For my AS Media coursework, I created an opening title sequence for a thriller with a partner. In order to successfully come out with a good grade we followed the conventions of a thriller. Our thriller plot was that the computer hacker has something valuable that the killer wants, for example government information on a USB stick. In order to get this, the killer kills the computer hacker. The sub-genre of our thriller can be classed as a crime-thriller, however it can be also classed as a mystery and conspiracy thriller too. The theories that I will use are Cook's theory of the Enigma Code, Propp's theory of Stock Characters, Todorov's theory of Structure, Levi-Strauss's theory of Binary Opposition and Barthes theory of Cause and Effect.
Roland Barthes theory of Enigma Code is explains that text is like a tangled ball of threads, the threads need to be unravelled and once unravelled, we encounter an absolute wide range of political meanings. This means you can look at narrative in two ways. Barthes narrowed down the action of a text into Five Codes, which are woven into any narrative. These are the Hermeneutic Code, The Enigma Code, The Symbolic Code, The Cultural Code and the Semantic Code. I would say that our thriller showcases the Hermeneutic Code because our thriller also avoids telling the truth about why the information on the USB stick is so important, in order for it stay a mystery even after the computer hacker is killed. This leaves the thriller opening on a cliff-hanger and if it were to be for a film, then that film would end up explaining and hinting clues. The enigma code is why the computer hacker is being followed as this is not known at the start of the thriller opening. We also include the code that the audience doesn't know what the information is that the hacker stole, or why is it so important. The enigma code is revealed at the end because the computer hacker is killed for the information he stole from the large organisation.
Izetan Todorov believed that conventional narratives are structures in five stages, theses are the equilibrium, the disruption, the recognition, the repair and the reinstatement. However, for out thriller opening we are only focusing on three stages, the equilibrium, the disruption and the recognition. The equilibrium in our thriller is when the computer hacker has the information with him and is downloading it onto his computer at home so it's safe. The disruption of that is when the killer comes in and steals the information, the kills the computer hacker, The recognition backs up the idea that the killer is out to get the hacker and wants something from him in order to follow him. However, the recognition is not prominent because the disruption that has occurred (the killing) is not recognised by any other character. This would be revealed later but not in a thriller opening as this would ruin the plot.
Vladimir Propp believes that there are 8 stock characters that fairy story's in particular follow, these are the villain, the dispatcher, the helper, the princess or prize, the princess's father, the donor, the hero and the false hero. The stock characters help to define what the characters motives are because this can help to understand the plot. We used stock characters in our thriller because the computer hacker is the Hero and the killer is the Villain. The stock characters help to define what the characters motives are because this can help to understand the plot. We used stock characters in our thriller because the computer hacker is the Hero and the killer is the Villain. However, the Hero, who is a computer hacker, has also stolen from somebody, so he is an alternative hero, and some may say that he is a False Hero because he doesn’t finish his quest as he is killed by the killer, who is the Villain.
Levi-Strauss's theory was that the way we understand certain words doesn't depend on the meaning it creates but more on our understanding of the difference between the word and it's 'opposite' which is called 'binary oppositions'. He realised that words purely act as symbols for society's ideas and that the meaning of words, therefore, he believed that they are a relationship between opposing ideas. Binary opposition can explain that with one thing, there is an opposite to this. This can help to create conflict between the characters. We use binary opposition in our thriller because the computer hacker is good and the killer is evil. This is also shown through lighting as the killer is seen in dark lighting and the computer hacker is seen in light lighting. However, sometimes the killer is seen in the same lighting as the computer hacker, which could showcase that the two characters are not complete opposites after all.
Pam Cook argues that the Hollywood narrative structure includes ‘linearity of cause and effect within an overall trajectory of enigma resolution’ and ‘a high degree of narrative closure’. We included cause and effect in our thriller because the cause is that the computer steals information from a large corporation and they then hire a killer to kill to computer hacker to get the information back, this is the effect. However, even though the effect is clear, there is no narrative closure to this effect as we don’t know why the information was so important for the computer hacker to be killed.
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