Every genre has its cliches and convention which make it distinctly the genre which it aims to be. In this post I shall be assessing some of the cliches associated with the crime genre:
The Don
- Merciless
- Handy with a baseball bat.
- Tends to kill his friends for no particular reason eg: calling him a boy instead of a man.
- Either laid back yet dangerous, or just plain crazy...or a mixture.
- Strokes small pets such as kittens.
- Smokes a humungous cigarette.
- Italian-American.
- Inherited title.
- Calls his gang a family - in italics.
- Has a moral code, such as wont kill children.
- Is blessed with the coolest lines in cinema history: 'I'll give him an offer he can't refuse', 'Say hello to my little friend', 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer'.
The Story
- Police as bad as gangsters.
- The rat.
- Undercover cop.
- Trilbies
- Cuban Cigars
- Comb overs.
- 'Hit's'
- Corrupt courtroom scenes.
- Corrupt doctor.
- Drugs.
- Voiceover.
- Experienced cop and young, eager cop.
- Inventive murder technique.
- Symbolic gestures such as horses heads in beds.
- Swear words.
- Catholic gangsters.
- Bank Robberies.
- Extravagant heists.
- Prison comforts.
- Ingenius torture methods.
- Awesome accents.
- Business in nightclubs
- Mysterious drug dealers
- The names 'Jimmy' and 'Tony'
Monday, 17 June 2013
The Horror Genre - Cliches & Conventions
Every genre has its cliches and conventions which make it distinctly the genre which it aims to be. In this post I shall be assessing some of the cliches associated with the horror genre:
The Protagonist
- Teenagers - mainly girls.
- Daredevils/ rebels.
- Miraculously stupid.
- College drop-outs.
- Even more stupid boyfriends.
- Blonde.
-Talented screamers
- Druggies
- Alcoholics
- Had sex many times with many people.
- Party animals.
- Clumsy.
- Goes somewhere they were told not to, to prove how rebellious they are.
The Antagonist
- Ghosts
- Zombies
- Werewolves
- Creepy children
- Demonic possession
- Vampires (although they are now sneaking into the romance genre for some unfathomable reason)
- Lunatic with a chainsaw.
- Scientist with a crazy scheme
- Want vengeance.
- Have some sort of routine for their appearance
- Hold some sort of power over technology that disrupts phones and CCTV.
The Story
- Unresponsive bodies.
- Haunted houses.
- Haunted woods.
- Haunted graveyards.
- Haunted islands.
- Haunted lighthouses.
- Haunted towns.
- Haunted hotels with equally creepy workers.
- Shower murders
- Mysterious noises that must always be investigated.
- A window jump scene.
- A mirror jump scene (usually occurring after the protagonist has washed their face)
- Nightmares.
- Creaky doors.
- Creaky floorboards.
- Creaky stairs.
- Creaky rocking chairs
- Clowns.
- Dolls.
- Pictures with blurry faces.
- People coming out of pictures or TV's.
- Creepy, suspenseful music.
- Intense build-ups that lead to nothing...and then the jump comes.
- Gore.
- Splitting up or separating to investigate the danger.
- The old man who seems to know everything.
- The killer who walks in slow strides whilst the protagonist tries desperately to find a way out.
- The killer never fully dies.
- Minorities die first.
- Linen closet killing.
- Upping the stakes by a child being in danger.
- Old folk tales that are actually true.
- Thunderclap!
- Pathetic fallacy.
- Newspaper clippings of shocking events associated with the killers motives.
- Shadows.
- Chainsaws.
- Knives
- Unbelieving boyfriends, who believe only too late.
- Children communicating with the undead.
- Objects moving without visible force.
- Doors slamming - occasionally not opening again.
- Puddles of water that somehow link to the death.
- Crows cawing.
- Wolves howling.
- Dogs barking.
- Animals run away when they sense the danger.
- Lanterns.
- Candles blowing out.
- Chill wind preceding antagonist.
- The Psycho soundtrack.
- Nursery rhymes.
- Moving pictures.
- 'You are mine'
...the list is literally endless...
The Protagonist
- Teenagers - mainly girls.
- Daredevils/ rebels.
- Miraculously stupid.
- College drop-outs.
- Even more stupid boyfriends.
- Blonde.
-Talented screamers
- Druggies
- Alcoholics
- Had sex many times with many people.
- Party animals.
- Clumsy.
- Goes somewhere they were told not to, to prove how rebellious they are.
The Antagonist
- Ghosts
- Zombies
- Werewolves
- Creepy children
- Demonic possession
- Vampires (although they are now sneaking into the romance genre for some unfathomable reason)
- Lunatic with a chainsaw.
- Scientist with a crazy scheme
- Want vengeance.
- Have some sort of routine for their appearance
- Hold some sort of power over technology that disrupts phones and CCTV.
The Story
- Unresponsive bodies.
- Haunted houses.
- Haunted woods.
- Haunted graveyards.
- Haunted islands.
- Haunted lighthouses.
- Haunted towns.
- Haunted hotels with equally creepy workers.
- Shower murders
- Mysterious noises that must always be investigated.
- A window jump scene.
- A mirror jump scene (usually occurring after the protagonist has washed their face)
- Nightmares.
- Creaky doors.
- Creaky floorboards.
- Creaky stairs.
- Creaky rocking chairs
- Clowns.
- Dolls.
- Pictures with blurry faces.
- People coming out of pictures or TV's.
- Creepy, suspenseful music.
- Intense build-ups that lead to nothing...and then the jump comes.
- Gore.
- Splitting up or separating to investigate the danger.
- The old man who seems to know everything.
- The killer who walks in slow strides whilst the protagonist tries desperately to find a way out.
- The killer never fully dies.
- Minorities die first.
- Linen closet killing.
- Upping the stakes by a child being in danger.
- Old folk tales that are actually true.
- Thunderclap!
- Pathetic fallacy.
- Newspaper clippings of shocking events associated with the killers motives.
- Shadows.
- Chainsaws.
- Knives
- Unbelieving boyfriends, who believe only too late.
- Children communicating with the undead.
- Objects moving without visible force.
- Doors slamming - occasionally not opening again.
- Puddles of water that somehow link to the death.
- Crows cawing.
- Wolves howling.
- Dogs barking.
- Animals run away when they sense the danger.
- Lanterns.
- Candles blowing out.
- Chill wind preceding antagonist.
- The Psycho soundtrack.
- Nursery rhymes.
- Moving pictures.
- 'You are mine'
...the list is literally endless...
The Romance Genre - Cliches & Conventions
Every genre has its cliches and conventions which make it distinctly the genre which it aims to be. In this post I shall be assessing some of the cliches associated with the romance genre:
The Guy
- The jock - He's sporty, good-looking, and the most popular guy in school.
- Or he's the unsure, shy guy at the back of class with a hidden talent.
- When the relationship goes sour, it's always his fault.
- Has a variety of cheesy lines at his disposal.
- Has a variety of cheesy dates at his disposal.
- Tends to run down the middle of busy roads, sometimes in the rain, to reach the love of his life.
- An excellent singer.
The Girl
- Unsure of herself.
- Has some sort of hidden talent.
- Protective father.
- Sassy best friend/ sardonic best friend/ quirky best friend.
- Has some form of sob story.
- Just wants to be appreciated.
- Slides down the wall whilst crying.
- Laughs and cries at the same time.
- Shots where her head falls into frame and lands on a pillow.
- Over emotional.
Story
- Guy meets girl, they fall in love, there is a problem, they overcome the problem, they live happily ever after.
- Make-up kiss in bad weather.
- Makeover montage with friends saying whether the new outfit is good or bad.
- Shy girl becomes stunning beauty through a little make-up.
- Singing using random objects as microphones.
- Love montage - always including riding bikes, rowing boats or picnics
- Speech where the guy explains all the small things he loves about the girl.
- Meddlesome parents.
- A romantic set piece, where the guy does something insanely romantic for his girl.
- A particular picture of them both, that is related back to as the film goes on.
- A sex scene.
- Waking up the morning after to find the guy is gone, sometimes leaving a post-it note on the bed.
- Sad or happy ending...doesn't matter which - it's still a cliche.
- Inappropriate comment from an elderly person.
- Guy has a side kick who at one point thinks that the best friend is deserting him for the girl.
- Guy has a side kick who tries to explain to the girl why it is over.
- Guy has a fat, comedic side kick.
- Cheesy song in soundtrack.
- Constant, over-the-top, cheesy, orchestral soundtrack that crescendos at the kiss.
The Action Genre - Cliches & Conventions
Every genre has its cliches and conventions which make it distinctly the genre which it aims to be. In this post I shall be assessing some of the cliches associated with the action genre:
The Antagonist
- Physically weak antagonist with incredible mind.
- Owns a dangerous pet, such as a shark.
- Has a repertoire of several cliche lines such as: 'I've been expecting you', or tells the protagonist a long story about their childhood that somehow relates to the situation.
- A fan of inventive torture techniques.
- Gets captured by the protagonist and then escapes to the shocking realisation that 'he wanted to be caught'
- Is accompanied by physically strong bodyguard.
- Tortured childhood or past.
- Kills own men without a second thought over the smallest error.
- An expert of the double-cross.
- Has a mole in the government.
- Psychologically unhinged.
The Protagonist
- Haunted past.
- Orphan
- Has some sort of tutor, usually an old man.
- Half way through gives up and then finds a reason to carry on.
- Self surgery expert.
- Bursting muscles.
- Has a love-interest
- Is accompanied by a loveable side-kick
- Can work any type of vehicle, from helicopters to diggers...whatever's convenient
- An expert at improvised weaponry - particularly explosives
Story
- Chase and fight sequences
- Torture scenes
- Sex scenes
- Slow motion explosives with the protagonist either walking away or getting blown away.
- Bomb diffusal seconds before detonation.
- Hacking into computers, to the elated cry of 'I'm in'
- 'Have you done the job?'
- 'You're going to wish you'd never been born'
- 'It's done'
- 'You really shouldn't have done that'
- 'Bond, James Bond'
- 'He wanted us to capture him!'
- 'Never'
- 'We meet again'
...the list is endless...
The Antagonist
- Physically weak antagonist with incredible mind.
- Owns a dangerous pet, such as a shark.
- Has a repertoire of several cliche lines such as: 'I've been expecting you', or tells the protagonist a long story about their childhood that somehow relates to the situation.
- A fan of inventive torture techniques.
- Gets captured by the protagonist and then escapes to the shocking realisation that 'he wanted to be caught'
- Is accompanied by physically strong bodyguard.
- Tortured childhood or past.
- Kills own men without a second thought over the smallest error.
- An expert of the double-cross.
- Has a mole in the government.
- Psychologically unhinged.
The Protagonist
- Haunted past.
- Orphan
- Has some sort of tutor, usually an old man.
- Half way through gives up and then finds a reason to carry on.
- Self surgery expert.
- Bursting muscles.
- Has a love-interest
- Is accompanied by a loveable side-kick
- Can work any type of vehicle, from helicopters to diggers...whatever's convenient
- An expert at improvised weaponry - particularly explosives
Story
- Chase and fight sequences
- Torture scenes
- Sex scenes
- Slow motion explosives with the protagonist either walking away or getting blown away.
- Bomb diffusal seconds before detonation.
- Hacking into computers, to the elated cry of 'I'm in'
- 'Have you done the job?'
- 'You're going to wish you'd never been born'
- 'It's done'
- 'You really shouldn't have done that'
- 'Bond, James Bond'
- 'He wanted us to capture him!'
- 'Never'
- 'We meet again'
...the list is endless...
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