1. Unit 10 assignment
Action films are an easily recognizable genre where physical action takes the spotlight over
everything else. the film will often have continuous motion including races, fights, chases
and stunts. the story revolves around a hero that has a goal and will obtain it against all
odds, action is generally conventional and the hero will have to overcome tribulations in
order to achieve a goal. The audience of action movies are people looking for a profound
success story where the protagonist triumphs in the end, and action movies can be analyzed
by its audience and the creators often instill hidden meanings for its more astute audiences.
However its stories are usually easy to follow and are accessible by everyone. action movies
are structured by the conflicts of the antagonist and the protagonist Lévi-Strauss called the
conflicts binary oppositions.
Tzvetan Todorov’s a narrative structure that most action films follow these are 5 key stages
of narrative, this structure is followed by 2015 movie mad max fury road it starts with
normality, in this case the antagonist rules as a tyrannical dictator, this is set up as the
antagonist by showing him denying his citizens of water in which he has plenty of, the
disruption of the equilibrium is when the protagonist max gets caught by this dictator and
his army and is used for his own gain. And when the dictators wives escape him by going
with one of his most trusted commanders the recognition of the disruption is when max
escapes and the 2 storylines of the wives and his merge into a revenge story the attempts to
repair the disruption is when they meet up with allies and go to liberate the land and a new
equilibrium turns out to be that the land is under new rule then max drives off into the
sunset this filmfollows Todorov’s` theory
Mad max follows a lot of action movie stereotypes (grizzled main character, a lot of
explosions and gunfire, and a unnecessarily cruel antagonist) however it stands out from the
rest and has aspects rarely seen in action movies for example a strong female lead, in fact
the theme of feminism is deeply explored, Charlize Theron’s character is a center of the film
as her character pulls off a complex rescue mission in fact the end of the movie sets up a
new normality when warmongering barbarians are a thing of the past the female lead
contrasts with previous mad max films. Kyle smith of the New York post said that the title
character, Mad Max, is "actually a secondary figure" in a film that is not about a
roaming Max Rockatansky. Instead, the movie is "actually" about a "feminist revolt
led by Imperator Furiosa" against Immortan Joe.
2. another theme fury road puts its own spin on is home, many action movies start with the main
character as an everyman leading a normal life with a family and then he gets “the call” max
starts with no home of his own in a wasteland terrorized by enemies with everyday being a fight
for survival, he involuntarily gets caught in the middle of danger and has to get himself out
close to the end of the movie they meet up with a larger force of bikers made up of females
they have a history with one of the main characters furiosa, they embrace and it turns to a
reunion story, typically scenes like these aren’t put in action movies, especially a post-
apocalyptic movie centered around survival.
Mad max is a amazingly stylized film this sets it apart from most action films and will make it
hold up with most films years from now the non-diegetic soundtrack consists of a totally
original soundtrack taking inspiration from the rock opera genre utilizing heavy use of drums
and electric guitars and a striking orchestra these tracks totally tailored to the film make any
backing for a scene perfectly fit with the style.
Another example of mis en scene is fury road’s heavy influence on its past movies that it is a
sequel of, despite the original movie being created 40 years before fury road, the film still
manages to stay true to the source material while also it being a fresh new movie.
The coulor grading gives mad max a harsh orange tint or black and chrome on the alternate
black and chrome edition pays homage to action movies of the past this plays on the
3. nostalgia of some people. And reminds them of 80s movies like terminator or the past mad
max movies.
comparisonof narrative and stylistic codes and
conventions of fury road and Hobbs and Shaw
i will be comparing 2019’s fast and furious presents: Hobbs and Shaw with mad max fury
road
both films are similar in terms of the narrative a group of unlikely allies’ band together for a
common good. While in the process they develop their unlikely friendships by overcoming
trials and tribulations they meet along the way before achieving against all odds.
In Hobbs and Shaw the end goal is to take down an evil terrorist group Eteon the purpose of
Eteon in the filmis to act as an general evil everyone can hate as there are no redeeming
qualities and their goal is straight villainy by making a super virus to kill off most of the
population and to equip the remaining people with cybernetic augmentations to make them
superhuman
through the severe differences of the characters major conflicts are created as a result over
the top fight scenes between them commence. The style is standard and nothing about it
stands out against modern action movies. The soundtrack contains original songs.
The movie has had generally good reception however the movie seems formulaic, and
doesn’t defy any codes and conventions of typical action movies the way fury road does.
4. In fury rod the end goal is for the protagonists to overcome a ruthless post-apocalyptic
dictator and take over his land while he is otherwise engaged the story takes place through
the course of a few days and focuses on them completing the necessary steps to overthrow
him.
Hobbs and Shaw also has a female lead just like fury road Shaw’s sister an mi6 agent that is
forced to inject a virus created by eteon after they murder her fellow agents because of her
having the only version of the virus there is an assassination attempt, this makes her a key
character in this movie just like furiosa of mad max and both are capable of defending
themselves this challenges the codes and conventions of typical action movies as all lead
characters with an important role in the lead story tend to be male based or any woman
with a role is usually the damsel, Hobbs sort of makes her a damsel as she needs saving
from the virus but puts a unique play on it by making her a capable woman who can fight
evil just as well as the main male leads.
There are a few tropes in both Hobbs and Shaw and fury road for example in both films the
protagonists are weary of each other and have no trust established but eventually they
become allies in order to defeat a mutual enemy this alliance allows them to achieve this
goal in the end.
In Hobbs and Shaw, the protagonists have an over the top battle where they have the upper
hand showing how their trials have made them overall better people for it, we see the
grunts of Eteon be thwarted by their own modern tech, their guns get shut down and so
they get overthrown by melee combat.
Mad max is a more detailed film than Hobbs and Shaw. For example we have subplots in
mad max about furiosa helping imorten joes wives escape his tyranny, this adds tension
along with a more detailed story with there being stakes on the line to an otherwise basic
rebellion story however Hobbs and Shaw doesn’t step out of the bounds of the typical codes
and conventions of action movies because of this it was a commercial success, fury road
challenges codes and conventions and was also a commercial success which shows that
action movies don’t necessarily have to follow these codes to a T.
Hobbs and Shaw still manages to be an entertaining filmdespite following all the codes and
conventions of action movies and being similar to many other action movies just like the
previous fast and furious movies this is because it relies on flashy visuals, explosions and a
feel good story that is easy to follow, mad max also does this however the story is based on
a deep lore that you do not have to necessarily know so that a mainstream audience will be
attracted but also long time mad max fans will not be alienated by a completely different
movie not following any of the lore or source material, this is why it is loved by any
audience.
Analysis of the zombie/comedy genre
zombie movies like action movies, typically ae aimed at a massively wide audience,
and so follow a formulaic format with almost every type of movie. They tend to
include a band of eccentric protagonists and the antagonists being zombies born out
5. of whatever reason usually protagonists are just trying to stay alive and are not
trying to become heroes or make a big change in the world, however their situations
often lead to tense decisions or loss. Practically every zombie movie follows Claude
Levi-Strauss’ theory of binary oppositions where 2 opposing forces are at work and
causes conflict that moves the narrative foreword in this case the 2 oppositions are
the survivors and zombies and these clashing forces drive the story onward.
Most zombie films are set in a town large or small with some average people, the
equilibrium is disrupted with the arrival of zombies they have to fight against this
force often making sacrifices along the way and a new equilibrium is created either
with the surviving characters finding a sanctuary or learning how to survive, this
follows todorovs narrative structure
Zombie movie soundtracks are often chosen to suit whatever location they are in but
are usually horror-based original scores with some popular songs to stand out (in
Shawn of the dead they include diegetic techno songs in contrast with the dull and
menial task of getting a bus, this perfectly shows the protagonists equilibrium.
the disruption of the equilibrium comes very subtly at the start as we see the
protagonists run in with zombies in his day to day life and him failing to pick up on
this he recognizes this disruption of this equilibrium during a scene when a zombie
appears in his back garden and attacks
the attempts to repair the damage comes when he tries to round up everyone and
make a plan to go to a fortified bar near the town center, he runs into many
problems however the new equilibrium is him with his partner.
the conventions are familiar as you loosely know what the story of a zombie film is
before you have seen it they use similar codes and conventions which is a level of
comfort to an audience.
Shawn of the dead is a very different kind of zombie film. The protagonist is not a
survivalist or particularly educated man he is a relatable character working a
standard sales job and living in a flat with 2 other people, this challenges the codes
6. and conventions as you do not expect a man so average to be a survivor in the
zombie apocalypse however it is his relatability and charm that leads him in comical
situations even in a zombie apocalypse
Films like Shawn of the dead and zombie land challenges the standards, in Shawn of
the dead the film is dry and less focused on zombie killing or brutal action. Instead, it
has a bigger comedy element, the zombie movie genre is so overdone and the film
uses this to do a fresh new approach.
Zombie land has many similarities with zombie land with both being a parody of
Typical zombie movies as the genre is overproduced. Zombie land is more of an
obvious, action like movie and their characters are more survivalists and can easily
take a zombie down in contrast to the drier less obvious movie where the characters
are average at best, both movies manage to set up humorous scenes with the
characters they have set up. And despite the crazy action the movie shows it
manages to be just as comical as Shaun of the dead while putting its own twist on
the zombie genre.
In conclusion, both action and zombie film genres are easily accessible by a wide
audience and have established standards that majority of films of those genres
follow. However, that doesn’t mean that films don’t step outside the boundaries and
7. subvert expectations to create something more special. Films that follow every code
of their genre are safe, successful and mainstream hits that gross a high amount can
be enjoyed temporarily, but when movies break the cycle of repetition in genre they
are truly timeless. However these days the zombie movie genre is so overused that it
is taken for parody other than a serious zombie movie with high stakes, this doesn’t
make these parody movies bad as we have seen through Shaun of the dead and
zombie land and action movies have also been overproduced and are now simple
stories with special effects and an everyman main character movies like mad max are
few as there is more money to be made from movies like Hobbs and Shaw this isn’t
necessarily a bad thing as Hobbs and Shaw still at times challenge the codes and
conventions of typical action movies however rarely.
