Investigating How Genre and Narrative are Established in Ocean's Eleven and The Bone Collector

Genres of film generally possess certain traits that define our fundamental understanding of the genre’s structure. These are referred to a genre convention. The genre of drama within film lends itself to a few fundamental ideals (Grant, 2007:10). Firstly is the concept of a grounded and realistic setting, which in essence relates to characters dealing with conflicts that could be experienced in our reality. The second ideal presents itself through the characters dealing with their conflicts, both internal and external, in what is generally quite an emotional and intense manner (Grant, 2007:21). This can also feature a growth in character, as well as a shift in status or power dynamics between characters in a film. Finally, another important ideal of the drama genre is the way in which addresses a social issue that is prevalent in society (Right Direction, 2014), such as abuse, addiction and

The way in which gangster figures are portrayed with consideration to gender roles and ethnicity within each film will be analysed. ‘The Godfather’, ‘Pulp Fiction’ and ‘Scarface’ are being explored because they are three movies known for being inspirational in establishing the gangster genre conventions at various points in film history. ‘Scarface’ was highly influential within this genre and when it was released there was not the same censorship as there is in the 21st century. The representation of gangster figures has been a controversial topic throughout the 20th and 21st century and Dr Fran Mason argued that ‘The gangster film has…been considered to be a subversive form of filmmaking’. Whether it was because of how Italians were portrayed

Pulp Fiction, Breathless, and Old Boy have each had strong and impactful ways of shaping the crime genre of films. They had done this by implementing their own creativity within each of the films to bring a new light to the genre. Each director was not afraid to step outside of the boundaries of the genre and, as a result, created multiple different approaches to the crime genre of films.

Gangster films are developed around the sinister actions of criminals or gangsters, particularly bank robbers, underworld figures, or ruthless hoodlums who operate outside the law, stealing and violently murdering their way through life. In some instances for example, the movie Scarface, they have that one person that runs everything that ranges from drug operations to giving out orders to murder people, whereas in The Godfather “the business” is ran by the whole family which is usually called the mob. Gangster movies are similar in some ways such as numerous murders and handling countless currency; however, different techniques and styles are used to represent this cut-throat lifestyle. Some filmmakers use the film-noir technique or very

Criminals according to the film industry (not just Hollywood) are often portrayed as brilliant masterminds whose robberies and heists are the star of their films and are often smoothly executed in a spectacular fashion with action-pact scenery. In reality however, it is the other way around. These portrayals often makes committing these crimes enjoyable and an efficient way of making profit that is if you’re one of those zombies who can’t distinguish difference between exaggerated fiction and

Coined in 1946 by the French, Film noir, translated literally to mean “black cinema or film,” defines early to middle 20th century film that reflects a trend of dark and grim emotions as art seen on screen in post-war America (Dirks 2016). Stylistics such as people presenting themselves as something they really are not, criminal activity, entrapment, corruption, grim city settings, characters that operate on the margin of society are littered throughout film noir. There are many common narratives presented in film noir. Rational versus evil, femme fetal, investigations, private detectives and atomic anxiety are all narrative patterns embodied through this genre. Film of this era often utilized visual effects that were clear reflections of the emotions many viewers held during this time. Dark shadows, framing of characters, bar motifs, obscure lighting and focusing techniques were all put into motion during this period, creating a space for audiences to connect emotionally to the film they are viewing.

Film noir is a style of filmmaking that began after World War 2, and it focused on darker themes and settings. Most commonly, this style of film is set in a city with rampant crime and corruption, with the characters and protagonist being morally ambiguous. Other important elements of movies made in this style are the unusual shot types, lighting, and framing which were designed to unsettle the viewer and give them a sense of instability. Other elements are also common between these films, such as general themes and character archetypes, but overall the message that these films were made to convey is one of cynicism and darkness in a setting familiar to many people.

When I think of a “star” I can think none other than, Marlon Brando. He is a chameleon of sorts. As stated by Alex Aagaard (.n.d.) “They are actors who are capable of inhabiting any role by being a character rather than pretending to be one. This is achieved through the method of isolating personal experiences, memories, and psychology and personifying it onto their role.” Take his performance in The Godfather, a role critics considered the greatest. He was the headmost example of the “method” style acting and became notorious for his “mumbling” intonation. Brando was cast as the head of a crime family, a tad ruthless in nature, but kind at the same and doted on his family with a strict loyalty-based

Genre is a French word meaning ‘type or ‘kind’ (Genre, 2016). The film industry has been around for at least 100 years. The evolution of entertainment is growing rapidly through the use of media. And as these years go on, films have begun to fit into specific genres, and are important to appeal to the different types of audiences. Films can be described to genre in different types of ways, such as stars, director and narrative to help identify what genre the film is (Neale, 1990, pg. 49). Genre in films has become common because it helps give the audience a different expectation. One specific genre of film is a horror. Horror is a genre that tries to create, panic, dread and fear for the audience.

In this paper, I will compare two movies. The two films that will be discussed are “Inside Man” and “The Usual Suspects”. I will point out the differences in structure and the differences in criminality. The roles that have been played amongst law enforcement and the disappearances of the crooks will also be compared.

This question is a perplexing one, and will be explored throughout the following text. However, first a person must consider the value of a films translation of text into cinematic language. “A movie based on a literary source is often seen as a secondary work, consequently, of secondary value” (Cahir). What makes this ideology present in our society? What makes one translation considered more valuable than another? “Literature, generally, still occupies a more privileged position in the cultural hierarchy than movies do…” (Cahir). It is in the translation versus adaptation of text to cinematic language that offers film its own identity. Adaptation equates to the transformation of written word

David Fincher's Fight Club and Christopher Nolan's Memento convey protagonist’s extant dilemma of reality and fantasy identities through the use of both thematic and stylistic devices, which are characteristics of neo-noir. The directors portray two anti-heroes who commit questionable acts of violence. This violence is caused by inner alienation and paranoia. Through the devices like flashbacks, oppositional lighting, and incoherent plot lines, directors enhance the atmosphere of bleakness and dislocation of noir-film, as well as maintaining uncertainty for the character and the spectator.

Gangster films are the most complex category of films that mirror our views on the moral justice. Crime films centered on criminal activities such as hoodlums, alcohol during prohibition, bank robbery, and petty theft. Admittedly, the criminal activities that featured in the gangster films got executed against the laws, and they were carried out with no regard to the safety of human life. They evolve around gangsters who were motivated to seek power and wealth.

According to Thomas Schatz, in most gangster films, the genre dictates that the gangster always gets killed or goes to jail. There is nothing different that will, or should happen, and Scarface closely follows Schatz’s model of Hollywood’s genres. Schatz’s model is concerned with the movie’s alignment with classical Hollywood setting and narrative.

While watching a movie, we often refer to the movie’s genre’s category when we browse the cinema titles. We pick and choose according to our likings, purchase a ticket and enjoy the movie. Simple. However, what comes to mind in this industry and the art of film making is the evolution of the existing film genres in today’s wide market of movies. The movie genres that we have seen over the years have constantly altered itself and improved - from the horror genre for example - Nosferatu (Murnau.F.W , 1922) to Insidious: Chapter 3 (Whannel. L, 2015) and then a blend of genres as seen in Zombieland (Fleischer. R, 2009). As Hayward. S (2006, p. 185) puts it “Clearly, genres are not static, they evolve with the times, even disappear.” In this essay, we shall discuss on the proper way to observe genres and the effects of