AS Media - Genre Deconstruction - The Revenant

The Breif:

To deconstruct a film opening of our choice
Analyse the use of:
- Genre conventions
- Location
- Plot/Narrative (Scene opening)
- Name (Typography)
- Sound (With time stamps)

Links:

 

Part 1 + 2

Genre: Historic/Adventure

Genre is presented through many different mediums in these two opening scenes of The Revenant such as;

- Props

- Costume

- Setting

- Sound

- Plot/Narrative

Plot/Narrative:

The first scenes show a clear equilibrium for the main character Hugh Glass as he is at a place of contempt and is serene in his living with what we can assume is his family, this is followed by a small disruption of this moment of peace as we see a revolution era soldier setting fire to the hut situated in the scene. Initially this sets the location as in native America and shows straight away that this is a historic film as it is far from contemporary as this would be seen as a conventional use of costume in historic movies as it is a key signifier of the genre because the automatic association with an old military outfit is history. Secondly this implies that the narrative of the story will follow to some extent Todorov's 5 stage theory (shown below) as we have already been shown an equilibrium and a minor disruption to the life of the main character setting him on his journey to create a new equilibrium.
 

Todorov's Theory:

The Narrative Theory

Todorov in 1969 produced a theory which he believed to be able to be applied to any film. He believed that all films followed the same narrative pattern. They all went through stages called the equilibrium, disequilibrium, acknowledgement, solving and again equilibrium.

There are five stages the narrative can progress through:

1. A state of equilibrium (All is as it should be.)

2. A disruption of that order by an event.

3. A recognition that the disorder has occurred.

4. An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption.

5. A return or restoration of a NEW equilibrium

Setting:

The setting used is very idyllic and naturalistic landscape which contextually links to the genre and time in which the movie is set, as in the time of the revolution of the 1800 where power was to be restored to the states. The setting is in a forrest and near water with no sight of any set civilisation, this is a very blank and natural setting and shows the small amount of development in this part of the world which is conventional of historic films as it ventures throughout the open and makes it easier for the inclusion of ambushes and fight scenes but ultimately contributes to the genre of adventure as it leaves the landscape open to the audience and to the characters as it allows for much more freedom of movement both literally and in regards to the progression of the narrative. This is conventional of the adventure and history genre as it leaves the landscape for exploring wide and ambiguous enabling the audience to realise and accept that the idea of adventure is imminent in the film.

Sound/Props:

The non diegetic tribal drumming in the background is relevant and conventional of an American revolution movie that is set in the 1800's as there was a higher percentage of native Americans that lived there. Also tribal music and drums are key signifiers of danger and war, thus it conforms to the genre. Stereotypically when we think of a fight scene we may think of hearing different sound effects such as; punching, gunshots, cracking of bones, blood squelch, gunshot fire, the damage on natural environment (bits of tree bark flying off) and many more. There is an intriguing sound effect of an arrow being shot into a tree which not only conforms to the damage of the natural environment but also the genre in its entirety as it is conventional of native Americans to use more medieval weapons such as bows and arrows and clubs. Also more stereotypically the native Americans use tomahawks which is highly conventional of their culture and of the film genre.

Costume:

The most stand out costumes were the military soldier in the first clip as this is a key signifier of revolutionary America, this is on of the biggest hints at the genre as it clearly shows that the film is not contemporary and shows instantly where the film is based. Also the soldier is also a key signifier of war, this links heavily to the genre of history as we usually associate war with history. ALso the costumes of many of the native Americans are filled with feathers and very bland colours usually a shad of tan, this is seen as one of the most stereotypical attires that a native American can have, this makes the audience able to distinguish the difference in time period that this is set in and allows for a better understanding of the background of some of the characters, as their historic context is based off of the knowledge of the audience as if you are aware of the events that occurred in the revolution of the 1800's then people will understand the danger that they faced in that time and the extremities they had to go to to survive