1. Research Task 2
Compare and contrast three trailers
from different genres and discuss
how they reveal its genre
Jake Peel
2. Man of Steel
• ‘Man of Steel’ is an action/fantasy/adventure movie,
throughout the trailer all three of these genres are
made evident. In the opening seconds, explosions are
seen in what looks to be a futuristic war connoted by
the space ships. There is also a following shot of outer
space where three planets are lined up. From the first
30 seconds of this trailer the producers are already
making it clear that this movie is a fantasy by creating a
supernatural setting. Fantasy themes progressively
continue during the trailer with shots such as
characters flying and large space ships above cities.
3. Man of Steel
• The action side of the film is delivered throughout the
trailer as explosions and associates of war and
weapons are shown. Tanks are seen briefly during the
trailer; tanks are recognised as high weaponry and
often connoted with war, by seeing these viewers can
expect to see battles and therefore action. The feeling
of an action movie is also created as the trailer
progresses towards the end, shots begin to increase
parallel to the soundtrack which becomes faster as
many short fight shots are rapidly shown to preview
the action to the viewers.
4. Man of Steel
• The final genre, adventure, is made evident throughout
the trailer; the producers use one character to deliver
the adventure genre to the audience. In the opening
shots, a small baby is seen being sent down to earth,
the trailer goes on to show frequent shots of the boy
growing up until he is eventually idolised as the main
character of Superman or Clark. The trailer shows
Clarks character growing up and discovering powers
such as super strength, this is a clear example of an
adventure film as a small boy grows up to eventually
become what is described in the trailer as a ‘god’.
5. 22 Jump Street
• 22 Jump Street is an action/comedy/crime
which also uses the trailer to these genres to
viewers. Similar to Man of Steel, 22 Jump
Street shows the action aspect through
weapons and explosions such as guns and
knives, as these are typical conventions of the
action genre. Shots of fist fights are also
shown during the trailer; these make it clear
to the audience that they will see action
throughout the movie.
6. 22 Jump Street
• The comedy aspect of the movie is made
evident as the trailer frequently uses jokes or
clips generally featuring two main characters
to make the audience laugh. However other
characters are also used to present comedy.
Similarly to how Man of Steel uses characters
to represent the adventure genre. The entire
trailer itself is used to create a comedic theme
that is young undercover police use mission
based in college as an excuse to party.
7. 22 Jump Street
• Finally, although the crime genre is potentially
the least presented in the trailer, it is still evident
and made clear at parts. Drug deals are briefly
shown during the trailer which represents a clear
crime theme. Producers integrate both crime and
comedy in one shot when a white character fakes
a Mexican accent throughout a drug deal. The
accent may be stereotypically associated with
drug deals although viewers know this isn’t the
real voice, this allows viewers to understand both
the comedic and crime genres at one.
8. The Maze Runner
• The Maze Runner is a mystery/sci-fi film. The mystery genre
is represented throughout the trailer by narrative of
different characters throughout the trailer. Many questions
are asked by characters during the trailer witch remain
unexplained throughout. For example, ‘what is this place’
‘who put us here’ and ‘what’s out there’ are all questions
heard in the first half of the trailer. By using questions as a
narrative the trailer is effectively asking the viewers as
there is no response from other characters. As the
audience don’t know the answers to the questions they
become mysteries. The noise of what sounds to be an
animal creates further mysteries as you never see what it
actually is through the trailer.
9. The Maze Runner
• Consistently throughout the trailer there is a
feeling of uncertainty; producers have used
blackouts frequently to create a dark feeling to
the movie, creating an effect of no one knowing
anything for sure. Sci-fi and mystery genres work
together to create the plot of the movie, the sci-fi
genre introduces ‘the maze’ itself as its
previewed in the trailer to be a large changing
sequence of paths that no one truly
understandings its meaning or why it is there, this
is where the mystery genre comes into place.
