. PROPPS CHARACTER THEORY/ VIEWS ABOUT PROPPS CHARACTER THEORY

Propp's character theory, identifies these 8 character types.

1. The villain — struggles against the hero.
2. The dispatcher — character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off.
3. The (magical) helper — helps the hero in their quest.
4. The princess or prize and her father — the hero deserves her throughout the story but is unable to marry her because of an unfair evil, usually because of the villain. The hero's journey is often ended when he marries the princess, thereby beating the villain.
5. The donor — prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object.
6. The hero or victim/seeker hero — reacts to the donor, weds the princess.
7. The false hero — takes credit for the hero’s actions or tries to marry the princess.
8. The rogue hero - not the mpst villanous or heroic character, so could be termed a rogue hero

I agree with Propp's character theory to some extent, as I can identify the 8 character types. However as this theory does not apply to every film I can’t completely agree with Propp’s theory as it only relates to roles that are stereotypical of the sexes however not to counter stereotypes. For example ‘Let The Right One In’ (2008) there is no hero (who is, according to Propp’s theory supposed to be male) – instead the protagonist id both hero and villain as she is a vampire. Instead of this character , Eli being a completely heartless older character - she instead presented in the form of a twelve year old castrated boy, that appears to be a young girl. The second protagonist is a young male, who is an outcast because he's bullied by his classmate(normally this is the female character, categorised as the Princess and therefore because of her gender we empathise with her). With the role of the Princess (a female role) being played by a male, my statement is supported that the theory cannot apply to this film/all films because of the role reversal. However the theory obviously can be applied to most films as these roles can be observed in all most not just fairytale even though there are not always 8 character types. In the case of a horror it is harder to incorporate Propp's theory as there are elements that may not be easily mirrored with the theories. 

. VLADIMIR PROPP

Vladimir Yakovlevich Propp was a Soviet folklorist and scholar who analysed the basic plot components of Russian folk tales to identify their simplest narrative elements. He came to the conclusion that they were all made up of 31 plot elements, which he called functions. He also found that there were 8 main character types. The emphasis was on looking at characters not as representing real people but as functions whose role was to move the narrative forward.

. CAMERA ANGLES AND SHOTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE GENRE

Today I was able to identify a variety of basic camera shots and therefore am able to discuss the main camera angles used in filming.

This low angle shot of the character Nosferatu solidifies the characters asserted power and menacing behavioural characteristics.

(still taken from Nosferatu)

High angles are usually made to portray vulnerability and powerless, potentially to represent a villain's intention's to end the life of this character.

(still taken from the 39 steps)

. HORROR POSTERS

Below are examples of horror posters that I found extremely striking due to the mise-en-scene and imagery. Each have thought provoking elements that encourage the potential viewer of the film to want to work out the story of the actual film, and also look for patterns between the main image and pivotal events in the film.

. HORROR GENRE / PEER FEEDBACK AND ANALYSIS

WIKIPEDIA DEFINITION OF HORROR

Horror is a film genre seeking to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's primal fears. Inspired by literature from authors like Edgar Allan Poe, Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, horror films have for more than a century featured scenes that frighten the viewer. The macabre and the supernatural are frequent themes. Thus they may overlap with the fantasy, supernatural, and thriller genres.

peer feedback and analysis:
"I like the suspense of what will happen, all the surprising aspects of the genre are what keep me hooked." 

As you can see from this individuals view of the horror genre there is a lot of weight placed on the suspense because this then keeps people entertained and interested. There is a psychological study that shows,according to scientists, our brain is incapable, at an emotional level, to distinguish between what’s real and what’s not in imagery. So, at an emotional level, being chased by an axe-wielding lunatic in real life is fairly comparable to seeing and experiencing images of such a chase at a distance from the comfort of a chair. Maybe that's why people are so driven towards this genre as it collates both psychological and literal fears of the audience members in a way that makes the wonder if things really do go 'bump in the night'.

However in some cases (like mine) Horrors become unbearable to watch because they play on the fears that we have, and I really don't like being frightened.

. EXPLORING CONVENTIONS

We had to deconstruct the elements and conventions of horror films and these were the typical things we found:

Mise-en-scene 
Isolate settings, domestic settings
Dark atmosphere, created by expressionistic lighting, shadowy lighting

Camera Work and Editing
Crosscutting for suspense sequences
Faster cutting for violent action
Point of view shots for those being watched
Hand held shots for chase scenes 

Characters
Hedonistic teenagers
Innocent girls
Victims become heroes
Monsters
Final girl
Psychological damaged adults 

Narratives
Good triumphing over evil
Conflict played out as battle between good and evil
The supernatural haunting an individual
Unfinished business with a villain coming back for revenge
Confusing with identity
Usolved murders
Unexplained events

Icons
Blood
Gore
Knives
Shadows
Darkness
Masks
Ghosts
Deformities

. IMPORTANT GOTHIC NOVELS THAT INFLUENCED THE HORROR GENRE - Frankestine (1818), Bram Stoker (1897)

Frankenstein is a novel written by English author Mary Shelley about eccentric scientist Victor Frankenstein, who creates a grotesque creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty. T Frankenstein is infused with elements of the Gothic novel and the Romantic movement and is also considered to be one of the earliest examples of science fiction. It has had a considerable influence across literature and popular culture and spawned a complete genre of horror stories, films, and plays.

Dracula is an 1897 Gothic horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to move from Transylvania to England so he may find new blood and spread undead curse, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor Abraham Van Helsing.

Dracula has been assigned to many literary genres including vampire literature, horror fiction, the gothic novel and invasion literature. The novel touches on themes such as the role of women in Victorian culture, sexual conventions, immigration, colonialism, and post-colonialism. Although Stoker did not invent the vampire, he defined its modern form, and the novel has spawned numerous theatrical, film and television interpretations.

. CONTEMPORARY HORROR FILM : ORPHAN (2009)

Orphan is a 2009 American psychological horror thriller film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra. It stars Vera Farmiga,Peter Sarsgaard and Isabelle Fuhrman. The film centres on a couple who, after the death of their unborn child, adopt a mysterious nine-year-old girl. The child on the poster appears to be innocent, but as this is a horror she is in fact the villain however we can guess the film is about a this particular young girl who is disguised as an orphan. She is dressed in clothes that could be categorized as old fashioned this denotes that the character is from a early time period/older than she seems (she is in fact 33 years old).The text used for 'orphan' represents a possessing or an evil/devil like character as the writing looks like something scratched on a black board or wall. This denotes foreshadowing in the film as the she draws satanic and horrible images on the walls in her room.The text 'can you keep a secret' is in red writing and this implies that the secret is something deadly. The use of a rhetorical question here, makes the viewer extremely nervous and places great emphasis on the films frightening content. Red is the colour of blood, and with the red bow around her neck viewers  could infer that she will die or she may have something to hide underneath it that needs to be covered over. The use of her eyes appearing 'blacked out' make her seem as though she is without a soul , as they say the 'eyes are the window to the soul'. Black connotes death, night and evil - and this image relates to the fact that she is in fact a psychologically damaged adult.

With this trailer we observe a range of close up shots are used when Esther is in a scene, this normally shows us a sinister smile or what appears to be an almost pure appearance however with the use of shadows we can see she isn't completely virginal. This is extremely effective as we are able to recognize that she is not all that she may seem and with the use of objective treatment we focus on each and every move she makes. We become wary of her and therefore want the other characters to as well.

. MY INTRODUCTION TO CONTEMPORARY HORROR TRAILERS

I chose to watch these horror trailers in my own time, so that I would be as prepared for the corse as possible. 

I noticed that in these contemporary trailers a lot of weight is placed on both blood and the supernatural. This tells me that my generation is a lot more tolerant of these themes in films and that they prefer them to most other types of Horror films. they all focus on the emotional experiences or torments of one particular character, normally the one you'd follow throughout the film. 

They also all include a menacing element to them (this can be expected as it is a Horror film, however this menacing element is normally in the form of a person who has either passed on or has mental issues. 

Death is obviously a theme in all of the trailers, and each consist of close ups of female characters (also known as the princess/prize according to Propp's theory) in a state of panic and fear - a convention of films of this nature. I have noticed, from the trailers I have watched there is always a female character who then acts conventionally as the victim we watch be tortured by some force, however we hope that she is saved either by herself or by a handsome man - in some cases she is the final girl (It refers to the last woman alive to confront the killer, supposedly the one left to tell the story.)

wikipedia definition of the final girl- a climax in which the last surviving member of the group, a girl or woman, either vanquishes the killer or gets away. According to Clover, the final girl in many of these works shares common characteristics: she is typically sexually unavailable or virginal, avoiding the vices of the victims (sex, illegal drug use, hedonistic lifestyle, etc.). She sometimes has a unisex name (e.g., Laurie, Sidney, Teddy, Billie, Georgie). Occasionally the final girl will have a shared history with the killer.

. INTRODUCTION

WELCOME, this is the first official blog post for my A2 Media blog. This will contain regular posts on the courses content, which will be the Horror genre. I personally am not a fan of the genre at all - I don't enjoy being frightened so I'd normally stay away from films of this nature and to create a trailer myself would be out of the question. However, I aim to gain a new awareness for the unknown, the importance of this genre to not only my generation but the older generation as well and a sense of bravery also - I hope to maybe even enjoy the genre in the coming months.