Task 2.4 - Generic Conventions

The genres I have chosen are gangsters, action, war and hooliganism because they all link in with the film my group are producing. As well as generic conventions, I will also be looking at the iconography in the different genres. A generic convention is a feature of a film that is expected to happen. For example, in a fairytale, you expect everyone to live happily ever after at the end. Iconography can be defined as object or image representations that are associated with a specific type of genre. For example, the iconography in Westerns in cowboy hats, saloons, guns and horses.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zc9zF8G2Pvc

The link above shows a scene from The Untouchables, a gangster film about the life of the infamous Al Capone. In this scene, Capone jokes around with his colleagues but there is an awkward silence and Capone hits a colleague round the head several times with a baseball bat. In a gangster film, you would normally expect to see violence and the gangsters themselves normally end up getting killed or sent to prison. Another generic convention is you would expect the gangsters to go about their business quietly and is normally out of public view. In most gangster films, you would normally expect the gangsters to be Italian-American as many of stories are based on true stories such as the life of Al Capone in The Untouchables. Gangs tend to fight with other gangs with the police being an agent of disruption, another typical generic convention. Another convention is may of the gangsters are respected by the people of the area they live in, possibly because the people are scared of them.

The iconography normally associated with gangster films are the Mafia type people, who dress very smartly and normally wear a hat when they are outside so they are hidden and have an unknown identity. Many of the gangsters, especially the leaders tend to be rich and live in nice houses and have expensive dinner parties like the scene provided above (see link). Guns are almost always used in gangster films which are used to shoot down police or rival gangs. Many gangster films are located in urban areas and gangsters often meet in warehouses for alcohol and often deal in alcohol as there was prohibition in 1920s America. The gangsters often wear dark clothing to hide themselves fro public and shows they are up to no good, the colour black can represent mystery or even death.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtnVPzMHdMg

The link above is about the action genre. The most common action film series is James Bond and the link above shows a tank chase scene through Russia in the film Goldeneye, part of the James Bond series of films. The main generic conventions include the action normally being centered around a male protagonist with women normally portrayed as a sidekick or a love interest for the main male protagonist. Their sidekick is normally in trouble , struggling against incredible odds. Other conventions include the protagonist being in many life threatening circumstances, an evil villain or antagonist and you would normally expect to see chase scenes like the tank chase in Goldeneye. Another convention includes expecting the protagonist to claim victory over the antagonist which is normally achieved after a gun or fist fight.

Iconography in an action film includes lots of physical stunts, the film is usually at a high tempo, chase scenes, rescue acts, battles, disasters and fights which tend to happen at the end. The pace of the film can be slow or fast. In James Bond, the pace is slow when James Bond is in a casino or is with a woman but is very fast when he is involved in a chase scene or in a fight with the antagonist. Women are normally seen as sidekicks to the male protagonist or even a romantic interest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBeXRvdlmyY

The link above shows a brief battle scene from the Battle of The Bulge in the seventh episode of Band of Brothers and is in the war genre. Typical generic conventions include the protagonists tending to be British or American (especially in WW2 films) who are fighting against the antagonists which are either Nazis or the Japanese. Another convention could be escaping, The Great Escape shows many attempted escapes from a POW camp. There is often tough trench and infantry experiences and many of the men become friends which is common in Band of Brothers. A typical generic convention is an underdog within the film, who is normally afraid of fighting in the war. A good example of this is the typewriter in Saving Private Ryan who is afraid to shoot at people or even be involved in the war and normally carries equipment. These type of characters at the end normally end up shooting people and become war-hungry.

Iconography in war films include blood, a common feature and seen in almost every war film. The blood normally appears when someone has been shot and this can represent danger and death. There is also the use of guns and other weapons which are normally a dark colour which also represents death. Tanks and 4x4 vehicles are also included in many war films and these can be seen as intimidating. The soldiers tend to fight in bad conditions such as snow and heavy rain but when they are not fighting, the weather is normally sunny or fair.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btTkBqDWUEY

The link above shows the iconography and conventions in the hooliganism genre. The film is called Cass and is based on a true story, a black boy bullied at school soon becomes a respected leader of a hooligan firm but leads to severe consequences. A typical generic convention of a football hooligan film is the hooligan firms normally fight just before or after a match, to show they have bragging rights over them. The protagonists are more focused and tend to be West Ham or Chelsea with Millwall being seen as the main antagonists. Another convention is fist fighting and little use of guns. There is normally a division within a hooligan firm. For example in the Football Factory, Billy Bright and Zeberdee along with his mate Raff, do not get along because Billy wants to be leader but Zeberdee looks up to Harris, the firm leader. The main fight is normally towards the end of the film and normally have less people and are seen as the underdogs hence they are given the protagonist tag.

The iconography of hooliganism is they are normally brought up in a working-class society and tend to wear the same clothes brands such as Stone Island, Sergio Tacchini and Fila. There is often a lot of drinking, use of drugs and dealing of drugs casual sex and lots of violence. There is a lot of swearing associated with hooligans. Despite this, they are still portrayed as protagonists because of the humour they give out to the audience or seen as nice people who have nothing else to do but fight. For example, you feel sorry for Cass at the start and is already seen as the protagonist and you support him when he is fighting because he used to be inferior and is fighting back.