Representation

Within my project, there are many issues, and events that I am considering to represent. But, I am certain that the group that I would like to represent is teenagers, specifically teenage girls. Not only will these actresses be the most accessible to me, but as a member of this group, I believe for teenage girls to be quite interesting. The media loves to center films, or television series’ about this group, yet they are so commonly misrepresented. Every representation of them portrays teenagers as catty, entitled, and self-absorbed. And I don’t believe that is an accurate representation of what teenage girls are like.

A perfect example of a poor representation of teenage girls, is the film Jawbreaker. This film follows a tight clique of girls, who have a tradition of playing terrible tricks on their friends for their birthday. One of their tricks goes terribly wrong, and their friend ends up dead. It is a poor portrayal of teenage girls, because the clique seems to see themselves as better than everyone else. All girls who were not a part of this clique longed to join, and would do anything to do so. That is quite similar to the movie Mean Girls. We once again have another clique of girls with a superiority complex, and every girl longed for their approval. The members of the clique in these films are usually wealthy, their appearance is typically important, and they are far from nice.

The previously mentioned representation characteristics, are not fair representations of teenage girls. Prior to attending high school, I believed these representations, and feared whomever the high school “clique” was going to be. Yet, when I arrived there was no group of three girls prancing around in coordinating outfits. In my project, I am not sure if there any characteristics worth retaining, as the representation of teenage girls is almost always inaccurate. I would definitely challenge the stereotypes of girls being petty, needy, and reckless.

Genre Research -- Drama

Genre -- Drama

Genre Conventions (Content) -- The drama film has many common themes. Hardships are usually depicted, along with difficulties, struggles, emotional, mental, and physical pain. The purpose of these films are to leave lasting impressions on audiences, and to move them emotionally. This is done by having a relatable protagonist experience some sort of conflict, or emotional journey. Having a realistic lead character, makes it easier for audiences to sympathize with the story. We also, commonly see the protagonist have a large character development. The plots of drama films, also usually have some sort of plot twist, or shock factor. The drama has numerous sub genres, including: comedy, historical, melodrama, period, romantic, crime, and many more.

Genre conventions (Production Techniques) -- The production techniques used in this genre vary from film to film. There is no typical setting used in drama films, as each film is quite different from the others. Historical dramas have a particular setting, while romantic dramas could be set in a small town, city, or be a historical drama as well. The only factor that ties the settings of drama films together, is that they are all based in realistic places. When it comes to shots and angles, directors usually keep it simple with those choices, but are quite free to use abstract shots/angles, as that is what would differentiate one drama from the other. Since, drama films are usually gloomy, and upsetting, the colors are usually darker or warm. This assists in creating the somber mood of the film.

Film Sample #1 -- A perfect example of a drama film, is the 2010 film Black Swan. It follows a ballerina named Nina’s downfall. A common theme of dramas are depicted, as we see the mental, and emotional pain that Nina experiences, leads to physical pain. She is a relatable character, as she is simply a sweet lady, who wants to be successful in her ballet career, The film definitely leaves a lasting impression on audiences, as the ending is quite shocking. Which fits the typical narrative of drama films.

Film Sample #2 -- Another great example of a drama film, is the 2016 production, La La Land. It follows a young man, and woman struggling with their careers who somehow find love. Many people can relate to experiencing a rough path in their careers, and to falling in love with someone at the wrong moment. That adds the realistic factor to the film. The film doesn’t follow simple drama film conventions, in that it is a musical. In real life, elaborate dance numbers do not casually occur. The plot does have shocking factors to it, which is typical of drama films.

Film Sample # 3 -- Whiplash

Film Sample # 4 -- Moonlight

Film Sample # 5 -- Call Me By Your Name

Film Sample # 6 -- Donnie Darko

Film Sample # 7 -- Atonement

Genre Research

Genre -- Horror

Genre Conventions (Content) —The horror genre has many common themes. Including death, murder, revenge, religion, survival, supernatural, apocalypse, nightmares, insanity, and many more. These themes are the framework for most horror films. Within these films, the same type of character commonly appears. There is usually a protagonist, antagonist,  unlikely hero, stupid teenagers, creepy children, ghosts, zombies, demons, and a large number of other characters. The most important of the bunch being the protagonist, and the antagonist. The protagonist is commonly a female, and is usually the sole survivor of the flick. While the antagonist is usually where the demons, murderers, and monsters come into play. Many horror films use everyday people as characters, because it is what audiences relate to the most. This tactic evokes the most fear, because if it can happen to an average girl, that means it can happen to them. That is essentially the goal of these films, to frighten, shock, and most importantly, to entertain. So, it is logical for horror filmmakers to use this tactic. Horror is an ancient art form that emerged in the pre-romantic era, with gothic novels. The first depictions of the supernatural in films was by George Méliès in 1890. While the first ever monster film occurred a few decades later, when the Hunchback of Notre Dame was released. So the structures that modern day horror films follow are not new, but based off of the classic structures made a century ago.

Genre Conventions (Production Design) —This genre plays with many production techniques in order to set the dark tone that these films need. They are typically set in small towns, or isolated places. Small towns feed into audiences fears of these things happening in their own homes. While, isolated places alert audiences, because the main characters are typically alone with the villian. Low key lighting, and Point of View shots are commonly used to create suspense. The lighting makes the atmosphere more dark which makes audiences unable to see what is occurring. While the Point of View shots create tension by allowing viewers to see the antagonist's point of view. Another technique commonly used to create tension, is playing with the depth of field. For example, the main character could be placed in the right third oblivious to the fact that danger could be lurking in the left third. This is alarming for viewers, as it allows them to see something that the main characters can’t. Handheld shots are also used, because it is hard for the audience to tell what is happening on screen, which builds fear. These films are usually edited to build tension, like the use of sudden jump scares. Dark colors are often used because it is related to evil, and danger. Horror movies are known for always having notorious props. The killer is often linked to a specific mask, or weapon. This association can allow audiences to know who exactly the attacker is.

 Institutional Conventions — The target audience for horror films are typically 15-25 year olds, 42% being women, and 58% are men. The most popular horror movie companies are universal, hammer films, twisted pictures, blumhouse. Most films released are produced by these big name companies. Many popular marketing techniques are used in order to successfully promote a horror film. The posters typically focus on the main villain of monster, and they stick to the typical dark color scheme. This allows audiences to know what type of film they are promoting, just from the posters design. The trailers for these films are usually quite similar to the posters as they both seem to stick to the dark color scheme, and focus on the villian. The most important factor to the trailers though, is that they are designed to scare. If a trailer for a horror flick can’t scare the masses, then it is not likely to do well, as that defeats the purpose of horror. Since social media is so widely used, and the target audience for horror films are teens, and young adults; production companies use social media as a tactic to promote their films as well.

Film Sample — A perfect sample of a film that embodies the horror genre, is Texas Chainsaw Massacre. This film follows a group of teens who go to an abandoned house in rural Texas, and encounter a psychotic, and murderous family. The film follows the common theme of “murder”, and “death”, as many of the main characters are murdered. There is a protagonist, a girl named Sally, and an antagonist which is the crazed murderer, Leatherface. This film follows the typical narrative as the group of stupid teenagers, in an abandoned place, and the girl who seemed least likely to survive, is the sole survivor. There are many moments where the film is quite dimly lit, which is a tactic commonly used to create tension, as the audience can’t properly see what is occurring on screen. This film is known for its two iconic props. Leatherface’s mask made out of human skin, and his chainsaw. This is common for these films to link certain props to villains. The poster for this film also follows a typical horror movie tactic, as the villian is the only character shown, with the classic chainsaw, and mask.

Film Sample — A great sample of a horror film that doesn’t necessarily follow the typical horror movie narrative, is Hereditary. This film follows a family as some of their most sinister family secrets unravel. Although the theme of the film is related to religion, the rest of it is not your typical horror film. For starters, the main characters of the film are not silly teenagers who fall into the trap of some mischievous being. They are a seemingly normal family, who make logical decisions. The film is typically set in a rural area, as the family lives far from anyone else, but a decent bulk of the film is based in populated areas. This evokes a new type of fear, because it shows that nowhere is safe. When it comes to production techniques, they do follow classic horror movie guidelines. The film is fairly dark, and they do like to play with depth of field at many moments. But this film is more complex in that, the director made an effort to make the film more interesting to watch, by using abnormal shots at different times. The poster is a bit different in that the protagonist is one of the main focal points along with the antagonist. It is also a bit unique, in that the antagonist isn’t advertised as so in the trailers, but as an innocent girl. She is only revealed as such, deep into the movie.

Example -- Halloween

Example -- The Purge

Example -- The Exorcist

Example -- Scream

Example -- The Strangers

Example -- Goodnight Mommy

Example -- The Conjuring

Introduction

Hello! My name is Naja, and welcome to my blog!

I am a Senior in high school, and upon graduating I am planning on pursuing a Bachelor in Fine Arts (BFA), in Musical Theatre. My background, and general appreciation for the arts is what led me into taking the AICE Media Studies course, as it was an opportunity to learn more about the other side of the arts world. This course is the purpose for my making this blog, and I plan to document the process for the AICE exam portfolio. I am thrilled to be able to have the opportunity to create my own film opening, as I have a deep admiration for cinema. I love so many films that it is nearly impossible for me to choose a favorite, but a very very small portion of my favorites include; Pride & Prejudice, Call Me By Your Name, Whiplash, and Interstellar. It pains me to leave out the rest of the ages long list, but it is necessary. For my film opening, I am torn between which genre to use. I would love to do a drama, as there is a wide variety of options within the genre, but I also am very fond of horror films, and would enjoy making a film opening for the genre. The only downside about doing horror films, are that many of these films are not well done. They are quite entertaining, but it might be offensive to consider them art. But there is a lot of time to figure this out, and I look forward to documenting the process on this blog!!