Thursday, 30 January 2014

Zombie Genre - General Conventions

Plot/ Narrative -
Zombie movies narrative, tend to consist of an individuals story or a group of people who must fight to survive the horrors of a zombie 'apocalypse' - There are two conventional ways in which zombie films tend to go:

Your average day, everything is normal until zombies slowly begin to attack and all of a sudden hell breaks loose. The featured characters, which are usually the 'iconography' of the film must survive within their new world until they either all die or eventually find a safe house... Which is usually where everything begins to go well.

The film begins/ set within a post apocalyptic future in a world which has already been consumed with zombies. Usually an individual who has somehow survived the attack and we watch him/ her go on the hunt for other survivors- He/she eventually finds others, and they create a pact whereby they gradually make their way to safety.

Characters -
The common/ typical characters which you would find within zombie films tend to be pretty tough characters; individuals who have lost someone close to them to zombies. Many often find 'mates' usually with the individual that they survived with. Conventionally, the main character is a male with either one or two females who mostly get into trouble only to be saved at the last minute. 

Iconography -
Within zombie films, they usually revolve around blood. Blood covering the mouth, jaw, neck and chest usually indicates the person is a zombie. Bloody hand prints on t-shirts, walls etc suggests the person wearing the clothing has been attacked by a zombie. Homes with broken doors, and blood/ prints on doors/ walls or even windows suggests that the house did or still does have zombies inside. It has been taking over.

Themes -
The themes within a zombie film are usually little sub-stories that often pop up. The common sorts of themes you are likely to see are the main characters in a struggle to figure out how to kill the zombies. Another common theme would be the suffering of one of the main characters who has to go through the loss of losing their loved one to a zombie or facing the reality that their loved one is a zombie and them having to kill them. The chasing of a character by zombies and the character being saved at the last minute; one final common theme is seeing a main character as they struggle to come to terms with their new world.

Mise-En-Scene -
In terms of the costumes, they are usually ripped, torn, damaged and bloody. The lighting would usually be of a low level to add both atmosphere and create the illusion for zombies to jump out of shadows. Make up for zombies are usually, pale faced/ greyish; to make the zombies look even more pale and less lively- Whereas the make up for the main characters is dependable on their situation. If say they are attacking actual zombies then it will be gory; blood splatters, torn clothing and bruises. Whereas if a scene whereby they are within their hideout then dry blood, fading bruises yet still ripped clothing as it is an apocalypse. In terms of props; they tend to be your average weaponry of guns, sports bats and swords. Cars are used quite a lot; whether it be stolen ones or an one of the characters. The setting for a zombie film tends to be of a isolated world post zombie apocalypse; or the film will begin with a regular environment that gradually turns into nothingness to a zombie apocalypse playground. The usual convention for setting of a Zombie movie takes place within Cities.

Sound -
The typical sort of sound used within zombie films tend to be fast, and tense- when a character is confronted with a zombie; or slow and nervous kind of sounds (violin/ piano) The first is used to create a sense of terror and fear that the main character is in serious and immediate danger; whereas the second is used to create a more built up atmosphere in a way whereby the audience is expecting a zombie to appear but still shocks them in the process.

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