Research into Thriller Conventions

Proppian Character Types:

The villain struggles against the hero.

The donor prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object.

The (magical) helper helps the hero in the quest.

The dispatcher sends the hero off to do something.

The hero or victim/seeker hero reacts to the donor, weds the princess.

False hero takes credit for the hero’s actions or tries to marry the princess.

Proppian Characters in The Hunger Games

Hero- Katniss

Katniss is shown, in the opening section of the film, looking after her sister which immediately suggests that she is strong and people are dependent on her. When it comes to the ‘reaping’ and her sister is chosen she bravely and selflessly volunteers. As she is the main character and appears to be a strong, we can tell, even at the start of the film, that she is the Hero.

Villain- President Snow and the gamekeeper.

I think there is a couple of villains in this particular film. In the opening scene we see the Game keeper who is in charge of the hunger games talking about it on a chat show. As he is the reason for the Hunger Games in which people die each year, he plays a part of the force of evil in the film. There is also President Snow who seems to be against Katniss throughout the film and makes it hard for her.

The helper- Peeta

Peeta is chosen to take part in the Hunger Games alongside Katniss. The pair work in a team to help each other survive.

The dispatcher- I don’t think this film has a particular dispatcher who invites Katniss to fight against evil. Katniss and Peeta make the decision to eat poisonous berries to stand up against the people running the games. Although they were stopped, they made a fool out of the villains by not going along with their rules.

The donor- Haymitch

Haymitch is Katniss and Peeta’s mentor; he sends them packages to help them survive, such as medicine to heal their wounds.

Binary Oppositions

Claude Levi Strauss‘s idea of structure in terms of binary oppositions is that there are a number of pairs of opposing themes that are commonly used in thrillers.

Good & Evil                                     Life & Death

Hero & Villain                                  Love & Hate

Punishment & Crime                       Moral and Immoral

Light & Dark                                    Sane & Psychopath

In Face Off there are binary oppositions of love and hate and good and evil; we see John Travolta’s character looking at his son lovingly and laughing with him and then we see the killer looking hateful holding a gun. These oppositions are used often thrillers because they make the film exciting as the audience want to see who wins in the end. The opening of this film also shows life and death because the little boy dies whilst the dad and killer live. Also punishment and crime is seen when there is a murder and the father character wants to get revenge and punish the man who committed the crime.

In se7en Morgan Freeman’s character is similar to the killer because they are both obsessive, organised middle aged men. However, there is a binary opposition because the killer is a psychopath and the detective is sane.

In Ils (Them) there is a binary opposition of light and dark; the scene when the mother and daughter are attacked is at night and then, in the next scene, there is an equilibrium of a happy ending to a school day when it is light. Darkness is used in a lot in thrillers because it is mysterious and makes the viewer scared and on edge. When the film looks light, it is usually used to show create a happy mood and too show equilibrium.

Narrative Structure

Todorov’s theory of narrative structure states that the thriller suggests that there are 5 common conventions that every thriller follows. These are:

·       An equilibrium

·       A problem disrupts the equilibrium

·       The characters realise there is a disruption of the equilibrium

·       They attempt to fix the problem

·       There is a new equilibrium/ a resolution

In the thriller openings we have seen, there is an equilibrium and a disruption. For example, in ‘Face off’ a man is laughing on a carousel with his son (equilibrium) but then they are shot (disruption). The original problem in “Face off” cannot be directly resolved because his son can’t come back to life, therefore it will be a new equilibrium.

In most thrillers there is a theme of life and death; the thought that something is about to happen to a character that causes their life to be in danger, makes the film thrilling for the audience. For example, in ‘Them’, the darkness and how the camerawork creates the feeling of someone else being present makes the atmosphere creepy. This is then followed by both the mother and the daughter being killed. The killers are not shown at the start which leaves the audience expecting more deaths in the rest of the film and hoping someone will survive.

Titles

The opening titles of thrillers typically set an ominous and dark atmosphere, for example, “Face Off” shows classic white sans serif font on a black background; this is a binary opposition. The non-diegetic music is scary and makes the viewer feel tense and on edge. Usually the film company logo comes first on a full screen, followed by the producers, director, actors and co-stars.  The title of the film is shown and the music typically becomes more ominous.

The titles in the opening of se7en come on after the first scene so that the audience get an idea about what the film is going to be about. They are shown as overlay titles in a montage of unsettling clips of bodies, scissors, needles and other sharp objects; these imply pain and death. The clips suggest that the thriller is going to be about an investigation into a murder because it shows someone writing notes and doing forensics. The writing on the titles telling us who created the film, e.g. the writers, editor, producer, director, director of photography and actors, is scratchy and jerks slightly. The writing fits with the images of the sharp objects because it looks like it has been scratched into the screen. The music, ‘Closer’ by ‘Nine Inch Nails’, sounds scratchy and unnerving. The final lyric before the titles finish is ‘you bring me closer to God’ which implies death.