Mock Exam Homework

How do the films you have studied relate to the concept of genre and narrative?

The two films that i have studied are Children of Men and V for
Vendetta. Both of these have complex narratives and do not follow
simple conventions of genre. The film V however appears to have a much
more complex narrative than that of Children of Men.

Firstly i will start with the genre of these two films, both of the
two films which i study come under the classification of 'Hybrid
Genres'. This means that they are not simply one genre, for example
they are not simply horror or comedy. They are a mix of two or more
genres. This is made necessary in the films by them being set in the
future, meaning in most cases whatever original genre they had fallen
under a sci-fi aspect would have been included making them a hybrid
genre. Both of the two films are a mix of the thriller and sci-fi
genres. i will start off by looking at Children of Men. the film
follows the typical genre stereotypes of a thriller as a great amount
of suspense and mystery are created throughout the plot, the sci-fi
aspect of this film however comes as it is set in 2027. It is only a
subtle hint at sic-fi but giant electronic billboards are on street
corners along with computerized images on the sides of buses. This
more technical presence in the Mise-en-Scene makes it somewhat more
believable that humans are no longer able to re-create as even without
the presence of any 'robots' an impression is given to the modern day
viewer that technology is overtaking everything.

The same mix of Thriller and Sci-Fi is used in the other film of study
V for Vendetta. However V for Vendetta has a bigger Sci-Fi influence
than that which is shown in Children of Men. V for Vendetta uses the
same giant electronic billboards, but it also has the main protagonist
of V who possesses a sort of super power due to his heightened
abilities. During the film these abilities were acquired through V
being tested on in the Lark Hill concentration camp, showing the film
to be sci-fi as it follows the common genre convention that genetic
alterations came about by accident as a result of some form of
scientific experiment. In V however the Sci-Fi elements in the
Mise-en-Scene are still very small, this is to keep the idea in the
audiences mind that this is not a far off future, and they should be
worried about it. V has a stronger presence of the sci--fi genre than
Children of Men as it originated as a comic and comics frequently
contain strong sci-fi ideas.

These two films both use hybrid genres to maintain the interest of the
audience. As both films are Dystopian and set in the near future the
sci-fi elements must be kept to a minimum to maintain their
believability as a key feature of these two films is that it shows the
audience what their lives could be like very soon if the human race
carries on as it is. Some technological advances must be shown to
distinguish that it is the future but robots etc would be too far as
it takes away all the threat of the Dystopian near future ideas
presented in the two films. Single genre films have also already
covered almost every possible storyline in the past so a hybrid genre
must be created and used so that new ideas can be used and presented
in the best possible way in the films.

The two films again share a similarity in that they both have complex
narratives, this is to be expected to as they both fall partly under
the thriller genre. i feel however that Children of Men although
having a complex plot line follows many of the conventions of The
Classic Hollywood Narrative. By this i mean that the film has a clear
beginning, middle and end in the plot line (following a 3 act
structure) but also that it has the protagonist face a problem and
overcome it to allow the film to end with a happy positive resolution.
This happens almost completely in Children of Men as as soon as Theo
is introduced to Kee you know that he will safely deliver her to the
destination she needs to reach, there is no question about whether she
will make it. The only point in my opinion that challenges this
classic Hollywood narrative is Theo's' death at the end of the film,
this does not allow for a completely happy ending as you would expect
but at this point he has completed his duty and allowed the film to
reach a positive resolution so it does still follow the conventions
very closely. The film clearly follows the 3 act structure without any
deviation from it.

V for Vendetta however whilst also reaching a positive resolution and
having the main character die to achieve his goal in the same way,
does not follow the classic Hollywood narrative. it does not follow
this narrative style as V is not presented with a problem, instead he
creates his own agenda and imposes it onto others. the mystery that
surrounds V makes it very hard for the film to film into the classic
Hollywood narrative as we do not fully know what kind of character he
is until he has completed all of his private agendas and eventually
dies so that Evie who he 'set free' can complete his work. V for
Vendetta uses many flashbacks throughout the film to show what has
happened in the past or to create mystery around certain characters.
This is unlike Children of Men where it is all shown in present time
so there is no confusion or mystery as to what is going on in the
plot. Overall the film V for Vendetta does follow the 3 act structure
that defines the Classic Hollywood Narrative but through its use of
flashbacks and its complex character driven plot it deviates enough so
that i do not class the narrative as 'Classic Hollywood'.

In conclusion both of the two films use hybrid genres to allow them to
be near future Dystopian films and also so that they remain
interesting and fresh to the audiences who view them. V for Vendetta
has a much more complex narrative not following any guidelines whereas
Children of Men follows the Classic Hollywood Narrative very closely
making it a simpler film to understand, predict and watch.