The Omega Man and I am Legend – Revision Checklist Narrative Structure - -some sense of exposition and/or complications/climaxes and/or resolution is important. The Hollywood classical narrative has rules, do the films chosen fall in or outside that remit? Is one of the films an ‘independent’ movie? How is narrative structure dealt with differently here? Expectations – to what extent are the audience expectations of the films linked directly to what we understand of US cinema? How are these expectations fulfilled or challenged in the films studied? Pace – how is the narrative paced? What is the overall effect of this on the audience? How does the style of the narrative relate to the time in which the film was made? To what extent is developed? How does the narrative position the audience - what perspectives do we get? The relationships between narrative and genre can provide good contrasts/comparisons Genre o An understanding of the conventions of the genre is essential and how each film conforms to this or rejects this is important. o Some sense of how or if archetypes are used and within the broader context of the genre
o Are generic expectations exploited? Does the audience sense that certain things are about to occur? How effective is the use of iconography here?
o o How does the genre fit into the broader history of Hollywood? Is it in or out of fashion – o
musical, Western? What effect do broader contexts have on how the audience might view the genre – these may be centered on representational issues, sex/violence/ America
Representation A good comparison would obviously take the main areas of representation into account but what is essential here is choosing films that have some real sense of this. Gender – fundamental to get a grasp of the broader contexts – should cover both male and female characters Location – place(s) – need some specific input here on differences – urban/rural, east/west Some sense of racial groups may also be helpful – their place in American society. For example in The Departed the Irish-American dimension is very important and this is also implicit in many gangster films of the 1930s. Representation of time-frame is also important to distinguish between Contexts Some notions of the time of production are important. In particular how the films reflect the times in which they were made. This is important but shouldn’t be laboured and be implicit in the answer while discussing the films rather than a long-winded explanation of American history at the time This context would of course also cover different representations, possibly (if required) a very brief sense of the filmic context too – it might cover some of the comparisons/contrasts on exhibition, genre fashions, the nature of the audience, the role of the star may well be useful. Students should be aware that a film doesn’t just happen but it is the end product of a
complex process