Exam Q Practise

 

Exam Q Practise for GET OUT

Point

Evidence

Explain 

Theory

(STRAUSS) Binary opposition 'suburban street', day vs night, black vs white

(BATHES) Enigma code/ action codes- leaves questions 

MIS-EN-SCENE: 

P1:

Setting and night- conforms to stereotypes

Set- suburban street 

Black character believes he 'stands out like a sore thumb' - suggests that stereotypically the black community are of a lower class

Set at night- conforms to stereotype that most crime happens at night where protagonist is attacked 

THEORY- Strauss' binary opposition of black character/ suburban street 

THEORY- Altman's audience pleasures- visceral pleasure of fear 

P2:

Challenge of stereotype- black on white violence 

Audience assume dominant representation of black characters in the media attack white people, challenging audience expectations as white attacks black 

THEORY- Strauss' binary opposition of black character/ white car/character 

Attacker conforms to stereotype of white power (expensive car) 

GENRE CONVENTIONS: 

Jordan Peele 2017 

Director subverts horror conventions through stereotypes

Typical horror film- black male would be expected to be targeted first by antagonist and girl would be white and middle class 

THEORY- Propp theory; Hero (man), Princess (girl)-- Especially common in horror films in 1980s- slasher sub genre (however, the hero of the story of Chris- black male- with Rose as the false hero) 

Mis-en-scene:

quiet, leafy suburban neighbourhood

takes place at night - convention of horror genre 

Camera work: 

Long takes, no cuts for first two minutes/ tracking shots around black male character (builds suspense- audience are awaiting jump scare, puts audience on edge - Barthes action codes

Tracking shots used extensively in horror genre- immerses audience into diegesis of film - walking with them experiencing what they do 

Analyse how genre conventions have been used to create meaning in a media product you have studied (12 marks)

Jordan Peel's 2017 film Get Out uses several character stereotypes to highlight the horror genre. For example, in a generic film, it is likely that the male character dominates over the female character . According to Propp theory, this would be seen as the hero and the princess, however, in Get Out we see Chris, proposed as the hero, and Rose who is initially isproposed as the princess, however becomes the false hero. It is unclear from the offset that Rose has any intention to hurt Chris however becomes very obvious towards the end of the film - this supports the horror genre as it challenges the normal stereotypical character types which in turn creates suspense for the audience. 

Get Out begins with portraying the likes of a horror genre through it's use of conventions in mis-en-scene. The film begins with a single character on screen (black middle aged man), walking along a suburban neighbourhood. Immediately- the quiet and unlit setting eludes to fear and a state of feeling uneasy for the audience. This scene takes place at night which is a convention of the horror genre as darkness connotes mystery and usually danger. The audience may be in fear and have a fearful gut feeling, known as visceral pleasures as proposed by Altman- conforming to the effects of the horror genre. 

The scene uses several shots that demonstrate genre conventions that create meaning. The scene has no cuts for the first two minutes - this immediately puts the audience on edge as the lack of cuts makes the audience fearful of what sudden movements can happen. The long takes and tracking shots around the black male character in the scene makes it suspenseful- this is a genre convention as stereotypically, horror films extensively use long takes and tracking shots to create suspension for the audience. This can be explained by Barthes' enigma code as it leaves the audience wondering what will happen next and leave them questioning the storyline.