Representation

A group that I want to present within my project are gay/homosexual people. Over the years, the dispersing of awareness for gay rights and gay pride has dramatically risen. In the past, no one would ever mention gay people, and people who wanted to come out to the public wouldn't because they have a fear of unacceptance from others. On television, gay people are perceived as a different type of group within their own personalities. The personality of gay people are very feminine which makes them diverse from every other group or individual in the cast of a show or film, especially characters who aren't gay. With their costume design, they are presented as having a sense of cleanliness and organization by having a clean cut outfit on, and are very precise with their point, which makes them very outgoing and sometimes loud with what they're stating.

          In the show Modern Family, there is a gay male couple who are seen as more outgoing and overjoyed than the other characters within the show. On social media sources, like twitter and Instagram, there are various pictures of gay people being happy and taking in their pride and awareness. There are also pictures of promotion of gay awareness such as posters and people holding hand made signs saying that love is equal among everyone. They bring forth a very peaceful environment with their big pride and spirit. In both medias, gay people have a trait that represents themselves and makes them stand out from the other people.

           Because I am growing up in the century where  more people are coming out, in today's society i view this as something that is of norm. The way people and medias represent gay people do represent some gay people, but not all. I have met many different gay people with different personalities of their own. I don't think that every gay person is of the feminine side because some aren't, and it really depends on the type of person. I wouldn't retain any of the characteristics since they are very stereotypically represented, especially in media sources.

GENRE-ACTION

GENRE- Action

GENRE CONVENTIONS- Action films usually feature high energy, physical stunts and chases with rapid pacing, often created from fast editing. Action films tend to be full of adventure and often includes multiple locations. Characters within these films are generally two dimensional and have copious stereotypes. Action films are designed for escapism and can also feature fantastical action. Spy films also fit into this genre as well as superhero films, material arts films and disaster films.

INSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS (PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES)- Showing action/reaction shots help audiences build anticipation for what's about to happen next in the film, even if it's only built up within the moment between the two shots. Additionally, instead of slowing down footage down in order to be able to see punches and kicks, a typical action hero may need the few frames before impacts sped up in order to make them seem more hard-hitting. Furthermore, action producers cut frames out of an impact. Instead of slowing down the frames, they just cut frames out all together to make them more intense. Producers also add filters to sound effects because It's not enough to drag and drop sound effects into a timeline to sell the illusion that people are getting fought on screen. Because of this, producers add some filters to them to make them sound as though they were recorded on location, otherwise it won't be convincing.

INSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS (HOW IS GENRE MARKETED)- When marketers try to put out an action genre out, they try to incorporate something remarkable to the film, such as big oversized props and publicity stunts that seem entertaining to the public eye. Letting viewers experience the story of the film is also another way action films are marketed. For example, The Hunger Games had one of the biggest digital marketing campaigns of the decade. The most innovative aspect of their strategy was their ‘Virtual Hunger Games’, where users could join a district and compete against other districts, just like in the film. This virtual game allowed viewers to experience what the characters in the film experienced while engaging with other fans of the film. Also, most action films include actors that correspond to the overall “action theme” because they star in only/mostly fun action movies, like Tom Cruz. Posting a picture of his face on a big picture, with everyone already familiarized with him can let the target audience know that it will be a good movie with a good actor starring in it.

FILM SAMPLE #1- The Avengers. The Avengers demonstrates a perfect representation of the action genre because of its fast paced action packed scenes. There are a lot of high energy and jump cuts while the avengers are all fighting crime. This includes fast paced cuts throughout the film to show that there is a lot of commotion and violence going on. There is fiction-like action when each avenger brings out their superpowers to the person or group they are fighting with which makes the audience “jump out of their seats” for almost every scene presented.

FILM SAMPLE #2- The Terminator. The Terminator presents a futuristic approach to the world. There is a cyborg assassin disguised as a real human being entering 2029 in order to kill someone. There are many abrupt scenes in this film such as explosions, bombs, and an abundance of reckless car crashes from many fast-paced car chases. Additionally, there are a lot of physical stunts and actions that the Terminator incorporates into his daily regimes in order to focus on killing the person that he was ordered to assassinate.

ACTION GENRE EXAMPLES: Wonder Woman, Black Panther, Mission Impossible, Venom.

Genre Database Activity

Genre

Comedy

Genre conventions (content)

Comedies are light-hearted films that are made to amuse and provoke laughter (with jokes, etc) within the audience by exaggerating situations, language, characters, action and relationships. The comedy genre includes sub-genes: Screwball, slapstick, parodies, and romantic comedies. The usual age for someone watching a comedy movie is very dependent on the content of the film. For example, children’s films rated PG can have comical scenes that appeals to young children, as well as parents, because they are often family films. However, the audience would be completely different for a comedy film rated PG-13. These films have a target audience of a certified age that's given to the movie, such as teenagers. PG-13 movies can appeal to people over the labelled age of the film because comedy has a large target audience. For rated R movies, only people who are seventeen and older can view the film. These films are often more explicit in terms of language and scenes, making the film heavily aimed at individuals over the age of seventeen.

Genre conventions (production techniques)

Comedies usually occur in bright settings, and locations that are known for social events are often used. The lighting is naturally bright in order to create a realistic environment. Bright and happy colors are used to show that the scene is jolly, and that it is done in daylight. Additionally, the camerawork for most comedies is naturalistic and characters are filmed in a way that shows that no one is better than the other. Additionally, sound is very important for the comedy genre. Diegetic sound, like dialogue, needs to be very clear to make sure it can be heard and laughed at. Non diegetic sound is also very important. This can be used for editing sounds to place emphasis on certain scenes. Also, idiotic characters are usually used in contrast with a group of “normal” people, showing the difference in personalities and emphasizes the stupidity of the folly character.

Institutional conventions (how is genre marketed)

Timing is incredibly important for marking comedies. Marketers must build up as much hype in the short amount of time leading up to the launch of the film as possible. Word of mouth is a powerful form of marketing. Making something that is worth talking about can spread and advertise the film like a wildfire. In order to do this, marketers need to create a visually compelling picture to make the audience find a sense of humor in what they are looking at. For example, the cover of the movie “Dumb and Dumber” shows two guys smiling and acting goofy. One is pulling the others hair while the other guy is pulling the others ears. This shows that these two characters might inflict a variety of funny actions within their lives. Furthermore, persona making also comes into play for marketing comedy films. A film will most likely have a character that the audience connects with in some way or another. Many film marketing campaigns have played on their audiences love (or hate) for certain characters by building a persona around those characters on social media. Based off of the movie “Ted” directed by Seth MacFarlane, the Ted character, with almost a million followers continues to post funny comments that spread across the internet. It’s effectively free marketing for the film now and on any given day Ted can tweet something driving thousands of retweets.

Film sample #1-Grown Ups

This film embodies my genre because each character in the film is a grown up with problems and challenges that seem amusing to the target audience. Grown Ups is about how five teenage boys rekindled thirty years later along with their families. They all come together and seem out of place with everyone else, which gives the film an unusual and funny situation. By now, Marcus is alone and drinks too much. Rob, an ugly father with three beautiful daughters he rarely sees, is always deeply in love until he turns on his next ex-wife. Eric is overweight and out of work. Kurt is a househusband who is spoon fed by his wife and mother-in-law and Lenny is a successful Hollywood agent married to a fashion designer while their kids take their privilege for granted. When they all gather together with their families, many of their own problems really start to come out in a funny manner when they go out. Each character thinks that they are doing the norm when in reality, they are being made fun of by other people. These foolish characters are in contrast with other regular people, showing the difference in personalities really emphasizes the stupidity of the five characters.

Film sample #2- 21 Jump Street

This film embodies my genre because it shows how two opposite people can attempt to work together on a common goal in a humorous manner for the target audience. In the film, the two main characters Morton Schmidt and Greg Jenko were polar opposites in high school. Schmidt did well in school, but his geekish personality made it hard to him to gain acceptance from his peers. Jenko was a popular jock with plenty of friends, but didn't do so well in school. Seven years later, these two join the police force and end up becoming friends. Because they are young, Schmidt and Jenko are assigned to go undercover as high school students to catch the supplier of a certain drug that had been roaming around the school. After their identities are accidentally mixed up, Schmidt finds himself with the popular kids, while Jenko finds himself disliked by most of the students. It is very amusing to see how their identities switched up, and how they try to not blow their cover.

Ex 1- Superbad

Ex 2- We’re The Millers

Ex 3- Step Brothers

Ex 4- Napoleon Dynamite

Ex 5- Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Blog opening

Hello, my name is Sofia Chifari and this is my first time utilizing blogger.com. My purpose for this blog is to create a genre database entry from a film or a magazine.