The thriller. One of the most well known genres in cinematography and literature alike. The thriller is a vast and expansive genre, consisting of many sub-genres, some of which commonly overlap with one another.
One of the key conventions of a thriller is it's pace. Thrillers generally tend to be rather fast paced in their execution of the story, keeping the viewer on the edge of their seat. The combination of the fast pace and frequent action combined allows the piece to grasp the audience's attention and keep it without letting them get bored or loose interest. Another of the main conventions of a thriller is the huge contrast between the villain and the hero. The villain is always of a much more higher position of power than the protagonist, which sets the basis for the film as our hero attempts to thwart their superior antagonist in their plans of villainy. This helps accompany the thriller in it's aim as a villain driven plot in which the villain presents the hero with various objects to overcome.
Thrillers use various cinematic devices in order to convey their classic thriller feel.
One such devices, & a very important one at that, is the use of suspense. Suspense is amongst the most common of thriller devices, & can be seen in almost all examples if the genre. It keeps the viewer in the edge of their seat, as well as making us feel the need to assume when a certain event is about to happen.
Another is the "Red Herring". The Red Herring is a device that most people are not fully aware of, but we've all seen one as it is a device that is not only commonly used in thrillers, but in just about all genres in cinematography, & almost all forms of literature as a whole. Put simply, the Red Herring us merely a distraction. It is a small & insignificant device when compared to the rest of the film's plot as a whole. It is used to trick the audience, drawing them to a false conclusion, in which they are then, in turn, surprised when the actual outcome occurs.
Cliffhangers are also a Thriller favourite as they leave the audience in suspense of not knowing what is about to happen, leaving them to ponder on the fate of their heroes, villains or other film components. The cliffhanger is a universally known device & is commonly used at the end of two-part episodes of television series. Thrillers especially like adopting this technique, as it fits in perfectly with their trend of psychological tampering, making the viewer strong emotions throughout the piece, & constantly keeping them guessing.
One of the key conventions of a thriller is it's pace. Thrillers generally tend to be rather fast paced in their execution of the story, keeping the viewer on the edge of their seat. The combination of the fast pace and frequent action combined allows the piece to grasp the audience's attention and keep it without letting them get bored or loose interest. Another of the main conventions of a thriller is the huge contrast between the villain and the hero. The villain is always of a much more higher position of power than the protagonist, which sets the basis for the film as our hero attempts to thwart their superior antagonist in their plans of villainy. This helps accompany the thriller in it's aim as a villain driven plot in which the villain presents the hero with various objects to overcome.
Thrillers use various cinematic devices in order to convey their classic thriller feel.
One such devices, & a very important one at that, is the use of suspense. Suspense is amongst the most common of thriller devices, & can be seen in almost all examples if the genre. It keeps the viewer in the edge of their seat, as well as making us feel the need to assume when a certain event is about to happen.
Another is the "Red Herring". The Red Herring is a device that most people are not fully aware of, but we've all seen one as it is a device that is not only commonly used in thrillers, but in just about all genres in cinematography, & almost all forms of literature as a whole. Put simply, the Red Herring us merely a distraction. It is a small & insignificant device when compared to the rest of the film's plot as a whole. It is used to trick the audience, drawing them to a false conclusion, in which they are then, in turn, surprised when the actual outcome occurs.
Cliffhangers are also a Thriller favourite as they leave the audience in suspense of not knowing what is about to happen, leaving them to ponder on the fate of their heroes, villains or other film components. The cliffhanger is a universally known device & is commonly used at the end of two-part episodes of television series. Thrillers especially like adopting this technique, as it fits in perfectly with their trend of psychological tampering, making the viewer strong emotions throughout the piece, & constantly keeping them guessing.
Though usually consisting of certain cinematic devices, the thriller is a rather flexible genre & can engage the audience through a dramatic rendering of psychological, social & political tensions. Thrillers are considered to be a form of 'demo' for horrors, allowing one to experience a small & less extreme version of the horror genre. Hitchcock touches on this idea where he states that thrillers allow the audience to "put their toe in the cold water of fear to see what it's like".
A key aspect of a thriller is it's setting. The setting of a thriller, if done right, can really aid the film in it's eerie & suspense ridden feel. Thrillers often seem to take place in exotic settings such as foreign cities. This may be due to the fact that, if the protagonist not from said foreign city, it will be seen as a new & foreign land, where they may not be able to overcome the new & dangerous foes & environment. Even if the protagonist is accustomed to the foreign environment, there is a more than likely chance that audience will not be, a fact that will keep them on the edge of their seats, constantly guessing what may happen next in this new & foreign land of which they do not fully understand.
The heroes in thrillers are frequently "hard men" who are accustomed to thrilling & dangerous situations, such as police officers or ex-soldiers. This helps aid them in their quests due to their prior knowledge of such circumstances & weaponry or equipment. It also means that they are better equipped mentally for such stressing & quick thinking scenarios. One example of this is the film 'Non-Stop', where Liam Neeson plays an ex-military man who is somehow forced into a situation where he must save an entire plane before it is blown up. In other scenarios, however, the hero is not always so equipped for the situation at hand. In such situations the hero is usually an unsuspecting citizen who is accidentally drawn into danger against their will. Such can be seen in the film 'NorthByNorthWest', where Carrey Grant plays the character of Roger Thornhil, an unsuspecting businessman who is kidnapped, & spends the rest of the film's duration desperately trying to figure out who has kidnapped him, & why they have done so.
A key aspect of a thriller is it's setting. The setting of a thriller, if done right, can really aid the film in it's eerie & suspense ridden feel. Thrillers often seem to take place in exotic settings such as foreign cities. This may be due to the fact that, if the protagonist not from said foreign city, it will be seen as a new & foreign land, where they may not be able to overcome the new & dangerous foes & environment. Even if the protagonist is accustomed to the foreign environment, there is a more than likely chance that audience will not be, a fact that will keep them on the edge of their seats, constantly guessing what may happen next in this new & foreign land of which they do not fully understand.
The heroes in thrillers are frequently "hard men" who are accustomed to thrilling & dangerous situations, such as police officers or ex-soldiers. This helps aid them in their quests due to their prior knowledge of such circumstances & weaponry or equipment. It also means that they are better equipped mentally for such stressing & quick thinking scenarios. One example of this is the film 'Non-Stop', where Liam Neeson plays an ex-military man who is somehow forced into a situation where he must save an entire plane before it is blown up. In other scenarios, however, the hero is not always so equipped for the situation at hand. In such situations the hero is usually an unsuspecting citizen who is accidentally drawn into danger against their will. Such can be seen in the film 'NorthByNorthWest', where Carrey Grant plays the character of Roger Thornhil, an unsuspecting businessman who is kidnapped, & spends the rest of the film's duration desperately trying to figure out who has kidnapped him, & why they have done so.
For a long time it was just men who held the position as the lead roles in such films, though in recent years there has been an increase in the amount female stars in such productions. Though the genre still seems to be mainly male dominated, with a female perhaps taking a more secondary role, the genre breaks conformity & is a lot more subverse in it's approach in it's approach to gender roles than it was in the past. An early example of a thriller starring a female lead role is the phenomenal "Alien", starring Sigourney Weaver's character 'Ripley', who stunned audiences when the film premiered in 1978, a time when female lead roles were no where near as common as they are today.
A common misconception involving the Thriller is that of the 'mystery story'. There is often an overlap between the two, though the thriller & mystery story can be greatly distinguish when we examine their plot structure. For the thriller is more a case of prevention, unlike the mystery story, of which is more a tale of discovery. The star of a thriller is usually placed a position where they must prevent a villain from committing an act of villainry, rather than uncover a crime that has already happened. A murder mystery would be ruined if we knew the identity of the killer, since there would be no mystery to uncover, whereas in a thriller the identity of the villain is commonly known throughout the duration of most of the film. Thrillers also occur on a much grander scale than the mystery story as they can vary much more, & appeal to much larger audience.
Well done. To improve even further please add pictures (posters etc) of films that illustrate the points you are making.
ReplyDeleteMr Williamson