FILM STUDIES REPORT ON ZOMBIE FILMS IN RELATION TO GENRE,TECHNICAL AND CONTENT ASPECTS ON TWO OF MY CHOSEN FILMS. WORLD WAR Z & SHAUN OF THE DEAD.
GENRE
The expected genre of a zombie based film is Horror. Conventions such as the films graphic content is normally gory, hematic and raw. In terms of the narrative, it is often set in a background of when an outbreak of zombies are invading the world which is known as the 'zombie apocalypse'. An extremely large part of the film also typically takes place in a closed space such as a shopping mall, house, or farm house whereby characters are trapped by the zombies making the climax of the entire film based upon whether the characters will escape and survive and how they will eventually do so.
Despite regular conventions seen in zombie films, there are films that treat zombies as any other character in the movie, giving the film a framing structure to base its actual story narrative upon. The zombie movie Shaun Of The Dead for instance, is seen as a Romantic Comedy in the first hour of the film before zombies are introduced as the main dilemma and plot. Initially the films story is about the main protagonist Shaun, having a relationship crisis. Clues and hints are given in the beginning to show the audience that the movie is about a zombie epidemic even though Shaun is unaware. The film is cleverly incorporating the zombie horror theme while the romantic comedy genre is being acted by the protagonist at the same time. While the protagonist was acting the part of a recently dumped boyfriend, in the background of his personal dilemma there were military machines, people screaming, news of the zombie outbreak on the television and newspapers. All these signs were made oblivious to the protagonist but shown clearly and obviously to the audience making the audience be involved in the zombie plot before the main protagonist as he was distinctly in a romantic comedy. This is an unconventional theme incorporated into the structure of the Genre Convention of the movie.
What makes the variation between romantic-comedy and horror so distinct is the use of dialogue within the film.The script is written well to portray typical relationship plights with the protagonist being dumped by his girlfriend,Liz for not ''growing up'' and making an effort in their relationship. Liz wanted Shaun to take charge of their relationship and make her feel special.The decision to break up with Shaun came after he failed to book a reservation at Liz's favorite restaurant to spend their anniversary together. Another issue faced by Shaun was that he had never introduced Liz to his mother.Also he despised his step-dad, creating tension between him and his mum. The social family implications in the film concludes that the main emotional theme of the movie is love. These petty dilemmas faced by Shaun are the Events of the Genre Conventions. The Story of the Genre Convention evolves around Shaun's life. Him having to face these problems becomes the main story narrative and plot of the entire movie. Besides his problem in 'love' he is also having to face a predicament between his two best friends, Ed and Pete. The video shown below portrays a scene in the move where Pete approaches Shaun on Ed's contribution to the household. Pete wants Ed to move out leaving Shaun in yet another indecisive and difficult position, having to choose between his two friends.
Like the film World War Z it possesses typical stock characters such as The Best Friend, The Hero,The False Hero,The Damsel,The Heroine, The Expert and The Villain. Having included stock characters into the narrative allows for the film to be easily recognisable and understandable .Also similar to World War Z the mutual villains are the zombies. Besides the stock characters , there are no other similarities between Shaun Of The Dead and World War Z. In addition to their differences, a False Hero is present in Shaun Of The Dead , but absent in World War Z. The character David in Shaun Of The Dead plays the False Hero. The main difference between the two films is that World War Z is a combination genre of action,adventure and horror. The story line of World War Z differs greatly in it's story narrative. Despite the movie being based upon a novel, which is also a contributing factor of difference between Shaun Of The Dead and World War Z.
In World War Z the main protagonist, Gerry is initially sent to Korea to protect the Expert of the film, a doctor in order to aid him find a cure for Zombies or at least a solution to protect humans against them. Upon arriving in Korea, Gerry is instantly faced with having to fight off zombies in order to protect the doctor. Soon however, the doctor dies in the most unfortunate and careless of sense, slipping on the floor, holding a gun which results in him accidentally shooting himself. Due to the accident with the doctor the main protagonist, Gerry takes the initiative to find the cure himself. The task of the main protagonist soon becomes the main element of where the adventure begins, incorporating and introducing the adventure genre.
The zombies in World War Z, though their presence is conventional in a zombie film , their characteristics however are not. The characteristics contribute to the Mise-en-scene . The zombies are fast, grotesque and animal-like. A cacophony of screeches,growls,teeth-chattering and gasps are made when devouring their victims. The video below is a scene where the various types of sounds made by the zombies can be heard clearly.
The unconventional teeth-chattering and gasps are heard in the video below.The reaminamtion of zombies in World war Z is far from the traditional and conventional zombies seen in old zombie films such as Dawn Of The Dead. I personally believe that Dawn Of The Dead was the ultimate stepping stone for all zombie genre movies . It sets a great example to all zombie films in the future. Shaun Of The Dead is a British parody of Dawn Of The Dead .
Considering the zombies in Shaun Of The Dead posses slow,dragged,motionless expressions and movements make them conventional. They also appear to be less blood thirsty and noisy making only muffled groans . The zombies ( depicted below) are more bloody and typical looking compared to the zombies in World War Z.
The scene below is an example of the type of zombies played in Shaun Of The Dead. The scene humorously shows how the zombies are not threatening by Shaun mistaking the zombie for a drunkard. Again depicting how Shaun is oblivious to the zombie epidemic that's causing chaos around him.
NARRATIVE CONTENT
The narrative theory of Binary oppositions by Levi-Strauss are incorporated into both films. The main binary opposition in the films include human vs non humans. The binary opposition theory is the understanding of ''opposites'' within a narrative. Other binary oppositions that can be gathered from both films are humans vs zombies, good vs evil, life vs death, human vs supernatural. These oppositions relates greatly to the horror genre. The theory of binary oppositions is constant and consistent throughout the narrative of World War Z, which differs from Shaun of the Dead. Shaun of the Dead's binary opposition theory is only applied to a certain extent of the narrative as in the end of the film, zombies and humans learn to live together communally and happily alongside each other , no longer posing as an opposition or threat against each other . Thus the theory ceases to be valid. World War Z binary opposition theory is however, kept consistently throughout the film . Zombies are constantly seen as a threat to the humans despite having found a solution to prevent themselves from being eaten , it is only temporary. Another contributing difference between the films are that World War Z incorporates Barthes theory of Hermeneutic Code. The theory best represents narratives of an 'open' rather than a 'close' ending. An open narrative where the narrative is to be unravelled and taken into great consideration and left to the imagination of the audience enhancing their viewing experience by making them want to know more . The implementation of this theory justifies World War Z's narrative as the film includes many sequential elements of action throughout the entirety of the film.This reflects the theme of the style of the film being a horror genre, unlike Shaun of the Dead the comedic genre of which the films narrative is taken less seriously. The theory creates suspense,eagerness, which has an impact of enhancement for the audience.
GENRE
The expected genre of a zombie based film is Horror. Conventions such as the films graphic content is normally gory, hematic and raw. In terms of the narrative, it is often set in a background of when an outbreak of zombies are invading the world which is known as the 'zombie apocalypse'. An extremely large part of the film also typically takes place in a closed space such as a shopping mall, house, or farm house whereby characters are trapped by the zombies making the climax of the entire film based upon whether the characters will escape and survive and how they will eventually do so.
Despite regular conventions seen in zombie films, there are films that treat zombies as any other character in the movie, giving the film a framing structure to base its actual story narrative upon. The zombie movie Shaun Of The Dead for instance, is seen as a Romantic Comedy in the first hour of the film before zombies are introduced as the main dilemma and plot. Initially the films story is about the main protagonist Shaun, having a relationship crisis. Clues and hints are given in the beginning to show the audience that the movie is about a zombie epidemic even though Shaun is unaware. The film is cleverly incorporating the zombie horror theme while the romantic comedy genre is being acted by the protagonist at the same time. While the protagonist was acting the part of a recently dumped boyfriend, in the background of his personal dilemma there were military machines, people screaming, news of the zombie outbreak on the television and newspapers. All these signs were made oblivious to the protagonist but shown clearly and obviously to the audience making the audience be involved in the zombie plot before the main protagonist as he was distinctly in a romantic comedy. This is an unconventional theme incorporated into the structure of the Genre Convention of the movie.
Like the film World War Z it possesses typical stock characters such as The Best Friend, The Hero,The False Hero,The Damsel,The Heroine, The Expert and The Villain. Having included stock characters into the narrative allows for the film to be easily recognisable and understandable .Also similar to World War Z the mutual villains are the zombies. Besides the stock characters , there are no other similarities between Shaun Of The Dead and World War Z. In addition to their differences, a False Hero is present in Shaun Of The Dead , but absent in World War Z. The character David in Shaun Of The Dead plays the False Hero. The main difference between the two films is that World War Z is a combination genre of action,adventure and horror. The story line of World War Z differs greatly in it's story narrative. Despite the movie being based upon a novel, which is also a contributing factor of difference between Shaun Of The Dead and World War Z.
In World War Z the main protagonist, Gerry is initially sent to Korea to protect the Expert of the film, a doctor in order to aid him find a cure for Zombies or at least a solution to protect humans against them. Upon arriving in Korea, Gerry is instantly faced with having to fight off zombies in order to protect the doctor. Soon however, the doctor dies in the most unfortunate and careless of sense, slipping on the floor, holding a gun which results in him accidentally shooting himself. Due to the accident with the doctor the main protagonist, Gerry takes the initiative to find the cure himself. The task of the main protagonist soon becomes the main element of where the adventure begins, incorporating and introducing the adventure genre.
The zombies in World War Z, though their presence is conventional in a zombie film , their characteristics however are not. The characteristics contribute to the Mise-en-scene . The zombies are fast, grotesque and animal-like. A cacophony of screeches,growls,teeth-chattering and gasps are made when devouring their victims. The video below is a scene where the various types of sounds made by the zombies can be heard clearly.
The scene below is an example of the type of zombies played in Shaun Of The Dead. The scene humorously shows how the zombies are not threatening by Shaun mistaking the zombie for a drunkard. Again depicting how Shaun is oblivious to the zombie epidemic that's causing chaos around him.
In relation to the narrative structure specifically, Shaun of the Dead sets place in England which is a constant location throughout, unlike World war Z where locations are set in Scotland,Wales, Jerusalem, Korea ,Hungary, England and America. The difference of location for both films reflects the budgeting,funding bodies and distribution they both posses. Shaun of the Dead was filmed on a budget of 4 million USD, World War Z 190 million USD. Shaun of the Dead was distributed by Universal Pictures , World War Z by Paramount Pictures. The ending of Shaun of the Dead was a closed ending of zombies living with humans as a community. Which is unlike World War Z where by the film ended with a suspenseful open ending. It was left to the viewers discretion to contemplate and reflect on the characters outcome. The movie ended with a very vague and cryptic line- '' war had just begun''. Throughout the entire film, it was assumed that the dramatic events of the film was the ''war''.However the ending confirms that the violent and thrilling scenes was not the 'war' everyone expected it to be, which makes the entire film and the prospect of a sequel even more exciting.Both films were of a non-linear narrative as flashbacks or futuristic clips were not included or portrayed in either films.
CINEMATICS (TECHNICAL ASPECTS) & MISE-EN-SCENE
Camera shots of panning were used frequently in Shaun of the Dead to transition from one character to another. The panning shots were abrupt and snappy with dramatic sound effects enhancing the humorous and comedic genre. The video below is an example of how the camera transitions from one scene to another very quickly and dramatically by either sideways,vertically or horizontally. Another camera movement used very often throughout the film, that is also shown in the video below is zooming in and out of a subject. An unconventional aspect of horror films that is used quite often in Shaun of the Dead is when the main character is looking directly into the camera. Having the subject look directly into the camera, betrays the realism of the narrative. When the subject does this , the film narrative is no longer seen as realistic. Realism is the main aim of horror films.However due to Shaun of the Dead being a comedy horror genre , having the subject look directly into the camera mocks the narrative which in turn expresses the comedic theme of the film. The theatrical and climatic sound effects reflects the mood of a scene and the importance of the subject. World War Z contrasts to Shaun of the Dead as camera shots used are less creative and more standardised. This is another contributing factor of difference between both films genres. As established earlier, Shaun of the Dead is a comedy ,it's shots and narrative are posed to be unrealistic and less serious.World War Z theme is to be realistic,serious and thought provoking which is reflective on their use of camera movement,editing and camera shots. World War Z use of camera techniques is limited so as to portray the formality and solemness of the narrative. Camera shots vary between point of view, high angle,low angle, long shots, medium shots and extra long shots. Movements vary from panning,tilt ,zoom in and zoom out. When transitioning scenes, effects are minimalist and barely noticeable ,unlike Shaun of the Dead which are extremely exaggerated, creative and prominent.World War Z lack of creativity in their cinematography is deliberate so as to reflect the seriousness and realistic narrative that is to be portrayed. Realism is essential in horror films to create a horrifying and threatening impact on the audience. Distinctive editing effects used in World War Z are sound effects of the zombies screeching where it varies from a low to high pitch. Though editing is present in World War Z ,the effects are realistic and not exaggerated in order to prevent making the film seem unreal and forged. Another representation of genre between comedy and horror, besides realism portrayed through camera and effects, is lighting. Throughout World War Z, lighting is dark and dim representing the horrifying theme.Shaun of the Dead incorporates bright lighting that does not convey the horror theme but instead the comical atmosphere and genre.
NARRATIVE CONTENT
The narrative theory of Binary oppositions by Levi-Strauss are incorporated into both films. The main binary opposition in the films include human vs non humans. The binary opposition theory is the understanding of ''opposites'' within a narrative. Other binary oppositions that can be gathered from both films are humans vs zombies, good vs evil, life vs death, human vs supernatural. These oppositions relates greatly to the horror genre. The theory of binary oppositions is constant and consistent throughout the narrative of World War Z, which differs from Shaun of the Dead. Shaun of the Dead's binary opposition theory is only applied to a certain extent of the narrative as in the end of the film, zombies and humans learn to live together communally and happily alongside each other , no longer posing as an opposition or threat against each other . Thus the theory ceases to be valid. World War Z binary opposition theory is however, kept consistently throughout the film . Zombies are constantly seen as a threat to the humans despite having found a solution to prevent themselves from being eaten , it is only temporary. Another contributing difference between the films are that World War Z incorporates Barthes theory of Hermeneutic Code. The theory best represents narratives of an 'open' rather than a 'close' ending. An open narrative where the narrative is to be unravelled and taken into great consideration and left to the imagination of the audience enhancing their viewing experience by making them want to know more . The implementation of this theory justifies World War Z's narrative as the film includes many sequential elements of action throughout the entirety of the film.This reflects the theme of the style of the film being a horror genre, unlike Shaun of the Dead the comedic genre of which the films narrative is taken less seriously. The theory creates suspense,eagerness, which has an impact of enhancement for the audience.
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