Film essay

In what way do genre conventions determine how particular characters are represented in the films which I have studied?

In this essay I am going to show how genre conventions determine how particular characters are represented in the films that I studied. I will be referring to two of the four films that I studied these films include:

·         The Horror of Dracula

·         The Descent

The films in which I have studied are all horror films. A horror film are films which were designed to try to unsettle the audience to try to produce different emotions, these emotions usually consist of unnerve, startle and spook.

The ways in which the different genders are represented vary through out both of the films. Firstly in the film 'The Horror of Dracula' the director Terence Fisher presents women to be inferior this can be compared to the male characters which can be portrayed as wealthy and powerful.  Firstly the women can be seen inferior compared to the men this is shown through the cinematography. A number of high angled shots are used, this can be seen when Dracula enters and looks upon Lucy. The camera in the high angle looks down on Lucy by doing this it connotes that she has less power than the character which the camera views is supposed to be. This is Dracula and he is male so this can indicate that males are more dominant that females. In the Film the Descent some of the women can be seen as weak compared with the others. The Characters that are presented as the strongest are both Juno and Sarah. Even though at the end Sarah is presented as strong she is also portrayed as weak. At the beginning she is seen to be vulnerable because of the death of her husband and daughter, and then she is seen taking pills. This film goes against the horror conventions this is because the victim is usual vulnerable and blonde, the blonde vulnerable woman in this film is Sarah but she doesn’t become a victim so this is why it goes against horror conventions.

Furthermore in horror films the location of it is vital. One of the horror conventions is that there is an unnerved or place of evil.  In the case of the film 'The Horror of Dracula the setting is the Castle of Dracula, the reason in which it is a usual horror location is because it is a place where evil happenings occur. When the audience first comes across the castle it is portrayed as a inviting location, this is because in the background there is mountains and a calm stream. This doesn’t connote the usual prison of a Villain, this is because darkness, thunder and lightning is typically indicates a horror location. But this contradicts what the castle is actually like because its is like a prison once Dracula victims enter they don’t come out. Dracula’s castle shows both his wealth and power, this is also can compare with the women in The Horror of Dracula as they are shown to be victims of Dracula. The setting of the film The Descent is contrasts The Horror of Dracula. When the audiences are first provided with a view of the cave from above, it is portrayed as endless dark hole. To the audience instantly compare this with what the women are about to do and the audience believe the worse and think that something bad can happen as they are shown to be weak.

Another convention is that there is a final girl, in both films ‘The Horror of Dracula’ and ‘The Descent’ there are final girls. The final girl in a horror film refers to the last woman or girl alive; she usually confronts the villain or escapes from the villains grasp. In the film ‘The Horror f Dracula’ the final girls is Mina Holmwood, she is the only women who stays alive to the end of the film and in the film’ The Descent the final girl is Sarah Carter. There are a variety of different ways the director makes the final girl look as if they won’t make it, they use mise-en-scene and iconography, this can persuade the audiences to have disbelief about a character but then they are proven wrong at the end of the film In the film ‘The Horror of Dracula’ Mina’s costume and her performance are the main things in which produce a idea that she wont survive. As well as this there are things which show her mental strength. Firstly the audience sees her wearing white, this can show her purity, this is because white symbolizes this. The fact that Mina seems to be a quite character at the start could symbolize her to being an easy victim for Dracula. Further more she seems to be strong minded, this shows that she can be quite but strong willed. Due to the death of her Lucy, Mina is shown to be string were this contrast how she is shown at the beginning. Further into the film she is presented as becoming stronger, this can be seen when Dr Van Helsing enters there home. Again her strength is shown when she goes against her husbands words and re asks Dr Van Helsing for help. The reason in which she is shown to be string is because in Victorian times it would be unusual for women to go against there husbands. In ‘The Descent’ Sarah is one of the characters the audiences would least expect to survive, this si down to her be vulnerable because of the death of character so this is what shows her to be weak and a possible easy victim. Another thing is that she is taking pills this can be a sign of weakness or depression. Later when the audience sees that she survives and is the final girl they could be shock as they believed that she would never stay alive. This can show her mental strength and her belief as she believed that all of them will get out but she is the only one that lasts, she could have given up but decided to fight for her life.

To conclude genre conventions play a major role in the way that different characters are presented to the audiences. In both films characters such as Mina (The Horror of Dracula) and Sarah (The Descent) are presented different to how they actual are this contradicts there actual personality. Mina is presented to be vulnerable this is true as she is seduced by Dracula but she is also shown to be strong to pull through and overcome her bite. Where as Sarah is shown to be weak but later on her strength is shown as she resists the attack of the crawlers and survives.

Dr Van Helsing

Dr Van Helsing

We are first introduced to Dr Van Helsing when he enters a bar looking for his friend Jonathan. At this point the audiences get an idea that he is a confident character, this is because he walks into the bar, which has 6 men demanding answers to his questions. It is shown that he doesn’t think twice and asks the owner of the bar. It also shows he is a curious character this is because he asks why they have garlic plants all over the bar. Even though he seems to demand answers he is shown as a polite character, this is because he doesn’t barge into the bar screaming and shouting he uses a how tone voice and strolls into the bar.

Dr Van Helsing is shown to be a wealthy character; this is because he is wearing a top hat, a long fur coat, a scarf and black leather shoes. A character that is wearing all of these isn’t shown as someone who is poor. Also the he pays for a horse and cart to take him to Dracula’s castle, after the driver says he don’t want to go any further he pays the man for the whole horse and cart.

At the beginning of the Film Dr Van Helsing is portrayed as polite, but later on when he enters Dracula castle this image is transformed as he barges into his castle, this is down to him being worried about his friend Jonathan.  As  well this Dr Van Helsing seems a beneficial character, nearly in every scene he is in he is trying to resolve someone’s problems or help them , this can be scene as he is providing medical advice to Lucy’s maid and also he is helping the victims to kill Dracula.

Dr Van Helsing is also presented to be caring, determined 

and someone that don’t give up. This is shown for him being concerned about the victims. Moreover Dr Van Helsing is shown as determined because he keeps trying to find Dracula and preventing him from attack the other characters; even though Dracula does attack other he still tries to track him down.  He also know how dangerous he his , but this doesn’t prevent him from going into his house and investigating.

The Descent

The Descent

A woman goes on a break with her family and friends, this was water rafting trip. Her husband and daughter watched as her and her friends blazed down the deadly water/ Later on her husband and her daughter encounters a tragic accident. One year later her and 5 of her close friends decided to go on an adventure which consisted of caving. Due to one of her friends taking them to the wrong cave they don’t have a map to find where to go. Meanwhile the cave collapses and they are trapped leaving them with a handful of supplies. They are unaware of the dangers that lure in the shadows. Trying to find a way out they are pounced upon by creatures. There fight for survival is vital, the creatures kill everyone but Juno and Sarah. Later on Sarah discovers that Juno killed one of her friends leading to devastating actions. Sarah hits her with a hammer believing she is dead. Later on Sarah finds an escape route, her devastation is shown through her emotions. She gets into her car to find that Juno is sitting in it.

The film the descent could have been based on the novel The Descent which was released in 1999. The novel was a science-fiction/horror novel and produced by American author named Jeff Long. British people can relate to this film because there are individuals and group of people that go caving a do it as a hobby.

This film can fit into the horror genre for many reasons. Firstly because there is plenty of blood and gore, this is vital in any horror film. This is produced by the both thee bats and the humans. The humans attack the bats to save there lives but blood is produced through the humans wounds. Also the cave is a location in which they shouldn’t be. The cave has yet to be named but no one has named it , this could hint why because no one has returned. One of the codes and conventions are that the victims are usually on there own, in this case in the film the victims are the women cavers and they are left on there own with no protection. The killer which are the bats are already in the cave , the women become trapped leading to no way out for the women cavers.

Again the film received mostly positive reviews they critics believed that the film “Exceeds 'Dog Soldiers' is toward the end, as Sarah comes to grips with what it will take to survive her ordeal and gets in touch with her feral side” . Also that “ Once it gets going, it shakes you and keeps shaking you”.  But others believed that “For my money, [the] first 20 or so minutes are the best in the film. Once the real adventure gets underway in the cave, things get less interesting.” Also that  the film is  “Essentially a more grave, and less unintentionally hilarious, version of The Cave.” To conclude the film received 84% from 164 positive reviews this shows that more people liked the film and they probably would watch it again.

The key scenes in the film firstly are when the audience discovers that Sarah’s husband and daughter die. This is important mainly because it then creates empathy for the audiences and they understand how Sarah feels. Also when the women discover old pegs in the ceiling this creates tension and also an understanding that something bad could happen in the time to come. This is because the pegs are not used at the present time meaning that people have previously been into the cave. This could create an enigma of what happened to the previous visitors? Another major scene is when the women discover the creatures this is because the audiences wonder the fate of the women and what could be in store for them. The last major scene I believe is when Sarah escapes; this creates hope and belief that everything is going to be ok.

The reason I which I believe this is a distinctive British film is down to British people being able to relate there own lives to film. British people travel all over the world to explore caves and to try ad discover new things, the British public are able to empathise the adrenaline and the physical tiredness  that they could be experiencing. Also that that after a tragic or bad experience people like to get away or go on holiday to take there mind off the bad experience.

Horror of Dracula

Horror of Dracula

A man named Jonathan Harker travels to count Dracula’s castle to take an employment opportunity. He finds out that Dracula is a vampire, with this information he decides to try to kill him and also a vampire woman. Jonathan is unsuccessful and is killed by Dracula. Dracula travels to a local town, where he tries to victimize the family of Jonathan Harker's fiancé. The only living being that would be able to save them is Harker's friend and fellow student of vampires Dr Van Helsing. Dr Van Helsing learns of Lucy bite marks on her neck so he gets the maid to put garlic plants in her room. Before long Lucy asks them to b taken away due to her discomfort. The next morning she is found dead. Dr Van Helsing tries to track down Dracula and destroy him. However Mina is targeted by Dracula, however Arthur and Dr Van Helsing race to find Dracula’s lair before she is lost to them forever.  They give Mina a cross to try to protect her, it burns her and they discover Dracula has got her forever. Dracula is found to have Mina he dashes from Dr Van Helsing back to his castle. Van Helsing and Arthur follow and they discover Dracula trying to bury Mina. Van Helsing follows him into the castle. Dracula then attempts to kill Van Helsing, but Van Helsing leaps onto some curtains, tearing them down and letting in sunlight. Dracula starts to deteriorate.

The inspiration to the film the Horror of Dracula appeared from the novel Dracula, even though the film was based on the novel not everything is the same. The writer changed some things from the novel so that everything want predictable. Through out the 1950’s the media created many adverts which were seen as sexist. This included an advert which stated ‘The Chef does everything but cook- that’s what wives are for!’ This reflects on era, in which the film takes place, this is because throughout the film sexism is shoe. The women are seen to be more inferior and powerless compared to the men. Dracula one of the main characters is a male, most of the victims in the film are female, this could be shown as sexism.

This film fits into the horror genre for many reasons. Even though this film can be seen as dated it still relates to the horror codes and conventions. Through out the film there is a relation to blood. Blood is seen as a symbol for death and danger. The red blood could symbolize death because Dracula takes the blood from his victims. Further more it could relate to danger because if people see blood they know to stay away because something bad has happened. Another code and convention is isolation, through out the film the women that are in the presence of Dracula are isolated as they have nowhere to go and also have no choice. In all horror films there are always a victim, through the film there are more than one victim to Dracula. He one of the first victim in the film can be seen as the vampire women as she has been transferred into a vampire by Dracula himself, from this the audience could believe that she was once an innocent women.. Other victims include Jonathan, Mina and Lucy. The villain is usually an outcast in society, in this case it true because Dracula is an outcast because he is abnormal. He is abnormal down to him being a vampire and the rest of the characters are humans.

These are some of the comments in which the views said about the film horror of Dracula. They stated that  the film “A film that deserves recognition as one of this country's finest horror movies, a sexually charged Gothic nightmare featuring standout performances from Hammer stalwarts Lee and Peter Cushing, who stars as vampire hunter Van Helsing.” Also they believed that the film is “A Great British horror film with bite.” Others said “Perhaps the constant hunt for hemoglobin is slowing our villain down, for this time there are strong indications that the once gory plot is showing definite signs of anemia.” Also they believe that “Parts have worn less well.” Overall the film received a total of 89% out of a total of 25 people said they liked the film. In total I believe the audiences enjoyed the film and they would watch it again.

I believe there are a few key scenes in the film Horror of Dracula. The first key scene in the film is when Jonathan is walking to the castle of Dracula, this is important as it establishes the location of the film for the audiences. What the audiences see contradicts what the castle is really like. It looks inviting as behind the audience can see mountains in the distance and there is a stream none of these things look like they should feature in a horror film. Another key scene is when Dracula are seen with his victims. All of these scene show that Dracula’s victims are inferior compared to him. This is done through the cinematography and also the sound used shows that Dracula is important,, this is done when he is present music that used unsettles audiences .One of the main scenes in my opinion is when Dracula dies. I believe this is important, mainly because it’s the end of the hurt and fear in which the victim’s family has suffered from; also for Dr Van Helsing he has revenged his friend’s death.

The first reason in which I believe this is a distinctive British film is because the main cast that are used are all British. The likes of Peter Cushimg , Christopher Lee, Michael Gough and Carol Marsh are all English and Melissa Stribling is Scottish. The Director Terence Fisher is English along with the producer Anthony Hinds and the film composer James Bernard. The Writer Jimmy Sangster is Welsh. Another reason In which I believe this is a distinctive British film is down to the studio which produced it Hammer Film productions are a British production company in which created a Series of horrors including Frankenstein and the mummy.

28 Days Later

28 Days Later

Animal rights group discover a lab that contains chimps that are being experimented on. Due to there belief they freed a group of infected chimps, this created horrifying results in which the whole world became infected. Jim awaking from a coma in hospital wakes to a deserted and destroyed London. Due to this it resulted him into confusion on how this was possible. Joining forces with another group of survivors he discovered in an abandoned church, he discovers the truth behind the deserted streets and the malicious zombies at present. After one of the survivors was killed Jim and the remaining survivor discover a man and his girl hiding out in a flat. They combine knowledge and travel to Manchester to join up with supposed survivors. Once they had arrived the dad become infected due to the infection getting into his eye. The military appear and killed him before he infected anyone else. They are offered protection from the military they accept but later realise that it could have been the wrong decision.

This film fits into the horror genre due to it following the codes and conventions of horror films. The film 28 days later in my opinion is a hybrid genre film; this means that it is a mixture of two or more genres. In this cause the film is a mixture of horror and zombie genre, this is because it abides by the horror codes and conventions but also the zombie codes conventions.

The horror codes in which the film bides by are there is blood and gore; in this case it is when the human are victimized. Blood and gore is seen when the zombies attack there victims this is a major code and convention that are constant throughout horror films. Further more in the film the normality and the values of society are destroyed and challenged, this is down to the zombies over running the world. There are many challenges for the characters in this film. One of the challenges is for them to survive, also they need to try and destroy the zombies. The abnormal situation is that the world is deserted and the human population is low. The reason why the film is also a zombie film is because it contains zombies at are pressed by a rage virus.

The majority of people that watched the film said they liked it they said that the film is “A thrilling, gory affair, 28 Days Later is a well directed, believably acted yarn and well worth a watch, particularly for Romero fans”. Another critic believed that its “A brilliant and fresh horror film that is both scary and ingenious.” People also believed that its “A zombie thriller spiked with horror, 28 Days Later begins with plenty of promise and shocks, but gets swallowed up by an overdose of bloody violence.” Further more they believed that “It's a gory, depressing affair that bears an ultra-Darwinian message in its blood-stained hands.” To sum this up the audiences view on the film is that it’s a good film out of 204 reviews 88% of them were positive.

One of the key scenes in the film is when the main character Jim awakes from a coma and discovers that London has been abandoned. When the audience discover this it creates an enigma, which is why is London been abandoned? Another major scene is when Jim discovers the zombies and when he meets two other survivors Selena and mark. When Jim discovers the zombies the audiences can relate to the start of the film to grasp an understanding of why there are zombies. Also the audience learns that Jim isn’t alone when he finds Selena and Mark, this creates a thought for the audiences that there could be more survivors. Another major scene is when Jim is taken to be shot by the military; this creates tension as the audiences are intrigued to know his fate. I believe the last key scene is when the fighter jet flies past Jim, Selena and Hanna this is important as it creates an enigma which is are they going to be saved by the people in the fighter jet, this keeps the audience guessing.

The first reason in which I believe it is a typical British film is because the main characters are British; these include Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, Megan Burns, and Christopher Eccleston. Cillian Murph and Brendan Gleeson are Irish, Naomie Harris, Megan Burns and Christopher Eccleston  are all English. This is partly one reason in which i believe it is a British film, moreover another reason in which i believe is its not just the cast that are British also the crew are.  Danny Boyle the Director is English along with the film composer John Murphy and the cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, the producer Andrew Macdonald is Scottish.

Horror Of Dracula essay

In the film the Horror of Dracula the director Terence Fisher has purposely created the film to make women look inferior. This is done in a number of ways, firstly Dracula is seen by the audience as mighty as he has power over all the women he come into contact with. The film shows sexism as the women are the victims of Dracula and they can’t do anything about it. Also in 1958 men were seen to be dominant, so this reflects on why the director Terence Fisher has created the film in this way. If women weren’t seen to be inferior then they would be the vampires and the men would become the victim. This wasn’t the case so due to them not being dominant in the 1950’s the film wasn’t produced in that way. The codes and conventions of horror can relate to this, one of the codes and conventions in a horror films is that there is usually a victim that is left alone and has no protection. In this films case the victims are the women as they are the victims of Dracula. This is another way women are shown to be inferior compared to men. Moreover another code that occurs regularly in a typically horror film is that there is a blonde girl that is a victim, in this case the blonde victim is Mina. She is seduced by Dracula and later in the film she is found unconscious or supposedly dead. Non-diegetic sound is used when the women are going to become victimized by Dracula, this build tension but can show that Dracula authoritative compared to his women victims. Furthermore Fisher shows women as inferior as there are more women victims in the film compared to men. Throughout the film cinematography is also used to show the men are more dominant than the women. The use of a worms eye view shows the power and authority that Dracula has over all of his victims. Close up of his victims show there expressions and provide the audience with an incite to what possibly they could be going through.

Not all of the women in the film the ‘Horror of Dracula’ are presented as sexualize beings. The child in the film is presented as a young innocent girl, she almost becomes a victim when Lucy follows her and tries to bite her. Lucy is shown to be desperate, as she will do anything to try to get blood, this is why she tries to lure an innocent girl into the woods. The director Terrence Fisher has shown the women such as Lucy as uneducated, this is because when Dracula seduces them every time they fall for him. As well as desperate she is also a victim as she was once a victim of Dracula.  The maid is shown to disobey Dr. Van Helsings word and remove the garlic from Lucy’s room; she done this because Lucy asked her to. This shows that she is a caring person and would do anything for her. Due to the woman being seen as the less dominate gender they are the people that are seen to be the sexualised being rather than the men. In the beginning of the film there is a vampire woman who is wearing a white dress. In the 50’s women wore clothes that cover the whole body, but the vampire women wore a dress which was low on the upper part of her body she then could be seen as a sexualized being because of the way that she dresses. Before Lucy allows Dracula into her room she takes off a necklace she is wearing. The necklace that she is wearing is a Jesus Christ cross, her taking off this cross could be seen to as her going against what she believes in.

Laura Mulvey is a British feminist film theorist and she came up with the male gaze. The theory has been used by the Director Terence Fisher throughout the film. One of the main scenes in which it is used is when audience first learn of the woman vampire. This point relates to what I previously said, the use of cinematography indicates the male gaze. The use of a long shot is a major use; this is because this type of shot provides the audience with a view of her whole body. This shot concentrates on her figure outline. It is also used when Lucy is lying on the bed a medium close up is used this is used to enable the audience concentrate on the upper part of her body. The male gaze can be referred to how Dracula looks at his girl victims , an example is when Lucy is laying on her bed and he enters he stares at her with his eyes wide open.

Laura Mulvey and the Male Gaze Research

Laura Mulvey and the male gaze

Laura Mulvey is a British feminist film theorist who was born on the 15^th of August 1941. She is currently professor of film and media studies at Birkbeck, University of London. She worked at the British Film Institute for many years before taking up her current position. Mulvey created the term ‘Male Gaze’. She believed that the audience has to view the characters from a heterosexual males perspective.  Gaze refers to someone to look steadily, intently and with attention. Gaze is the way that an audience see how someone is presented. For example females might think how men look at women, hoe women look at themselves and how women look at each other. There are features in which the ’Male Gaze’ is shown in film/media. Firstly the cameras are seen to focus on the curves of a woman's body. Events which occur to women are presented largely of the context of a mans reaction to these events.