1a. Make a list of the Proppian character types commonly found in thriller openings and give specific, named examples for each of these types. Do they have any common features?
-Hero, for example in the thriller Seven the hero is Morgan Freemans character who is called Detective Somerset.in all thrillers the hero will usually have a unique thing about them. This tends to be their flaw and their strength.
-Villains in thriller conventions are more often an equal match for the hero for example in the thriller Face/Off the villain Castor Troy played by Nicholas Cage. In other thriller the villain is more ruthless and mentally not stable and also would do unthinkable things.
-Dispatcher, for example in Star Wars the dispatcher is obi wan Kenobi who sends Luke on his way to commence the journey that he goes on. In other thriller the dispatcher is normally someone who is higher in power for example he police chief.
-Helper, in thriller conventions the helper normally tends to be someone who is highly skilled however does not have and emotional attachment to the villain. For example in the thriller Seven the helper is Brad Pitt. In other thrillers the helper is usually an awkward character who has a unique quality in which the hero needs.
-Princess or prize, in thrillers the princess is usually helpless and normally the main person who needs rescuing and the story revolves around her. For example in the Dark Knight Maggie Gyllenhaal plays Rachel Dawes who is in the princess who needs saving however is not saved for the greater good.
-The donor, in thrillers is normally an elder person who gives something that others cannot give. For example in James Bond Skyfall Agent M is the dispatcher as she sends Bond on his journey
-False hero, in thrillers the false hero normally tends to be someone who has a close relationship with the hero however eventually betrays them. For example in the thriller S.W.A.T the false hero is Brain Gamble played by Jeremy Renner, who at the start is partners with the hero but then becomes a villain.
Types: Good and Evil
Night and Day
Strong Weak
Dominant Submissive
Active Passive
Truth Lies
Calm Moody
Tough Gentle
Logical Emotional
Peaceful Aggressive
Narrative structure in thrillers
Todorov's narrative structure theory outlines the chain of events found in the storyline of conventional films
In the opening of the thriller Se7en the equilibrium is that detective Summerset is living peacefully in his home all by himself. There is a murder that he has to investigate but the bigger disruption that there is a murder and as he is a detective he has to investigate it.In the montage scene there is a new character introduced in the title montage indicating that he is the killer due to images of disturbing scenes .The new equilibrium is that he has to find the murderer along with a new detective who has just arrived called detective Mills.
In the thriller Face/Off the equilibrium is that john Travolta’s character is happy with his child at a carnival.
The disruption is that Castor Troy a trained killer kills his son whilst trying to shoot John Travolta. The new equilibrium is that Travolta’s character after 6 years is trying to find Troy as he has still not got over the death.
The tiles in the opening of the French thriller “Ils” starts off with full screen titles. However the last title is an overlay of the first shot this is done to introduce the scene. As well as this the titles in Ils are very dark colour indicating horror.
In the thriller Face/Off the title scenes are full title scenes and the colours are black and white showing the colours of good an evil there for connoting this will be an action thriller. Lastly the title continues throughout the opening therefore showing the unimportance of the names as there are barely noticeable.
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