Gone Girl - Thriller Films

INSTITUTIONS: Gone Girl was directed by David Fincher who also directed Seven and Fight Club. The producer, Cean Chaffin, worked along side Fincher on the movie fight club and has also produced titles such as The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Panic Room. The distributor of Gone Girl was 20th Century Fox, who are known for their invlolvement in may popular films, including Prometheus, The Fault in our Stars and X-Men: First Class. 

Gone Girl made $38M during its opening weekend. It remained in cinemas for 21 weeks and has gone on to make a worldwide lifetime gross of $368M.

AUDIENCE: The target audience for Gone Girl is young adults (20+) interested in movies that pack in twists and drama with sometimes complex narratives. With a censorship classification of 18, this is perfect for attracting the target audience. The main characters are played by famous actors, for example, Ben Affleck and Neil Patrick Harris. Using famous actors to accompany the twists, intense drama and detailed characters will help to attract a broader target audience. 

The movie received various positive reviews which generated a high Metascore of 79/100. The New York Times respects the movies complexity as it states that audiences are left feeling like they have watched about four different movies. They also state that the director, Fincher, is aware of his audience's intelligence and describe him as 'fearless'. The Telegraph and Empire are also in agreement that this movie is the epitome of Fincher's talent. I agree with the nearly-all positive reviews and agree that the film has exciting, unpredictable twists, well detailed characters and is extremely well directed.  GENRE AND CONVENTIONS: Gone Girl could, arguably, be placed in both the Drama and thriller genres. Whilst being a dramatic plot, the twists and suspense make the film fit well into the thriller genre, too. Audiences of the drama genre expect fairly complex narratives with a detailed plot which can often revolve around a love affair. Audiences of thriller films expect suspense, mystery and twists. Nearly all of which are present in this movie. Inception, The Imitation Game and Seven share very similar conventions and therefore fit into the same genre. With its link to mental illness through the 'psycho' wife, Gone Girl is slightly similar, also, to Silver Linings Playbook which, much like this movie, features a dramatic plot, detailed characters and uses famous actors in order to attract an audience. I would argue that Gone Girl is not typical of any genre because of the way it can be placed into multiple genres as it features conventions from thriller, drama and mystery. This makes it difficult to classify as 'typical'.

REPRESENTATIONS: The main characters in Gone Girl are a creative writing teacher, Nick Dunne - husband of Amy Elliot Dunne - the star of the 'Amazing Amy' books written by her parents. Amy is portrayed as a psychopath, whereas, the unfaithful husband is portrayed as strong and caring. The film is set in suburban America. The location is portrayed as law abiding and pleasant. Majority of the representations are positive, however, the female main character, Amy, is portrayed in a negative way.  The moral of the story: do not cheat on a psychopath!

SE7EN - Thriller Films

INSTITUTIONS: Seven was directed by David Fincher who was also the director for the 2014 film Gone Girl. Seven was produced and distributed by New Line Cinema who were also involved with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Lord Of The Rings.

Seven made $14M dollars on its opening weekend and has made a worldwide lifetime gross of $327M. AUDIENCE: The target audience for Seven is young, male adults, perhaps in their late 20's, who enjoy films with action, twists and gore. The MPAA have given Seven a CC rating of R, meaning under 17's must be accompanied by an adult. This has little effect on the target audience as they are aged above 18.

Tense scenes, build-ups, gore and mystery all help to attract the target audience. The piling up deaths surrounding the officers create mystery and the dramatic ending also creates audience pleasure.

Seven is highly rated by many critics, giving 7 a Metascore of 65/100. Many critics admired the skill that went in to making the film along with its plot, however, The San Francisco Examiner felt that, "the movie is gluey, bumbling and singularly un-thrilling." Not many critics share this opinion. I enjoyed the film and agreed with the majority of critics that found the film unique, intelligent and skillful. GENRE AND CONVENTIONS: Seven is undoubtedly a thriller film, with its gunshots, twists and thought-provoking narrative. Films in this genre do not always have a narrative conclusion, audiences of thriller films expect suspense, mystery, dark themes, violence and a level of thinking which can leave audiences confused, in some cases. Thriller films also often involve and investigation of some sort which usually involve institutions such as the police - this is a convention that is present in the movie Seven. 

Inception, Silence of the Lambs and Pulp Fiction are three thrillers that feature similar conventions as Seven. This suggests that Seven is typical of its genre as not only does it feature many conventions but fits in with other films from the genre. REPRESENTATION: The main characters in Seven are two detectives, one described as a 'Rookie', the other an experienced veteran. Detective Mill, played by Brad Pitt, is portrayed as naïve and determined as is Detective Somerset, played by Morgan Freeman, who is represented as highly intelligent, calm and experienced. The antagonist is portrayed as very absent minded, emotionless and psychopathic.

The film is set on the busy streets of the US. Busy urban or suburban streets are typical conventions of thriller films. The set is portrayed as run down but the streets remain busy. The moral of the film revolves around our obliviousness to the seven sins.

Inception - Thriller Films

INSTITUTIONS: Inception was directed by Christopher Nolan who has also directed Interstellar and The Dark Night Rises. Christopher Nolan was also the producer of Inception, along with Emma Thomas who also produced Interstellar. Inception was distributed by Warner Brothers - the distributors of Man of Steel and 300.

• During its opening weekend, Inception made $62.8M.
• Inception has a worldwide lifetime gross of $825.5M.
• Inception's budget was $160 million.

AUDIENCE: The target audience for Inception is young male adults who are interested in films that require a certain amount of thinking. This is because the plot of this particular movie can get extremely complex and at times difficult to understand. With a cc rating of PG-13, Inception is open to young audiences. This has very little impact on the target audience as the age is much lower than that of the target audience. The complexity of the storyline is most probably what attracts the target audience. Themes explored in this movie are supernatural (e.g. the manipulated dreams in the movie were out of the ordinary) this will help to attract a young adult target audience.

On IMDb - the Internet Movie Database - Inception has received a rating of 8.8 out of 10. The majority of film critics rate Inception very highly.

I agree with most of the critic reviews above as they mostly share the idea that the movie leaves you extremely confused as to what you just watched. GENRE AND CONVENTIONS: Inception is an action/sci-fi movie. it fits into both categories in my opinion as whammo scenes feature plenty of action and other scenes explore dream-controlling technology. Audiences of action movies expect intense chase scenes; gun fights; car crashes; an interesting, twist-filled plot and a narrative conclusion in which, usually, the protagonist succeeds. These conventions were featured heavily throughout the movie, particularly in the dreams - whammo scenes in particular. These dreams are what link this movie to science fiction as well as action. Audiences of Science fiction expect slightly different conventions such as technology, sometimes bizzare creatures and almost anything nonprosaic (out of the ordinary) as this will interest and excite this particular audience. 

Lucy (2014) is another film that shares the same genre and conventions as Inception. It not only features the action of whammo scenes but also the science behind the drug that accelerates her brain capacity. 

Inception is very typical of the action genre in that it packs in intense chase scenes and gun fights, but is also unconventional as it also explores the science fiction genre. 

REPRESENTATIONS: The main characters in Inception are a young adult, white, American male played by Leonardo DiCaprio and a young, white, American student played by Ellen Page. They are both represented as intelligent, particularly the young student, and are both strong, courageous and determined. The main character is emotionally attached to the dream world as it brings him to his deceased wife.

The film is set initially in America but enters the imaginary world of peoples dreams. Most representations explored are positive except it can be depicted that the dream world is dangerous.

12 Years a Slave - Audiences and Institutions

INSTITUTIONS:

12 Years a Slave was directed by Steve McQueen who is also known for directing Shame and Hunger. Seven people were given title of producer for this film including Brad Pitt and Dede Gardner. The movie was distributed by Fox Searchlight and Entertainment One to the UK, US, Canada, Spain, Australia/New Zealand. Other companies such as Regency, Plan B, Film 4 and River Road Entertainment were involved in funding the film's production. Entertainment One were also involved in the distribution of The Hunger Games and Divergent.

12 Years a Slave made over £6.5M on its official (wide) opening weekend and a worldwide lifetime profit of $187.7M. AUDIENCE:

12 Years a Slave attracts a mature audience of both genders, particularly those interested in matters of the world such as racist discrimination. You could argue that because of this films focus on slavery and black discrimination, a black audience is targeted. The MPAA rating for this film is R (restricted) meaning watching if under 17 year old requires an adult to accompany. This will help to attract an adult audience prepared for this films hard-hitting content.

The film is based on true events and is based on the book written by the main character Solomon Northup which makes this film appeal to the target audience who are interested in matters of the world. Being told a film is based around real events will help an audience to understand the severity of the plot and makes it hit harder. 12 Years a Slave was very positively reviewed with critics such as Rolling Stone, The Guardian and New York Times giving it 5 stars. I completely agree with the critic reviews as this for me was a film with an impact that told a true and heavy-hitting story. 

The Guardian - Paul MacInnes

Rolling Stone

GENRE AND CONVENTIONS: This movie fits into the Drama genre.  12 Years is very typical of this genre as it explores dramatic themes such as racial prejudice. Audiences of drama films expect complex, comprehensive storylines with detailed characters and talented acting. Drama audiences do not always expect a positive narrative conclusion as some stories conclude with loose ends unexplained or unresolved. Nearly all of these conventions are present in 12 Years, particularly the non-conclusive ending in which the audience is informed of the mysterious circumstances of Solomon's death. Another film that is similar is The Kings Speech for it shares a lot of conventions much like The Imitation game which focus on other dramatic themes such as sexuality. Both of these movies, like 12 Years, are based on real events and follow similar narrative structures. 

  REPRESENTATIONS: The main characters in 12 Years a Slave are black, African-American slaves. They are portrayed as innocent victims of the slave trade which in turn portrays white Americans as violent slave owners. The film is set in mid-1800's America, a time where black people were heavily discriminated against and often bought and sold as slaves. While the film represents some of America to be accepting of black people (the Freemen), it does portray a violent place and time for African-Americans. These representations, in my opinion, are positive because they emphasise the inhumanity of white Americans at the time and encourage people to feel sympathetic towards the many black people who were enslaved. The innocent representation of black Americans is also important as it allows the audience to see how they were so badly treated. 

The message this movie conveys is important as, not only is it educational to those who are unaware of how bad the slave trade was, but to encourage others to be accepting of different types of people.

Frozen - Audiences and Institutions

INSTITUTIONS:

From the producers of 'Tangled' and 'Wreck-It-Ralph', Frozen was directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee who have directed other films such as 'Tarzan' and 'Pocahontas'. With the funding of Disney, Frozen was distributed all over the world. The producer, Peter Del Vecho, has produced many other famous titles such as 'Winnie the Pooh' and 'The Princess and the Frog'. Frozen has made $1,274,219,009 as a total lifetime gross since its release in November, 2013.