Unit 2.4 - Generic Conventions

For this task, I have decided to focus on four different genres which are Horror, War, Sci-fi and Adventure. I will look at how the different genres have different generic conventions and the iconography that is expected by the audience.

Generic convetions - Things that make up that particular genre of which the audience is expected to see.

Iconography - Crops, icons or visual imagery that the audience is to see in a typical film. For
example, in a Horror, the audience would be expected to see a weapon of some sort (axe, supernatual gun etc.).

Horror - Dog Soldiers

The generic conventions and iconography of a Horror singles it out from other genres. Within this scene of 'Dog Soldiers', many of the generic conventions of a Horror are met. Firstly, there is a main antagonist which decides to attack innocent human beings, who are in a vulnerable situation being alone in a Scottish forest. Here, the antagonist are 'the dogs' that are supernatural and to meet another generic convention, they are unseen when they attack the innocent couple, who were about to experience a sexual activity. Not only this, but this scene is rich in iconography with the silver knife that can be the only weapon to kill werewolves and the 'blood and guts' that are seen when the innocent woman is killed by the supernatual character.



War - Platoon

A war film is relatively easy to recognise as they are usually based on previous happenings in real life but for audience enjoyment, are made more dramatic with a specific storyline such as Platoon, based on the Vietnam War but the dramatised happenings within the platoon.
There are many generic conventions summed up within this sequence. There is a main antagonist once again who is very regimental and hardcore military and a killing that isn't straight-forward as in Platoon, where an American kills an American purposely. Also, there is normally a near death experience involving one of the protagonists that adds drama and vulnerability to the narrative.
The iconography of war is typical military equipment, such as weapons, uniforms and helicopters which in Platoon, makes them stand out from their enemy, who are not as well equiped.



Science-fiction - Star Wars: Phantom Menace (Episode 1)

A science-fiction (Sci-fi) film is usually set in the future, which is a typical generic convention of sci-fi. Similar to horror, Sci-fi will have characters that are supernatural due to the expectation that the audience has about futuristic people and places. These people could possibly be aliens.
Also, sci-fi may a plot linked in some way to a love relationship between two protagonists. Iconography in sci-fi usually revolves around a special weapon or futuristic technology which in this case is the Lightsabre (which typically in Sci-fi generic convention, the antagonist has the better, more powerful weapon), a spaceship and other science related icons such as planets or the Sun.



Adventure - Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Adventure is mainly driven by the action within the plot rather than the dialogue. For the audience, this could be due to the high-tempo plot that isn't very complicated. The generic conventions normally include an obvious protagonist that tries to save vulnerable people or in this case, tries to obtain a mystery item that is of major importance. The plot is based completely around the progatonist and would at some time involve a chase between the protagonist and the antagonist, with the protagonist usually coming out on top.
The iconography of Indiana Jones and other adventures are usually Indiana's rope and other crops that help the protagonist.