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1. Analysis of Genre: Lacey’s Repertoire of Elements
In hisbook Narrative andGenre: Key Conceptsin MediaStudies,(Palgrave,Macmillan),NickLacey
definesgenre elementsasconstitutingthe 5keyareasbelow:
 setting
 character
 narrative
 iconography
 style
Whenanalysingtexts,use Lacey’srepertoire of genre elementsasa guide.Fill inthe boxesbelow,
makingnotesonthe genre conventions thatyousee
Genre elements Conventions
Setting- mise enscene/
location
The veryfirstshot inthe trailerisa wide shotof New YorkCity,which
immediatelyestablishesthe location.Itisa huge,modernsprawlingcity
withskyscrapers,whichis aconventionof action and thrillerfilms.
Withregards to mise enscene,the trailershowsalotof thingsto display
that thisisan action film.We see moneyusedforthe paymentof Liam
Neeson’scharactersservices,alcoholicshots,guns,knivesandother
thingsthat seemtobe stereotypical of the genre.The thrillerfilmaspects
are representedbythingscloselyassociatedwiththatgenre suchas rain,
fogand shadows.
The placesshown otherthan the cityinclude agraveyard,desolate
buildingsandone of the villain’shideouts.These placesare showntobe
quite scaryand furtherthe proof that thisisa thrillerfilmasitclearly
showsLiamNeeson’s characterinvestigating.
Characters –
representations,
stereotypes,behaviour,
bodylanguage,specific
actors/stars
Firstly,Iwill talkaboutLiamNeesonandthe Actionstar theory. The idea
of star theoryisthat the actor or actress will benefitthe filmfinancially,
due to thembeingestablishedstarsinpreviouslypopularandsuccessful
films. LiamNeesonhasconsistentlybeentypecastinthe role of an action
heroas well as appearinginblockbusters,criticallyandcommercially
successful filmssuchasTaken1 and 2, Non-Stop,The Grey,Battleship,
The A Team and two of the recentBatmanfilms. Intermsof marketing,
stars are part of the way filmsare sold andare essentiallyactorswhoare
made for profit.The star’spresence ina filmisalmostaguarantee of
qualityanda promise of a good,solidmovie.
There are several stereotypesof amaincharacter in an actionfilm inthis
trailer.Firstly,itisestablishedthathe isan ex-copturnedprivate
detective becauseof atragic event,where he shotandkilledaninnocent
bystanderduringashootout.The character now doesfavoursforpeople

2. Analysis of Genre: Lacey’s Repertoire of Elements
for gifts,whichturnsoutto be money.He is alsoan alcoholic.All of these
thingsseemtobe the stereotype of areluctantactionhero- havinga
turbulentlife,beingbitter,depressedandfightingpersonaldemons.
We see LiamNeeson’scharactershootingagun,fightingwithpeople and
drinkingina bar.These seemtobe stereotypesof copswithinfilmsand
Americanpolice officersingeneral. We alsosee himpunchingthrougha
windowandknockingsomeonetothe ground.Thisacts as a brutal
spectacle,whilealsocreatinganarrative enigma.The viewingaudience
don’tknowwhyhischaracter is doingsuchan aggressive thingsowill
naturallywantto findout.
The victimsinthe trailerare all depictedasbeingyoungandattractive,
whichseemstobe a commonployof thrillerfilms.
A relative of one of the victims,inthiscase a vengeful husband,isseen
tellingLiamNeeson’scharacteraboutthe murderandtellinghimtobring
the people whodiditto him.
The villainsinthisfilmare ‘Nothuman’antagonistsandare seemingly
pure evil.We don’tsee theirfacesduringthe trailerwhichadds amore
thrillingelement.We seemthemintheir car,in the shadowsandin a
reflection.Thisaddstothe mysteriousnature of the filmandmakesit
more intense astheyare facelessvillains. Thiscreatesanothernarrative
enigma,aspeople willwanttoknow whothe villainsare andfindout
more about them.
The Peripheral Antagonist inthe traileristhe personwho callsthem‘not
human’. Thismakesthemseemworse whenitiscomingfromsomeone
whois seeminglyavillain. The manthenwalksoff abuildingwhichis
thrillingandquite scary.It alsomakesus thinkwhyhe didthat rather
than helpLiamNeeson’scharacter.Thiscreatesanarrative enigmaaswe
will thenwanttofindout whyhe didthat and whyhe decidednotto
betraythe othervillains. The villainsinthe trailercanbe seenas the
devilstoLiamNeeson’ssaintlyfigureinthe movie poster,whichIwill
discusslateronin the podcast.
Narrative events–how
isthe narrative ordered
and structured?
Is itelliptical/enigmatic
(elementsleftoutto
intrigue/entice the
audience)
The trailerimmediatelyestablishesatragicbackstoryfor the main
character. It brieflyshowshimengaginginagunfightbefore accidentally
shootingapasser-by.Thispartis toldinthe style of a story,as Liam
Neesonistellingakidina café abouthis career.
It thenlaunchesintoLiamNeesondescribingwhat hiscurrentsituation
is:an unlicensedprivatedetective.He thensaysthathe does‘favoursfor
people andtheygive himgifts’.Thisisshow inthe trailertobe money.
He isthenshowntaking part inhisfirstmission/favour:findingthe
people whomurderedaman’swife and thenbringingthemtohim.This

3. Analysis of Genre: Lacey’s Repertoire of Elements
establishesthe narrative andstoryforthe movie andtherefore creates
the bait to the audience.
The movie thenshowsLiamNeesoninvestigatingthe murderandfinding
that itis part of a largerplan,where the people involvedhave done it
before. Thiswill entice viewersevenmore towatchthe film, tosee how
Liam Neeson’scharacterwilldefeatthese seeminglyunstoppable villains.
Iconography –Well
knownor recognisable
people/objects/buildings
mise enscene/props,
costume,setting,
symboliccodes
There isuse of a pastiche withinthe trailer:a Younggirl in a redcoat
removes herhoodcrossingthe road while beingwatched bymysterious
men. The Girl ispossibly symbolicof Little RedRidingHood while the
menrepresentthe bigbadwolf.
There are manythingsthat are easilyidentifiable andrecognizable within
the trailerthat are well knownfeaturesof the genre. LiamNeesonisan
iconicactionmovie starand has starredin manymoviesof the genre as
statedearlier. There isalsothe huge skyscrapercityof New York,which
itself hasappearedasthe locationof actionand thrillerfilmsandisan
iconicplace.
There are alsothingssuchas guns, police cars and barswhichare all
iconicof the actiongenre.The thrilleraspectsof the filmcanbe
identified inthe trailerbythe fact LiamNeesonisa private detective
wearinganinspectorlike coat,while he isshownpursuingamurdercase.
STYLE: Technical and
audio codes– camera
use,editing,
diegetic/nondiegetic
sound,sfx.Mise en
scene/lighting,colour
The camera pans andusesclose upsto establishsettingsThese include
close upsof shotdrinksfor the bar,the skyline forthe cityand
gravestonesforacemetery.
The editingatthe start of the videoisfastand featuresregularblack
transitionsaccompaniedbyanalmostswooshingsoundinthe musicto
representthe transition.These fast,shortscenesfeature actionand
violence.
The slowereditingwherethe scenesare draggedoutseemtobe
representingthe thrillerelementsandthe plotof the film.
The music isverytense andbuildsupbefore climaxingatcertainpoints
duringthe trailer.There isalsoa very creepy,sinistersongbeingplayed
towardsthe endof the videowhichevokesthoughtsof sadnessand
depression.
The lightingthroughoutisverydarkina sinisternoirstyle,whichwill be
to representthe darktone of the film.The majorityof the trailersuggests
the filmissetat nighttimes,whichissomethingcommoninathriller
genre.

4. Analysis of Genre: Lacey’s Repertoire of Elements
Name of text: A WalkAmongThe Tombstones Genre:ActionThriller
I believethe targetaudience forthisfilmwouldbe primarily15-35,as the movie featuresa
prominentactionmovie star,whohasappearedinmanypopularblockbusterswithinthe past10
years,whichmanyof the audience mayhave seen.
The filmisfor people aged15 andover soI thinkmid-teensmaybe the keypointof interestasthere
isenoughinthe trailerto suggestthatthisfilmcouldhave easilybeenratedan18. So, itis possible
that there wasfootage cut fromthe final edittoensure a 15 rating.Beingan action-thriller,Ibelieve
thisfilmwill be stereotypicallybe aimedata male audience astheywill be the targetaudience for
the majorityof filmsinthisgenre.However,Ithinkfemaleswillstill wanttosee thisfilm, because,as
I justmentioned,LiamNeesonstarsinitandmany people of all genderswill have seenandenjoyed
hisfilms.
I believethatthe social classificationforthisfilmwouldbe e upwardstoaroundb. I believethis
because the c1 andbelowclassesmayhave seenhiminhisstandardpopcornactionmoviesand
enjoyedthem,whileIthink the bclass maybe attractedto the intriguingplotwhichhasbeen
presentedinthe trailer,aswell asthe factit lookslike aunique,cleverthriller.Theymayalsohave
readthe bookand wishedtosee the filmadaptation.
The variousstereotypesandconventionswithinthe trailerclearlyindicate thatthe filmisgoingtobe
fromthe action-thrillergenre.Thingsthatare seeninthe videoare guns,gunfights,drinkingand
tense music,all of whichusuallyfeaturewithinanactionmovie,while the murderousplotandhunt
alongwithsuspenseful scenesare featurescommonlyfoundinathrillerfilm.The trailerbringsboth
the elementsof thishybridfilmtogetherwell.
There isa bitof non-diegeticsoundinthe film, asLiamNeeson’s
character will be speakingyetothereventswill be happening.Ithinkthat
it waseditedlike thistohelpputthe filmintomore contextwithmore
visual illustrations.
Summarise how the above helpsto define genre inthe text: