Genre Essay Re-write

In my summer trailer, our group has created a supernatural horror about a teenage girl, isolated in a dark room, struggling to move on from her past and suffering from mental health conditions. We have used a variety of codes and conventions to apply the concepts of genre to our work.

For example, neale's theory of genres as systems, not processes, suggests that all texts share similar elements, which become conventions. We have purposely used mise-en-scene associated with horror films such as dolls, these are conventional iconography of the horror genre, and are often used to present childhood innocence. In our case, we have created the transition of loss of innocence through the destruction of dolls with fire, as well as a knife, a convention of horror films (most notably slashers) and a phallic object. This suggests that this female character has gained a sense of male power by wielding the knife. Another element of horror used is the trailer's dim lighting. This allows a sense of mystery, as elements of the scene can be obscured from the audience's view. However, for our trailer I believe we should use a more aesthetic location to establish the setting more clearly.

As well as this, Neale's theory of genre development suggests that a genre must change and adapt to stay relevant and appeal to the current target demographic, by including products, trends etc. which appeal to people aged 15-25 at the time of release. For example, in our trailer our character uses a smartphone to call for help, which in the past would have been impossible. We have included the convention of the phone failing to receive a response, in order to create a sense of vulnerability, leaving figuring out what she has to do alone. Although we have used a wide range of codes and conventions, our film brings little new to the table. However, we have taken elements associated with other sub-genres of horror, such as a knife (mainly used in slashers) which other films may not explore.

Another theory of genre is Altman's theories of pleasures (visceral pleasures, emotional pleasures, intellectual pleasures), as we give few details about our character and her backstory, meaning an audience will not be interested in or care for her as a character. In our final trailer, we should improve the fast-paced editing later in the trailer. This increases the tension of the viewer, which I felt our trailer lacked due to an unclear structure, and re-use of similar imagery. The edits of the TV static effect were not suitable for our trailer, as there was no imagery/iconography related to televisions. We were able to create imagery related to violence e.g. use of knife, blood etc. However, this presents our film as more of a slasher, due to taking key elements of the sub-genre.

The next theory we've incorporated into our trailer is Mittel's theory of audience choice. I believe our trailer is apparent as a horror film, through its use of sound, lighting and props (conventional imagery such as dolls and knifes, use of twisted childlike music, transition to fast tense music.) However, to make our genre instantly recognizable by an audience we could choose a more suitable filming location, in order to establish a better atmosphere.