Explore the genre conventions in the two main texts you have studied so far.
I will be writing about the two texts that I am studying (The Avengers Assemble and Sightseers). The first text, Sightseers, has the hybrid genre of black comedy, comedy, crime and thriller, whilst also touching on horror at points (the murders). The Avengers Assemble has a hybrid genre of sci-fi, action and fantasy. I will be looking at the parts of these movies that are typical of the genres that they are categorised in.
The first text I will explore is Sightseers. In black comedies and crime, the iconography and location is often rural countryside; so Sightseers is challenging the conventions of the crime genre – often held in places associated more with ‘gangsters’, e.g. council estates, rougher areas (perhaps more populated) as opposed to the peaceful nature of the countryside. The choice of a caravan park adds a feeling of tranquillity and isn't an immediate location that springs to mind when it comes to thinking about the crime genre - so Ben Wheatley, the director, who has directed black comedies in the past, will have wanted to challenge the conventions of these movies.
The comedy aspect is explored within quite a few scenes, the jokey comments that Tina is making to her mum at the beginning of the movie (where she repeats 'mum' several times, which is becomes quite humorous). The sort of humour used does challenge the conventions of a comedy as there are no out and out jokes, but some of the shots used such as Tina throwing food inside a bears mouth create a shock factor, that also makes you laugh - this is another way in which Ben Wheatley has challenged the conventions.
Black comedy and the touches of horror are brought in through the various murders, but perhaps more through the more unusual methods of the deaths. The first of this we see is when Tina's dog, Poppy, jumps onto the knitting needle. This presents a huge shock factor to the viewer and having an animal die that early on in the movie comes very unexpectedly, as deaths in black comedies and horrors are often left until there's more of a plot beginning in the story, which shows once again that Ben Wheatley has challenged typical conventions of black comedies and horrors.
However, the deaths of the characters can be very visual, which doesn't challenge the conventions of black comedies and horrors too much - although perhaps the methods of these deaths, as earlier mentioned, aren't quite as conventional. For example, killing a man in the back of the head with a rock, or running over them with a caravan isn't quite so traditional. Though the shock and extremity of the action is what keeps it in line with the horror genre and what the audience may expect.
The actual narrative of the story challenges conventions of the horror genre, as although often they throw up the villain being killed off (which does happen, so in a sense, the conventions of horror are met, as karma comes back to haunt Chris). Though, by the end, you could argue that the roles have switched, something quite unusual for the genre. Chris becomes nicer towards the end, whilst the previous "helper" within Propp's theory becomes the more villainous character as she kills someone on the street and proves the downfall of Chris as she fools him into thinking she'll jump off the bridge. Her deceit is a shocking way for Chris to die and the role reversal in characters is unconventional of the genre.
The Avengers Assemble, the second movie I will explore, has the fantasy genre conventions stamped throughout the whole movie, perhaps as many of the most popular fantasy films of recent are the films where many of these characters derive from, e.g. Iron Man and Thor. The typical narrative conventions of fantasy movies see the "good vs. evil" concept in action, as well as the end seeing the villain/antagonist Loki being defeated at the end by the 'good team' all coming together to cause his downfall. This is very typical of a fantasy movie, however, as Josh Whedon (the director of The Avengers Assemble) directed Thor and Captain America before, this may because he wants to follow the typical idea of a 'Marvel film', so that the audience know what to expect of such a well known film including notorious characters.
The genres of fantasy, action and science fiction are conventionally represented throughout the film. One of the main conventions of action movies, is the fast paced editing and this is definitely represented in the movie. This is used through all of the action scenes, for example when Hulk is taking on Loki and throwing him around - this also takes on a slight form of humour aswell due to Loki's reaction and the severity of Hulk's actions, this is sometimes seen in action films although it isn't a convention - this is something that The Avengers likes to play on a lot, especially with actors such as Robert Downey Jr, as they allow the movie to sometimes take more a humourous aspect.
Also, with science fiction movies, they always have impressive, advanced technology – this is another thing that re-inforces the genre, as within the first few minutes we’re introduced to Loki creating a piece of machinery that will put the Avengers onto his ‘side’. It creates a clear image within the opening scenes that show that technology is going to play a big part. Within these same scenes, it also matches conventions of having SFX throughout the movie, as there are signs of magic and inventions that are going to benefit the villain. The iconography matches in with the conventions of the ‘science fiction’ and ‘action’ genre also, such as the use of grand vehicles which display the severity of the budget and heighten the impact of the action and violence. There are lots of guns which also create a predictable behavioural trait for each member of The Avengers – something which often happens in superhero movies, where each good character has a different trait to show why they’re a special superhero.