Genre Analysis

By Kirsty Steward

Selected filmsI have chosen these six films as they relate to my chosen genre of being a drama/thriller and also apply to a similar target audience to my own piece. Below are the listed names of the film and their genre.

Drama/Thriller• The Roommate• Black Swan• The HoleDrama• Water for Elephants• TitanicThriller• Orphan

ThrillerThe first clearly noticeable thing about this particular poster is the low key lighting used on the image, which not only follows the convention of lighting within the genre but highlights the genre to the audience as well. Genre conventions are reiterated throughout the piece, especially in the language used in the poster which follows Barthes’ Enigma Code theory as is poses a clear sense of mystery directly to the audience with language such as ‘there’s something wrong with Esther’ –which leaves the audience wondering and wanting to know what specifically is wrong’ and ‘Can you keep a secret?- again referring to Ester and the mystery contained in the piece, as well as involving the audience, making them more intrigued to see the film. The style of the poster is one of the thriller genre due to the fonts and colours of the text. The white and red colouring of the text is typical of the genre and contrasts different aspects of the text, meaning the audience’s eyes are drawn to particular areas. Furthermore, the title ‘Orphan’ is written in a ‘scratchy’ style of font, symbolising a sense of horror as well representing child-like writing, therefore showing the main character, Esther, to be the antagonist in the film, making the audience want to find out what this little girl is going to do.

DramaIn contrast, the lighting in the two drama posters to the right have high key lighting, but not to an extent where the difference is highly noticeable. The lighting appears to be more natural as this is a convention of the genre to create a sense of verisimilitude as the genre is meant to be a representation of real life. There is a lack of the Enigma Code theory in comparison to the thriller genre, but instead, different elements are used to entice an audience to go and view the films. For example, both have high profile stars in them (Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon, Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet) and the male leading actors in particular would attract a young female audience who would find them aesthetically pleasing. Moreover, the mise en scene of the characters means that they are placed in the middle, highlighting the importance of them driving the narrative which is a bigger element in the drama genre opposed to the use of special effects etc.Also, the body language of the character symbolises love within the drama genre as both are clearly embracing each other, which connotes the intimacy between the couples and a romantic elements particularly would attract a female audience more than a male. The language in the posters relate mostly to the characters’ paths with the lines ‘life is the most spectacular show on earth’ and ‘nothing of earth can come between them’. By the first poster describing life as a ‘show’, it symbolises the couple as being involved in some sort of entertainment profession and the second poster highlights the couples love by connoting their love as more of a phenomenon by using the phrase ‘nothing on earth;. Lastly, the style of the posters follow the same sort of layout. Both titles blend in with the surroundings e.g. in Water For Elephants, the writing is gold and fairly simple to follow the house style of the gold elements in the back of the poster, and in Titanic, the font has ‘bolts’ in writing to symbolise the importance of the ship Titanic, and the effect it will have on the couple.Therefore, although the writing is important, it is not as prominent as in the thriller genre and is more simplistic overall.

Drama/ThrillerAs the two sub genres are the actual genres I have combined in my own teaser trailer, I feel as if the analysis of the three posters available is more relevant. Aside from the poster of the Hole, the other two posters have a mix of low key and high key elements, therefore combining the two genres efficiently and displaying to the audience subconsciously that the poster involves not just dark elements. Barthes’ Enigma Code is clearly evident in ‘The Hole’ and ‘The Roommate’ with the language used such as the alliteration ‘DESPERATE TO GET IN DYING TO GET OUT’ and ‘WHICH ONE WILL YOU GET’. The evocative phrasing of ‘dying to get out’ will pose the question to the audience of why the characters’ situation is so desperate that they need to get out? Also the interrogative ‘which on will you get?’ involves the audience as if they were in the characters position, coincided with the lone picture of the character in the middle of the poster adds a sense of unease in which the audience would want to unravel. All three posters symbolise the sense of isolation; the Hole shows this with the picture of a lone, dirty mattress, The Roommate’s mise en scene of the female character placed in the middle of the frame with blurred characters around her and Black Swan’s lead female character in the middle of the poster, with a crack down her face. Isolation is a common convention of the thriller genre and is clearly represented in all three posters. Black Swan’s movie poster especially has a strong symbolisation of this as the crack on the females face connotes the idea of her breaking down and losing herself as a person.

ConclusionOverall, it appears that even though drama elements are present in the Drama/Thriller posters, the thriller elements are more prominent which poses the idea to me to use this in my own movie poster to follow conventions and particular display the idea of mystery to my audience as the thriller genre conveys this in a stronger way opposed to the drama genre.