Genre

 Media Fact sheet 3

1) What example is provided of why visual iconographies are so important?

Film Westerns, have different production values and narrative structures, mise-en-scene of deep space could imply sci-fi. Having just a table does not establish a genre but adding high-key lighting with a combination of media language can create an image of a news broadcast. 

2) What examples are provided of the importance of narrative in identifying genre?

Soap Opera- follow the story of a family having to deal with domestic problems like a member having trouble with their boss at work- boss could be represented as a villain and act in an abusive manner. sit-com is an ongoing story while a soap opera might take longer for the story to develop. in a sit com the boss would be represented as more foolish than villainous. 

3) What is the difference between character representation in action movies and disaster movies?

In action movies the character is generally portrayed as a 'Lone wolf' who goes to fight against villains alone even when a part of a group e.g. James bond and MI6. However in disaster movies the character takes a heroic role within their group and often the group have specific strengths that they use through collaboration to solve the problem.  

4) What are the different ways films can be categorised according to Bordwell? 

Period or country - US films 1930

Director/Star - Ben Stiller Films

Technical Process - Animation

Style - German Expressionism

Series - Bond

Audience - Family Films

5) List three ways genre is used by audiences.

Prior Knowledge - the audience uses their prior knowledge to anticipate whether they'll enjoy the text or not.

Compare - Compare shared characteristics to other shows or media, if someone is unable to describe a tv show but will understand what it might be about if the genre is described and then they can compare the two.

Reject a text - Genres that we dislike we stay away from and avoid

6) List three ways genre is used by institutions or producers.

Production -Genres are paradigms/ templates that producers use and follow. if a producer wants to create a new sit com they have to follow rules and makes life easier for writers as they do not have to invent anything new.

Attracting an audience -Some genres have loyal fans while a new sit com can bring a larger audience just because its new which minimises the chances for failure. 

Marketing texts -Film trailers that define the genre of the movie or show and shows its conventions, this attracts fans of the genre and sets up expectations for the film. There are specific times throughout the day that some genres are shown as cable television has progressed for example between 9 pm and 10 pm are when British dramas are broadcast-ed.

7) What film genre is used as an example of how genres evolve? What films and conventions are mentioned?

Horror is used to show how after its evolution it can split in to sub genres like Vampire, Slasher, Ghost stories, Gothic and psychological horror.

 

Media fact sheet 126

1) List five films the fact sheet discusses with regards to the Superhero genre.

-Avengers Assemble (2013)

-Scott Pilgrim 2010

-Super (2010)

-Chronicle (2012)

-Spider-Man (2002)

Extra:

-Daredevil

-safety not guaranteed

-Sin City

-Kick Ass

-300

-V for Vendetta

2) What examples are provided of how the Superhero genre has reflected the changing values, ideologies and world

 events of the last 70 years?

Back in the 1940's Superman was portrayed to be fighting the bad guys in Europe which is contextually relevant to WW2 and the USA fighting against the 'Germans' in Europe. However later on Superman had faced off against Lex Luther, a wealthy business man, which reflected the struggles of the great depression in the 1930's when everyone was struggling and Superman was the protector of the people and fought against unjust wealth and how into the 70's industrial disputes caused conflict between the wealthy and its workers further solidifying Superman's role as a hero of the people.

In Batman forever, Batman fights against two face which could be seen as a statement on the line between right and wrong, good and evil becoming much more blurry as in the 60's it was well established that Batman was the hero fighting against villains but later on in the 90's this is challenged.

3) How can Schatz's theory of genre cycles be applied to the Superhero genre?

Innovation: Established via comic books and as they moved to TV the characters other codes and conventions regarding the presentation of the genre in moving image were set.

Classical: By the 1950's the conventions were being replicated in film and TV programmes of the time

Parody: Batman (1966) was intentionally funny and did not let its audience take the hero to seriously and had an ironic tone that flagged up the daft nature of the genre and allowed the audience to enjoy the awareness of that.

Spider man 1960's 

Mighty mouse 1940's

Atom ant 1960's

Captain caveman 1970's

Deconstruction: Superman (1978) started a new cycle in the genre as new advancements in technology meant that they could include proper visual effects that looked more like realistic visual 'miracles'. the two franchises both treated their fantastical worlds seriously as done in the classic era however they added more comedic touches that helped revitalise the genre and lead the way for a period of innovation of new ideas and developments creating new interesting ideas.

Cycle Continues: after 1997's Batman and Robin had not been received well, the genre needed a new direction and to re-innovate itself. The X men had introduced a new cast, Spider man got a new love interest and Batman had become much more visceral while the heroes got their new reboots such as Batman begins and Superman returns.

Carry out your own genre analysis using the model provided by media theorist Daniel Chandler. Choose a film or TV text and answer the following questions - brief answers/bullet point responses are fine:

Resident evil 2 apocalypse 

General
1) Why did you choose the text you are analysing?

I really enjoy watching zombie movies and this movie (and the franchise itself) I had found really interesting in the way they explored the zombie outbreak and the causes of it. However I also personally quite like the resident evil franchise as a whole. Starting from the beginning when i had first watched this text I was completely enamoured by its complete change of pace to how a typical zombie movie would play out, the introduction of a strong female lead that was to find her way in a newly chaotic world that is overrun with the undead but not only those infected but also mutated creatures that could only be described alien-like and completely not of this world that gave a sense of the unnatural or possibly created the idea that man had created something akin to demons itself. The story itself also fascinated me as the idea of a conglomerate 'umbrella' being so powerful in this alternate universe, where by a company built upon the foundations of capitalism would be able to conquer the worlds markets and basically adopt the title of being completely unstoppable as countries would appease them and presidents followed their orders almost like a pseudo illuminati if you will, but personally the idea of such a superpower that is able to in the first place be the cause of the outbreak but also be the main source resistance against the threat of a worldwide pandemic of the virus is quite ironic. Although their main doctrine is not that they should be the saviours of mankind, rather they want to solidify themselves as supreme over all through the use of this virus as the story goes on and establishes the goal to retrieve and investigate further into the capabilities of the mutagen they had created.

The science fiction part of this text is quite typical for a sci-fi by where a strange virus that is developed can drastically change the person either enhancing their strength or agility, while in the worst cases their bodies are horrifically transfigured. In this text I find that using the main character as a subject for experimentation to later be the ideal super soldier is although possibly quite dated still an amazing trope, as a strong main character that has those shortcoming but is an absolute force to be reckoned with can create a sense of support for her, as she gracefully annihilates hordes of zombies while ever pushing forward even if she is blocked in her path she manages to evade the challenges along the way.

the different plots that develop within the film also made it a reason for why I picked this text, the threat of nuclear obliteration, being unable to exit the city due to umbrella security blocking the way out of Racoon City, an unstoppable mutant that is hell bent on chasing the main protagonist even though they were originally partners and ended up getting experimented on by the company. Another development is that of a child of a scientist, the child is sick with the virus and her dad is the only one who can provide the remedy however he is also apart of the umbrella corporation, disabled and is not allowed to re enter the city, and so tasks Alice (protagonist) to save her for him as he can get them out - however this plan is foiled by an umbrella executive that happens to find out what the scientist is trying to achieve and ends up creating a trap at one of the landing sites of a helicopter.

throughout the entirety of the film there is a lot of action ranging from gore of zombie corpses being shot through and explosions going off every couple of minutes which makes it incredibly fast paced. however there are moments in this film that are quite suspenseful and so lean into that thriller convention of quiet paranoia and build up of suspense within a scene where Alice and a group of survivors hide within a church only to find out they are not alone, most of the group gets picked of by the creature creating dread which I find is in much lack of in films nowadays as I feel film producers are reluctant to kill off popular characters or a group in general as films that have a genre of integration find it very difficult to have characters die and so I find that this film does well in creating that feeling of dread and character development.

This text also reminded me of the franchise that it is originally based off of, the video game series of resident evil, although it did not get me into the movies the movies definitely did and I was happy for that, the story is upper rich with world building that only furthered my interest and enjoyment of the movie as I was able to pick out certain aspects that I saw fit or didn't and made me a die hard fan of the series, and some might disagree (People who can not appreciate complex and innovative developments in the changes and transformations of the zombie horror genre)  in saying that this movie is not an absolute masterpiece I can with absolute certainty say that anyone who enjoys something a little different from the original conventions of the genre can definitely enjoy watching this movie let alone the entire franchise to which I will elaborate in saying that the movies wonderfully build up on each other to produce that character development that is much harder to develop for characters as movies only go on for so long, and so I like it when the previous movies do build upon the plot that had developed previously as consequences caused in the first remain with the characters till the end yet this film does not have a lot in the way of a solid cast group as many die along the way so that the protagonist can fulfil her role, but there are reoccurring characters in later films both allies and the villains which brings me to another interesting point, in that throughout the entirety of the film let alone the franchise the main goal isn't ever necessarily survival but revenge on umbrella and the acquirement of a cure at the end of the franchise which means that through a lot of the film it is not only zombies that the survivors face off against but specifically umbrella.

Moving back to umbrella as a short explanation - The organisation is willing to do anything in order to maintain control and establishes itself as an absolute force/presence within the universe that the story takes place having many underground facilities reminiscent of the sci-fi genre that only exemplifies there wealth and hold over the entire worlds economy, this factored in with sensitive experiments occurring within Racoon City and the risk of the outbreak being found out to have been caused by Umbrella, lead the upper echelon of executives to do what any morally corrupt businessman would do and decided that pressuring the US government into nuking the city would be best further emphasising my absolute infatuation with the capabilities and manipulative tendencies of such a company that end up doing this just so they could save face and end up making profit as the company is involved in many sectors of the global economy such as bioengineering, medicine and security - basically having their own private military and secret task force that can carry out orders for them at any time ensuring the company's domination.

2) In what context did you encounter it?

I had been searching for a zombie movie to watch and had stumbled upon it and decided to give it a watch, specifically I looked for sequels after the first movie and found the second movie in the franchise really enjoyable, as I wanted to further my understanding of the world that was being created as the first movie had set up hopes that there would be more zombie mayhem, with also wanting to better get a grasp on the reasons for why they did what they did in the first film, event though generally, I would say that you can watch the second movie completely fine without ever watching the first.

3) What influence do you think this context might have had on your interpretation of the text?

I was coming into this film with basically no prior knowledge to what it might be about or any of the plot, however the fact that I did search for it as a sequel to the first film I believe I had some expectations when it came to its contents such has seeing more zombies and maybe some advanced facilities/labs and possibly a further exploration of the zombies themselves as they had not as thoroughly been analysed within the first film which made me curious into finding out what made these zombies different from the others portrayed in other texts.

4) To what genre did you initially assign the text?

Horror-as any movie that has zombies in it I would classify as a horror movie 

Action- Also because it is a zombies movie, I would generally expect there to be a lot of fighting and possibly a few explosions here and there.

5) What is your experience of this genre?

I personally am not entirely a fan of horror and I do not mind it, specifically I enjoy the sub genre of zombies much more than any other horror sub genre and see it almost entirely as its own thing but I do not mind watching other horror films, but they will not be at the top of my list to watch. I really do like the sub genre of zombies but especially when its mixed up a little as well as with Resident evil 2 Apocalypse and its sci-fi thriller aspects while i like zombie films like Zombieland or Z nation that don't really take themselves seriously and sometimes act more like comedies than actual horror movies/shows.

6) What subject matter and basic themes is the text concerned with?

Zombie outbreak, from a secure facility, with a large American conglomerate that is omnipresent in all industries and is globally influential which develops the virus, a female protagonist, with some more exaggerated themes like mutations that can cause some zombies or infected to be much more dangerous 

7) How typical of the genre is this text in terms of content?

in terms of zombie film it has some content that can be attributed with other zombies movies such as a lab being breached and the virus being spread to the population, and zombies rising from the ground, but this film is much more action packed with the main protagonist being quite capable compared to other zombies movies where it might be a bit slower with a group of survivors that constantly run away rather than face the threat straight on.

8) What expectations do you have about texts in this genre?

For there to be a group of survivors, a introductory zombie outbreak (so a before the outbreak to after it has occurred), desolate cities void of any life but the un-dead, Guns, Gore, Violence

9) Have you found any formal generic labels for this particular text (where)?

Sci-fi horror - IMBD

10) What generic labels have others given the same text?

Thriller, sci fi zombies, Zombie film, Resident evil film

11) Which conventions of the genre do you recognise in the text?

The zombie outbreak, zombies rising from the grave, gore, suspense, chase scenes, group of survivors - with some of them being picked off - before there is only one left or at the very least only a few left, chase scenes, hordes of zombies overrunning military, the origins of a super soldier as being injected with a mysterious serum.

12) To what extent does this text stretch the conventions of its genre?

It definitely expands on the idea of zombies as being more than just dead flesh walking around, i believe that in the resident evil franchise they have established the zombies/infected to be much more durable, and sometimes more intelligent either by their variations or mutation rather than being just some virus as it is not spread only by bite but also any bodily fluid or by injection and sometimes have dreadful consequences such as rapid mutation.

13) Where and why does the text depart from the conventions of the genre?

It has a strong female protagonist in which she takes on the threat of zombies with finesse and confidence to achieve her goal while in many other horror sci fi movies the object of the main character is generally just to hide and survive which I feel is being subverted in this movie.

14) Which conventions seem more like those of a different genre (and which genre(s))?

Resident evil is has the label of being genre diverse in that it can be said that it is a horror, action, sci fi, thriller and so its a little difficult to find any examples of another genre however the movie does contain drama in that there are love interests and plot twists that arrive unexpectedly. 

15) What familiar motifs or images are used?

Being Confused and sometimes unaware of surroundings, visions, Fragmented memories, 

Mode of address
1) What sort of audience did you feel that the text was aimed at (and how typical was this of the genre)?

Probably for people who enjoy the zombie genre and want something a little out of the ordinary specifically with its sci fi aspects, and I would say that its a little unlikely to find something exactly like it, its definitely more for those who have already experienced a fair share of zombies tropes as some of the aspects of the film and conventions used can be a little be surprising an even enjoyable once someone has exhausted their limits on the original conventions of zombie film and are feeling a little adventurous.

2) How does the text address you?

The text assumes that your someone who is interested in the franchise as a whole as it is a sequel and starts of as almost a continuation of the last film while I also would like to think that the movie expects you to want explosions and gory action.

3) What sort of person does it assume you are?

Someone who enjoys something that is not to familiar, adding new conventions and wanting something that expands upon the genre and establishes new conventions in sci fi horror, while also further expanding on them such as the underground laboratories or how the chase scenes end up resolving.

4) What assumptions seem to be made about your class, age, gender and ethnicity?

Generally, I believe sci fi is associated much more with people who are educated and in contemporary society I believe younger females and males would enjoy sci fi, while the zombies aspect might appeal more to a male audience. In regards to ethnicity I believe there is not one target ethnicity rather because it is made to take place in America it may be seen as a film that is for everyone. 

5) What interests does it assume you have?

That you like the zombies franchise, and some things that are a little unusual and possibly outright confusing but filled with action lots and lots of action, ranging from, you will not believe this but, simple martial arts all the way up to RPG's and miniguns and even a nuke while in between there are lots of guns and soldiers and normal people who use them, while i also believe that a film like this could get people who may be less into original zombie conventions to possibly find an interest in them or at the very least I would like to believe that it would be enjoyable for them.

Relationship to other texts
1) What inter-textual references are there in the text you are analysing (and to what other texts)? Intertextuality is when a media product references another media text of some kind.

Possibly the games from which the idea of the resident evil movie franchise sprouted from can give evidence to certain plots and developments throughout the movie with an established world with a set of rules and certain events that are occurring and have happened that influence it.

2) In terms of genre, which other texts does the text you are analysing resemble most closely?

Definitely something like the TV show Van Helsing, Z nation and Killer Klowns from outer space.

3) What key features are shared by these texts?

The Zombie outbreaks, Lots of gore and action, Sci Fi themes like underground laboratories or a larger underlying plot in the series/movie.

4) What major differences do you notice between them?

The main protagonist/s have different ways of dealing with the 'creatures' and have different goals ranging from just survival to revenge.