Terminator in
the art style and narrative of certain sections, 80’s science fiction with references
directly linked to Back to the future and again the Terminator in the time travel theme
that is in those sections. Alternatively I also have sections that are directly inspired by
murder mystery and film noir of the 1950’s. I read modern day detective books as a
child that also reference these 1950’s media and I think that along with references to
the 60’s Dr. Who run is apparent in the mise en scene and character structure of my
50’s character.
As far as my 80’s character is concerned , he very much follows tropes and
conventions of the genre he fits into, as there is no dialogue from either the 80’s or
50’s character, they show their personality and emotion in different ways and the 80’s
character has a very cold and ruthless feel with no fear of anything just like Robocop
or the Terminator whereas the 50’s character has a more careful and logical, more
human personality that is shown through the way that he moves and engages in
combat.

3. COMPARISONS TO
OTHER FILMS
Plot
The plot is very similar to back to the future and the terminator as they both use time
travel as a main mechanic of the story. The terminator is sent back in time from the
future in order to kill Sarah Connor in the Terminator, which is a very similar role to
the two time travellers in my film. In back to the future, the main focus is that time
travel is unreliable and dangerous and shows this many times as the protagnanists
fight to make sure everything is okay once they get back to their own time. In a
similar way, when the extraction machine fails on the villain in the movie, it backfires
and causes him problems too.
Characters
My 80’s killer is directly inspired by the main character of Kung Fury, named the
same as the title of the film he is an unstoppable force that follows all of the
conventions and typical movie tropes of an 80’s action hero. Kung fury is also in turn
inspired by movies such as Rambo and the Terminator so these characters have also
made their way down to my 80’s killer.

4. COMPARISONS TO
OTHER FILMS
Setting/mise-en-scene
The setting of the train station is a classic example of the type of thing that a lot of
people went on days out for in the 50’s and is often called the golden age of steam so
including steam engines in my 1950’s sections is important in getting the point across
of era.
Cinematography/Editing
The musical transition of the Retrowave music that is used in films such as Kung
Fury as well as several 80’s styled videogames is modern music that emulates and
exadurates the feel of music from 80’s action films. I am also using jazz or other 50’s
themed music to properly set the scene for the character that resides in the 50’s which
is similar to a whole variety of private investigation and murder mystery shows and
films that have been produced for decades.

5. BARTHES CODES
Enigma
I created an enigma by having an unusual narrative structure and throwing the viewer
off with a red herring from the start, they believe that the two hitmen are out to kill
each other but after they get captured it is unclear what is going to happen. After they
come back to the scene with the intention of working together, only then is it clear
that they are out to kill their kidnapper.
Symbolism
The symbols on each of their wrists shows the viewer clearly that they are connected
in some other way to what they previously thought. It is in fact true that they are
brothers and that the villain is the father and this is shown through the markings on
their wrists.
Referential
The 80’s character is a walking 80’s reference and carries almost all of the
stereotypical traits that an 80’s action hero would have, also the villain is particularly
nasty and is a reference to the cray twins in a way because of his sarcastic and nasty
nature.

6. GENRE AS A CONCEPT
Is genre as a concept useful to my film?
I think that genre is mostly important in the marketing and accessibility aspect of the
film because it allows people to understand quickly if they will enjoy the film or not.
For example if a film is quite obviously horror, and the viewer of the advert doesn’t
like horror movies, they can choose to not go and see it. Genre is also useful because
other movies in the same genre can be used as inspiration for your own movie.
Is the genre set in stone?
I believe that genre can be very subjective and can change depending on who is
experiencing it. I feel as though my film could be seen as an action adventure in some
people’s eyes and also as a more thoughtful science fantasy film just like Spin is. I
think that this is a good thing because it allows people to form their own opinions
around the film and consolidate them into a genre that they feel fits it.
Audiences depend on recognition but is this as important for a short film?
For any movie to become successful, popular, or even a cult following, there needs to
be a certain level of recognition and identity for the film. There needs to be a space in
which the film can fit in otherwise it’s going to be very hard for people to find and
share the film. Even extreme and strange films fit into their own ‘this is too weird for
anywhere else category’ and they have their own cult following for this very reason.