Repertoire of Elements of Police/Crime Thrillers

1. Applying of elements to
Police/Crime Thrillers
Staci Okai

2. Repertoire of elements is essentially features of a film that are repeated within a genre.
The elements typically fall into 7 categories:
• Iconography
• Style
• Settings
• Narrative
• Characters
• Themes
• Audience
Each film genre usually has its own unique set of elements and it is possible for different
genres to share them.
What is repertoire of elements?

3. ICONOGRAPHY
Iconography definition: the visual images and symbols used in a work of art or the study or interpretation of these.
Often, specific icons, colors and objects are closely linked to a particular film genre e.g. blood in horror movies.
The audience expect to see them when watching films and they can be key in helping the audience to grasp the
genre of a film. In more recent years, iconography has been used to excite an audience for an upcoming film,
typically prequels. For example, the iconic lightning scar and Hedwig’s them tune in the Harry Potter movies was
the key icon in the last film’s trailer. The audience merely saw the scar appear alongside the music, as a sign the
film was coming soon. Stereotypical iconography in Police/Crime films are handcuffs, police sirens, police cars,
uniforms and guns. In a trailer, we will use this to aid our narrative as well to help our audience to understand the
genre of the film. It would not be advisable to use a single icon, like the Harry Potter teaser, as our film would
have such popularity for a single logo to be recognizable. We therefore will use a variety of stereotypical
iconography; such as guns, handcuffs, briefcases as well as subverting some that we won’t have access to, like a
police car.

4. THEMES
Theme definition: an idea that recurs in or pervades a work of art or literature
Films typically centre around a few themes and they typically overlap. Themes of romance can be present in war movies as opposed to strictly
violence, or themes of horror can be present in a sci-fi movie. Police crime thrillers are usually completely centred around a specific crime in
which all the characters are involved in. The do however, can include features of other themes like romance or comedy. An example of a film
like this is, Kidulthood, a crime/drama film about a group of teenagers in West London. Some films are classed as ‘universal’ films due to the
large crossover of themes. Typical themes in police/crime also include; Good vs Bad, Innocent vs Guilty, and death, which we will use in our
own film trailer.
NARRATIVE
Narrative definition: a spoken or written account of connected events; a story.
The narrative of police/crime thrillers typically center around a unsolvable case with the police. It is often from the
protagonists viewpoint and the antagonist usually is punished by the law at the end, however the protagonist and
the antagonist have a battle or a face off before this point. However our trailer will not include the face off. It is not a
required for the film to begin with a positive equilibrium but we would like to use one to help us build our main
theme which is the idea of deception.
Narratives usually follow a conventional storyline:
• The crime taking place, like a set up or an attack
• The characters facing difficulties such as laws being bent, slowing down the process of the case being solved
• The climax, featuring high speed scenes such as a car chase and altercations
• The capture of the antagonist

5. CHARACTERS
Character definition: a person in a novel, play, or film.
The characters in a film are used to develop the narrative and are what the audience recognize the most. In most films there is
typically a protagonist (the police) and an antagonist (the perpetrator). Often, specific actors are linked to specific genres and
help to shape narratives e.g. Bruce Willis typically acts in action films and is known for skilled violence, whether or not he is
the protagonist or not, in this way, when he is seen, we can infer the film is most likely a crime/action film. The protagonist is
usually a male police officer or a detective. They are smart, hardworking and respected in their field as well as having a
partner/side kick. Our unique selling point in out trailer however is that our detective is the antagonist, subverting stereotypes
of typical police crime films. Our detective will inhibit the attributes of the antagonist, using his power to cause mental and
physical strain to our protagonist. The ‘side kick’ role will be the protagonists best friend.
AUDIENCE
Audience definition: the people who watch or listen to a television or radio program
The audience is a crucial factor to consider when constructing a narrative as they are your expected spectators. Our narrative
deals with very sensitive themes such as rape and will therefore be aimed at those aged 15 and over. It is stereotyped to be
males who typically enjoy police/crime thrillers but we would like ours to attract both males and females which is why we have
chosen to use traditional ‘masculine’ iconography such as the male gaze and scenes of violence to appeal to men. As we want to
subvert the norm of males being the protagonist in police crime thrillers, we have therefore opted to have a female one to help
us to appease to both genders. An example of a film like this is Kidnap starring Halle Berry.

6. SETTINGS
Setting definition: the place or type of surroundings where something is positioned or where an event takes place
It is said that there are typically 3 conventional settings that are placed in police crime thrillers; The protagonist’s home, the
police station and the antagonist’s lair. Iconography helps to solidify the strength of settings e.g. having messy clothes on a bed or
a wanted poster or books on a teacher’s desk. Often, police crime thrillers are set in a big city where 1) the perpetrator has many
places to run or drive in a car chase, creating anticipation and 2) cities are largely populated creating an environment where lots
of crime related activities can occur.
Our films subverts some of these features as we would like to set our film in a small town. The reasoning behind this is because
in a small community, it is expected for the detective to be well trusted and respected within the town, making it that much
more shocking when the audience learns his deceptive ways. We also will not provide the protagonist with a family in a suburban
home.
STYLE
Style can very easily be confused with iconography, however the difference is, style is essentially how iconography is presented in
the film e.g. through mise-en-scene (setting, lighting, costume & make up, actors performance etc.) and cinematography(angles,
movement, positions and shots of the camera).