SUBGENRE - The subgenres for A nightmare on Elm Street is slasher and psychological. The conventions of this film being a slasher film are the fact that the main characters in this film are teenagers and also the stock weapons used are a blade and a glove (which are used in many slasher films). Also the locations in this film are very isolated much like in other slasher movies. The conventions of this film being of the psychological subgenre which are featured in the plot summary are the fact that there is a serial killer who stalks the characters throughout the movie which is a main convention of the psychological subgenre and also that the teengagers are unaware of their surroundings. The fact that there are also dreams that the characters cannot control gives the film a psychological sense because it leads the viewers to be confused and it plays with their mind, the dreams could also give the film a very supernatural sense. In the plot summary there is also the idea that there is an element of exploitation horror because of the vast amount of blood and gore used throughout the film.
ICONOGRAPHY - There are props used such as the razor sharp claws and the motif of Freddies stripy, red jumper which appears throughout. Also the music is a motif, played at different points through the film. The music is creepy, dark and eery to add tension and suspense. Also dark, low key lighting is used to create fear, tension, suspense and enigma which is an important aspect to draw the viewer's in. Distorted shadows are used to add to the fear, suspense and the jumpiness of the film.
LOCATIONS - Isolated locations are used throughout the film such as within dreams meaning that there is no escape, which substantially conforms to the psychological aspect of horror because of the fact that there is no escape but furthermore conforms to the conventions of slasher subgenre because of the isolation. For example it is set in the Midwestern town of Springwood, Ohio, which is known to be a very lonely, isolated area which adds to the suspension and the conventions of the slasher subgenre. Another location shown within the plot summary of this film is a dark boiler room, which also adds to the loneliness but will lead the viewers to be scared and feel tense because it is a very isolated place and it creates enigma because the audience do not know what is to come.
CHARACTERS - There is a disfigured villain with an unknown identity. This villain wears a hat and his face is burnt so that he is unrecognisable and his identity is revealed as a serial killer. The fact that the villain is unknown and is a serial killer who stalks the victims conforms to the conventions of a psychological subgenre of horror. It creates suspense and scares the audience because this serial killer is on the hunt to kill as many people as possible and this plays with the viewers minds leading them to think that something like this could possibly happen to them. Another of the main characters is the stereotypical teenagers who are vulnerable and naive, this conforms to the subgenre of slasher becasue teenagers are generally used within these sort of movies. The parents in this film are always in denial much like parents can be in other horror movies. Finally, it is important to note that from the plot summary we can see that there is a last girl standing (Nancy) which also conforms to the subgenre of slasher as there usually is a last girl standing who possible leaves the film open for a sequel.
NARRATIVE STRUCTURE AND FILM THEORY - There is a slow reveal of the villain, who gets revealed in stages. The film starts with enigma which applies to Barthez enigma code, who argues that the enigma keeps people watching, wanting to know what is going to happen next. In addition dreams are based on enigma.The film seems to challenge Todorovs theory because A nightmare on Elm Street begins with disequilibrium then switches to equilibrium then switches back to the disequilibriium and ends with a resolution leaving the end open for a sequel. This goes against the typical structure for a horror movie. The film begins with Mulvey's idea of the male gaze because Freddy slashes the girls knighty with knives, which is considered a phallic symbol. However the film ends with the Final Girl theory because Nancy is the last character standing who ends up having the courage to defeat the villain. The film is also based on Strauss' theory of binary opposites who states that binary opposites help drive forward the action of the film. binary opposites are used throughout such as; young vs old, teens vs Freddy, dark vs light, good vs evil and dreams vs nightmares. Juxtaposing things tells you something about both extremes. The majority of the narrative structure is therefore made up of binary opposites.
No comments:
Post a Comment