The document discusses six sub-genres of action adventure films: fantasy, disaster, historical, quest, thriller, and swashbuckler. For each sub-genre, it provides examples of movies, common narrative conventions, and codes/iconography. Key information provided includes common elements of fantasy films like imaginary worlds and creatures, disaster films involving impending catastrophes, historical films set in real time periods, quest films involving searches, thriller films with suspense and deception, and swashbuckler films with sword fighting. The document encourages adding to a table summarizing each sub-genre.

1. Thursday, 03 May 2018
LO: To explore the genre
conventions of 6 Action
Adventure sub-genres

2. Sub - genres
A specific type of genre that has very distinct codes and
conventions:
• Fantasy
• Disaster
• Historical
• Quest
• Thriller
• Swashbuckler

3. Sub-genres
FANTASY DISASTER HISTORICAL
QUEST THRILLER SWASHBUCKLER

4. Sub-genres
FANTASY DISASTER HISTORICAL
The setting is usually a
world which bares little
reality to our own, very
imaginative containing
strange creatures and
landscapes.
Society is faced with a
large scale disaster that
looks like the end of
mankind such as a
plague or hurricane.
May be based on a real
story or legend, but is
usually based in a real
historical time period and
place.
QUEST THRILLER SWASHBUCKLER
An expedition or trip
undertaken by one or
more characters in order
to achieve a particular
goal.
A tense film which is full
of suspense. It is often
based around a crime or
deception.
Will involve sword-
fighting and usually set
in the past (though won’t
have any basis in
reality).

5. For each of the sub-genres…
Consider:
• Narrative
• Iconography
• Characters
• Setting

6. Swashbuckler
EXAMPLES
• Prince of Persia
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• The Three Musketeers
NARRATIVE CONVENTION –
 The type of storyline we would expect.
 Characterised by sword-fighting and adventurous
heroic characters, often set in Renaissance period (14th
– 17th Century)
COMMON CODES AND CONVENTIONS
Male hero, damsel in distress, romantic interest, clear
morality (hero = good, villain = evil) code of honor,
pirates, swords and swordfights, bows and arrows,
lavish costumes

7. Disaster
EXAMPLES
• Armageddon
• 2012
• Independence Day
NARRATIVE CONVENTION
• The characters deal with an impending or ongoing
disaster and its aftermath – this can be man made or
natural
COMMON CODES
‘The world is going to end’ message. Meteors,
volcanoes, earthquakes, tidal waves, tornados, fire,
alien invasion, war, crashes, sinking ships, large cast of
characters, multiple plot lines, usually a happy ending

8. Fantasy
EXAMPLES
 Star Wars
 Avatar
 Harry Potter
NARRATIVE CONVENTIONS
 Heroic story set in an invented world
which is a more fanciful version of our
world or a legendary, mythic past
COMMON CODES
 Very varied but could include: aliens,
spaceships, wizards, witches, ghosts,
imaginary places, fanciful plots, good
versus evil, happy endings

9. Quest
EXAMPLES
• Indiana Jones films
• National Treasure
• Romancing the Stone
NARRATIVE CONVENTIONS
• The protagonist goes on an epic search for an
object of value or someone of personal importance
COMMON CODES
• Male hero, multi skilled, romantic interest, sidekick,
exotic locations, travel, villain with same quest,
danger, guns, grand finale with moral – hero learns
something profound about themselves

10. Thriller
EXAMPLES
• The Bourne Identity
• Unknown
• Mission impossible
NARRATIVE CONVENTION
• An exciting, suspenseful and tense plot in which
the hero usually overcomes a series of
distractions set by the villain
COMMON CODES
• Male hero, villain/criminal with a master plan,
fight and chase scenes, weapons, gunfights,
information kept from audience, mystery,
police, hero versus villain finale

11. Historical
EXAMPLES
• King Arthur
• Gladiator
• Pompeii
NARRATIVE CONVENTION
• An epic story set in a recognisable historical
period or against the backdrop of a famous
historical event
COMMON CODES
• Famous events, story based on fact or real
people, historical settings, costumes, personal
struggle, romantic interest, battles, huge number
of extras

12. What can you add to your grid?
FANTASY DISASTER HISTORICAL
The setting is usually a
world which bares little
reality to our own, very
imaginative containing
strange creatures and
landscapes.
Society is faced with a
large scale disaster that
looks like the end of
mankind such as a
plague or hurricane.
May be based on a real
story or legend, but is
usually based in a real
historical time period and
place.
QUEST THRILLER SWASHBUCKLER
An expedition or trip
undertaken by one or
more characters in order
to achieve a particular
goal.
A tense film which is full
of suspense. It is often
based around a crime or
deception.
Will involve sword-
fighting and usually set
in the past (though won’t
have any basis in
reality).

13. • Set in a dystopian
future, Katniss
Everdeen voluntarily
takes her younger
sister's place in the
Hunger Games, a
televised fight to the
death in which two
teenagers from each of
the twelve Districts of
Panem are chosen at
random to compete.

14. • In the Battle of Thermopylae of
480 BC an alliance of Greek
city-states fought the invading
Persian army in the mountain
pass of Thermopylae. Vastly
outnumbered, the Greeks held
back the enemy in one of the
most famous last stands of
history. Persian King Xerxes lead
a Army of well over 100,000
(Persian king Xerxes before war
has about 170,000 army) men
to Greece and was confronted
by 300 Spartans, and several
hundred Arcadians.

15. TASK
Sketch a poster or write the opening scene for the
following blurb:
“An elite CIA team track a killer in Antarctica in a
race against time, because the sun is about to set
for six months”.
• Make sure you clearly identify the iconography of
the sub-genres you chose to include.