The two films that we are going to analyse in terms of sub genre conventions are the psychological thriller 'The Black Swan' and the action thriller 'The Hunger Games'.
The common conventions found in psychological thrillers are often two or more characters preying upon each others minds. This is sometimes done by one character playing games or trying to negatively effect the others mental state of mind. Another convention is that most psychological thriller films begin with a realistic situation which then turns into extraordinary circumstances.
However, action thriller films have different conventions. Examples of these are that they often feature a time limit in which they have to complete something and their motives might consist of money, secrets or identity mission. They also usually contain explosives, weapons or/and violence.
The psycho melodrama 'The Black Swan' is about a ballerina 'Nina Sayers' played by Natalie Portman. We learn that the beautiful Nina's vulnerable personality makes her susceptible to mental illness as she explores her dark side while trying to compete for her dream ballet role. As she progresses with her rehearsals we see her hallucinations and anxiety attacks escalate. As her rivalry with 'Lily' played by Mila Kunis gets more intense, the stereotypical psychological conventions of game playing becomes more prominent. Throughout the film we see that the conflict between the main characters is mental and emotional rather than physical like action thrillers.
'The Hunger Games' is an action fantasy thriller where each year two children aged from 12 to 18 are from each state are chosen to fight to the death until only one remains. This televised competition follows Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence, and Peeta Mellark, played by Josh Hutcherson and many other young teens from different states also fighting for their lives. The use of weapons such as bow and arrows are a common convention of action thrillers. Another example of this is the physical rivalry between the competitors, as they are all in a life or death situation.
The four micro areas in the films are important to make them effective and suitable to their sub genre conventions. For example, in 'The Black Swan' the music used in the ballet performances are soft and classical. This is contrapuntal to the dark theme of the film. Classical music is also used in the disturbing scene of Nina's swan transformation which is similar to the contrast in the ballet performances.
However, 'The Hunger Games' consists of mainly ambient sounds and less non diegetic music. When Katniss is caught in the forest fire, the audience hear the natural sounds of the fire crackling and the wood burning, along with her out of breath running. This is a stereotypical convention of a Action Thriller. Nevertheless, if there is a tense scene like when 'The Hunger Games' begins, there is a non diegetic sound effect of a drum beating, highlighting the suspenseful scene.
Although the sub genres are different in various ways, one similarity that they share are that they both have an antagonist and a protagonist, even though there may be more than one of each. Within 'The Black Swan', Nina and Lily have a fight in the dressing room after Lily announces she will be taking Nina's place in the ballet performance. Nina stabs her rival in the stomach and kills her, which makes the audience believe that the enigma is revealed. However, as Nina returns to her dressing room, she is congratulated by Lily, showing that their fight was imaginary. The mirror however is still shattered and she removes a shard from her own body, realising that she has stabbed herself. This causes the audience to further understand Nina's severe psychological problems.
'The Hunger Games' works effectively with the Action Thriller as it is the name of the televised battle that the film is centered around.
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