Stereotypical Representations in the Thriller genre

In the thriller genre, there are many different representations of gender and ethnicity such as culture, gender, heterosexual and many other stereotyped representations.

Cultural bias is a very common stereotype in the Thriller genre. In the film 'Se7en' (1995), Morgan Freeman played a smart, intellectual, senior, detective. This had always been represented as a 'white' actors role but his role as Detective Somerset was different. Hollywood has always been a white centric company and the black ethnicity usually plays the minor roles in films.

Gender bias is also a very common stereotype in the Thriller genre. In this genre, females have  played the victim role, or the femme fatale, which portrays that women should not be trusted. For example, Jodie Foster played FBI agent Clarice Starling in 'Silence of the Lambs' (1991).

Heterosexual bias is not as much of a common stereotype as cultural or gender bias. Having a homosexual protagonist is almost entirely rare even in liberal Hollywood. The idea of a leading male detective, in a film, being openly gay is unheard of.

Storyboard for blood rose

Maltese Falcon

Within the credits sequence at the start of the film it has a black background with a picture of the Maltese falcon in the background, which could symbolise what could happen later on the film. This shows many conventions from the typical film noir such as the black and white theme, the way they dress with the top hats and they all smoke.
After the credit scene there is an establishing shot of the city to show the typical place where a film noir is set. This allows the audience to know where the film is set and it allows them to have a quick overlook of the city.

Throughout the conversation with the two private detectives and the femme fatale there are many close up shots to show the emotions the woman has to show she is genuine about the current situation and gains the detectives’ trust. The woman is taken by the man, which shows the power men have over woman in the genre film noir, which provides an argument for woman against film noir nowadays. The men could not keep their eyes off her and they were instantly attracted as they kept looking up and down at her. This shows that men just see woman as a piece of meat based on their looks. They looked even happier when she gave them money, as the male would usually earn the money for the woman at this time.
There is low-key lighting when the phone rings to show something dark has happened and something has gone wrong. This is because his partner was just murdered by the man they were meant to be watching and following. He then calls the woman on the phone angel, which is ironic to what has just happened as angels are there to protect people from bad things happening but it is the woman’s fault he was shot.
He plays the typical detective at this time, as he knows the police well and he drinks all his problems away and asks the police to drink with him to get them off the fact of them thinking he is a suspect.
The film likes to use private detectives instead of normal cops as it makes it more exciting because private detectives can do thing their own way instead of having to follow specific orders.
As the typical film noir film the femme fatale plays a devious, lying character and plays the spider and the fly with the two private detectives to trick them. After she has left the room from having the same conversation with the two detectives they both argue over her like children to show they have both already fell for her.
Throughout the whole film a slow instrumental, orchestral sound of music is playing. The sound of the music is shambolic which could represent what life is like in the city.
The protagonist does not change his tone of his voice so this shows he has no emotions, which is good for a typical private detective.
In the detectives office it is a typical setting for a detective as it shows old newspapers and a handkerchief on the table, which usually symbolises people from the older generation to show that is it set in the time of the film noir.

Christian Metz - Theory of the horror genre

Certain representations have now become stereotypes (a widely held but fixed and over simplified image of a particular type of person or thing).

Christian Metz in his book language and cinema (1974) explored the development of genre film and suggested that genres pass through four phases of existences:
1) The experimental (The cabinet of Dr Caligari, 1919)
2) The classic (Hollywood films such as Dracula and Frankenstein, 1931)
3) The parody (Abbot and Costello meet Frankenstein, 1948)
4) The deconstruction ( Se7en, 1995)

The experimental = This means the early phase of films which explored and experimented with the horror theme.
The classic = This is the phase of films that established the narrative. the horror genre was the most successful.  
The parody = Films that mimicked the horror genre.
The deconstruction = Films that include two genres together for example a horror mixed with a thriller.

Se7en

Se7en was made in 1995. It is an American Thriller. A lot of David Fincher's films are related to serial killers. David Fincher has been very successful and released the film Alien 3 in 1992 which then grew into what we now know it is Aliens vs Predator.
The opening credits are quite disturbing with the things that the character does. For example, he is shown cutting off his finger print. Already this shows that he has done something and he doesn't want to get caught for doing it. At the start it opens up with a sort of old fashioned timer that is going tick tock. This make the scene feel very eary for the audience and it makes them want to watch on. There is not a certain soundtrack for the credits but there are lots of uncomfortable sound effects. This makes it hard for the audience to relax due to the suspense of the sound effects as they grow throughout the scene. These sound effects match the images that are on display as they are also mysterious and disturbing. The camera angle never shows the identity (the face) of the character so he remains unknown. This helps create suspense in the film as the audience will have to wait to find out who this mysterious character actually is.
The credits end with a high tense sound which then transitions into a long shot of the city where this film is set. It then has diegetic sound of police sirens in the city so that this creates an atmosphere.
The two protagonists are detectives, Detective Mills and  Detective Somerset. Both of these characters have completely the opposite personalities. Detective Mills is a hothead and is a character that is not respected. He always wants to fix everything. Detective Somerset is a nearly retired detective that only has 7 days left on the job hence why the title of the film is Se7en. He loves his job and throughout the film you get to know the real Somerset and not the Detective Somerset. This is shown when he goes to dinner with Detective Mills and his wife.

Preliminary task evaluation

1.What is the 180-degree rule? A match on action? And eye line match? And a shot-reverse-shot?

The 180-degree rule is a rule that should be followed in all aspects of film making. It is a very important rule. It is the idea that you can only film on one side and not the other so none of the props and characters look like they have changed position. 

A match on action shot where one bit of the scene is split into two different shots to show it from a different angle. An example of a match on action shot is someone going to pick up there phone in one shot and then changing to a different shot when he has got his hand on it. 

An eye line match it where the eyes have to be level in the shot. For example if there is two people talking to each other in a scene, it has to look like they are looking into each others eyes. 

A shot-reverse-shot is where one character is shown to be looking at another character and the other character is looking back who only has the back of their head shown usually. helps create tension and an element of suspense.

2.Describe how you incorporated (the shots above) into your final film?

We used the 180-degree rule throughout the whole film as we filmed it all on one side. We used the match on action shot when the phone was exchanged from one character to the other character. The first shot is a two shot and then changes to a low angle shot when the phone is being passed over. We used the eye line match and a shot-reverse-shot in the same scene when the two characters are speaking to each other. This was good because it showed the focus on the characters face after being told what to do.

3.How did the film making process go, in terms of filming shots from the storyboard and filming around college?

The film making process went well because we had planned using a storyboard beforehand so we all had a clear idea of the storyline and what our roles in the film were. For example we planned a close up shot of one of the characters opening the locker whilst the camera was in it so this helped boost the intensity of the scene. However, whilst we were filming around the college we though of new ideas which helped improve our film so some of the shots were not presented on the storyboard. The area we used in the college was suitable for the film and allowed the filming to be done at a higher quality. 

4.What did you learn about video editing on Adobe Premiere?

I learned how to edit clips and put them together into an actual film. This included adding in transitions and music. The music and sound affects we added in were suitable to the film and it helped create suspense. We also learned how to add titles to the end of the film so we could have credits to shows who had which roles. We learned how to put the whole film together in one piece.

David Lynch - Blue velvet

In the opening scene of blue velvet it shows the happy, suburban America in around the time of the 1960s.  At the start of the scene there is a white fence with red roses and a blue sky, which is the typical red, blue and white American flag.  The roses shown in this shot could represent love, which could represent what could happen later on in the film.  However it could also represent loss of love as it is a mysterious scene and doesn’t give away much for what could happen next.  The yellow lilies represent death which could also link to what happens later on the film. The lilies contradict the scene as everyone seems happy and the jolly music shows the positive atmosphere.

Everyone seems happy which shows this is a safe place and everyone is friendly which shows the ideal, peaceful America at this time. This is used to hide the other side of America as this is the typical stereotype of what America was like. Other sides of America are not portrayed as they don’t want America to be viewed like that. This is because there was lots of gang crime at this time. Even when the fire engine passes the house the firemen wave at people and he has his dog on there with him, which shows there is never any danger and there is no rush to get around. However the scene does show it patrolling around so it therefore forebodes that there is danger around. The fire engine is also shown driving past the house which shows that it might be needed later on in the film to help. It is an old fashioned fire engine, which give the audience a feel for what time period this is set in.
It then shows a normal male who seems like he is a late adult doing the gardening peacefully and nicely. However he gets the hose pipe tangled in the bush and the atmosphere seems to change. This is because as soon as this happens the happy music seems to get quieter and the tone of music seems to change.
When the camera goes through the house it shows a gun on the TV which could show what might happen later on in the film as the music seems to stop for a second when it shows the gun.
When the camera goes back out of the house it focuses on the hose to make it seem like that is going to cause danger for the man but it becomes irrelevant it shows the man fall to the floor instead. The director keeps it mysterious as to what happened to him so it makes the audience want to watch on to see what happened. After he has fell, the dog jumps on him and starts drinking the water aggressively in slow motion which could also link to the fact that they don’t have to keep an eye on their dogs as they know nothing will happen to them. As it focuses on the dog it could also show the lack of importance the man has in the film.
After the man has fallen the camera starts to go through the grass and then tense music starts to play but before you get to the end, the scene ends so it puts the audience at ease to carry on watching it.