Tuesday, 20 September 2011

Research: Convention of thriller

Down below are a list of thriller conventions that I conducted in order to broaden my understanding.

1. The narrative centres around a crime e.g. theft or a murder
2. The protagonist is fallible and has an 'Achilles heel' tat is exploited by the antagonist. The title of the thriller may relate to this weakness e.g. Vertigo and Insomnia.
3. The protagonist will be seen 'in peril' in one or more scenes before the resolution.
4. The antagonist ensnares the protagonist in an increasingly complex web, until the protagonist feels isolated and helpless.
5. Micro-elements combine in a build up of suspense.
6. Themes of identity are common: mistaken identity, doubling/doppelgangers, amnesia.
7. Themes of seeing, reflection and mirroring. Manipulation of perspectives and optical illusion are common.
8. The audience of a thriller is placed in the ambiguous position of voyeur
9. Voyeurism can also be a theme and a objectification of female characters is common especially in earlier thrillers
10. A series of one important enigma(s) are/is set up in the opening sequence of the film, is further complicated during the first part of the film and only resolved at the very end.

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