Research Into Thrillers

Research into Thrillers

Proppian Character Types

The villain—fights the hero, is an evil match for the hero in skill, ability and intelligence, also typically the same type of actor as the hero, a middle aged, already famous male.

The donor—prepares the hero or gives the hero some object that will help them greatly, sometimes it is magical. Examples include swords or books or wands.

The helper—helps the hero in the quest, usually younger than the hero, and is usually intelligent and skillful, however not as much as the hero, however the hero would probably not succeed without them.

The princess – marries the hero, often sought for during the narrative, usually younger than the hero, attractive, smart and sometimes very confident and skillful, which goes against the older stereotype of princess, as quiet and shy.

And her father—gives the task to the hero, identifies the false hero, awards the hero for his succeeding by allowing him to have his daughter.

The dispatcher— the character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off on their quest, usually older and wiser, or more in power.

The hero – the main character, fights the villain, is usually good, marries the princess and reacts to the dispatcher and donor. Usually an actor who is middle aged, already famous male. Is meant to be very intelligent and skilled, however, they usually have a flaw, that gets in the way of them completing their quest.

False hero—takes credit for the hero’s actions or tries to marry the princess, at first seems good but then we realize they are bad, sometimes they are the main villain. Usually similar to the hero.

Proppian Character Types in Batman

Hero

Princess

Villain

Helper

Dispatcher

False Hero

Donor

Father

Binary Oppositions

A list of some binary oppositions are;

·         Good/Evil

·         Pure/Corrupted

·         Natural/Unnatural

·         White/Black

·         Dark/Light

·         Space/Earth

·         Known/Unknown

·         Law Abiding/Criminal

·         Powerful/Weak

·         Sane/Insane

·         Moral/Immoral

·         Detective/Gangsters

·         Urban/Rural

·         Day/Night

·         Community/Anonymity

Todorov’s theory of Narrative Structure

Todorov’s theory of narrative structure states that all narratives have an equilibrium, then a disruption, and then a resolution. There tends to be one main one in each narrative, and sub-plots within them. Each of the films we have watched have followed this narrative structure, for example, se7en, in which the equilibrium is Detective Sommerset lives his life as a detective, and is about to retire soon. The disruption is a series of apparently unsolvable murders, and the resolution is discovering the murderer, and him being punished. The equilibrium in Face Off is John Travolta’s character and his son having fun on a merry-go round. The disruption is the son being killed. In the Sixth Sense, the equilibrium is Bruce Willis’ character living happily with his wife, the disruption being him being killed but not realising, and the resolution is him realising he is dead. In all of these films, the disruption was a serious crime. Each of the heroes have a job that involves Law Enforcement (Detective Sommerset, John Travolta works in an anti-terrorist unit, Bruce Willis is a child psychologist, who have to work with the police from time to time).They also had a lot of chiaroscuro lighting, giving a dark, eerie feeling and making the audience feel more tension.

Equilibrium  (se7en)

 

Disruption (se7en)

Resolution (se7en)

Titles

In Se7en, the titles are a montage edit of the killer, however we can’t see his face, adding to the enigma. In a lot of shots the killer was writing thoroughly in a scrap book, and the titles themselves looked like they had been scratched into something with fingernails. The scratches are in white, and some of them against a plain black background, and the others against a very dark clip, which is the binary opposition of light/dark and /white/black. Some of the titles are quite blurry, and flash off and on screen. This adds to distortion, which could mirror the killers mind. The non-diegetic sound track is quite metallic and mechanical, which makes the audience feel uncomfortable. The song playing is also saying “you bring me closer to God” which is what some people believe is what happens when a good person dies. There are a lot of big close ups, so we can’t see the killers identity and we can see clearer what he is doing. This also adds to the distortion and makes the audience feel even more uncomfortable and claustrophobic. The order of the titles is the producers, the director, the main actors, the title itself, the other actors, casting, music, costume designer, editor, production designer, director of photography, co-producers, executive producers, writer, producers again, and finally the director again.

The titles for the Sixth Sense are against a full screen black background throughout, with white serif titles. This is a binary opposition seen commonly in thrillers of black/white. The serif font makes it seem more sophisticated, this film is for adults. It also adds a sense of realism, as it looks slightly like a written document. There is slow pace editing, suggesting that this will not be a fast paced action movie, but more of a slow, thoughtful film. The titles fade in and out, like an apparition.  When the title of the film appears, the music gets slightly more dramatic and even threatening. There is also a dark mark moving across it, which looks like a shadow. This creates a sense of fear and enigma, and reminds us of ghosts and supernatural beings. The music becomes slightly more uplifting after the title, but still eerie. These titles make the audience know that they have to pay attention and focus in this film. The eerie non-diegetic music makes us feel slightly uneasy and builds tension, and adds enigma. The order of the titles is extremely similar to the titles in se7en, however the director only has his name appear at the very end.

The titles for Face Off are again in black and white, which is the binary opposition, however they are in Sans Serif font, which is quite modern. There are also in the font “impact”, connoting that this will be a big action movie. The non-diegetic soundtrack however, is quite happy and fast, and almost reminds us of childhood, which is very odd for a thriller. When the titles then overlay the scenes, the titles themselves become half black and half white, which continue the binary opposition. One word gets larger as the other gets smaller, so one is taking the place of the other, which mirrors the narrative. The order of the titles is again similar to se7en.