Key Characteristics of Thriller Genre apparent within Clockwork Orange

The following are the key characteristics of the thriller genre which are present within the film Clockwork Orange.

Themes: Torture, uncertainty, suspense, intensity, anticipation, excitement, anxiety, loneliness, entrapment, innocence, stalking, accidental death, vulnerability, revenge, danger, reflection, memories, treachery, corruption of innocence, deception, seedy underworlds, weaponry, consequences, crime, adultery and rape.

Characters: Lowlifes, victims, criminals, thieves, protagonist, antagonist, police, villains, wives/family, henchmen, suspicious characters and corrupt police.

Iconography: Shafts of light, doorbells, country roads, countryside, hospitals, nightclubs, low lit lamps, derelict buildings, shadows, street lights, night shooting, prison, sharp lighting contrasts, water, large houses, corridors, colours - white & black, woodland, weapons, videos, camera - tilts & close ups & low angles, masks, frame within frame & extreme camerawork.

Narrative: Death - accidental, bloody fights with weapons, suspenseful music, screams, corruption in police, double cross - henchmen turn against their leader, stolen goods in draw, being chased - sequence, gun point, kidnapping, arguement, police at crime scene, torture, smokey club - drinking and drug taking, fightscene & someone being captured.

Key Characteristics Of The Thriller Genre

The key characteristics of the thriller genre can be broken down into four categories: themes, characters, iconography and narrative. Below are some of the key characteristics in each of these sections of the thriller genre.

Themes:
Seduction, torture, uncertainty, expectation, suspense, intensity, anticipation, excitement, anxiety, threatened life, isolation, loneliness, entrapment, innocence, stalking, voyeurism, suicide, mysterious death, predetermined death, vulnerability, revenge, danger, relationships, chases, reflection, memories, treachery, corruption of innocence, deception, seedy underworlds, weaponry, consequences, political conspiracy, power, wealth, crime, adultery and sexuality are just a few.

Characters:
Lowlifes, psychopathic killer, sociopathic killer, private detective, victims, stalkers, criminals, murderers, assassins, confused men, protagonist, antagonist, terrorists, police, villains, mafia, fugitives, ex-cons, girlfriends/wives/family, unlikely hero, henchmen, mysterious helpers, red herrings, lawyers, informants, suspicious characters, children - good & bad, unknown bosses, corrupt police and spies are just a few.

Iconography:
Shafts of light, neon lights, low lit lamps, briefcases with money, derelict buildings, shadows, street lights, night shooting, sharp lighting contrasts, water, large houses, attics, cupboards, corridors, bridges, cellars, blood smears, colours - red & black, woodland, weapons, photos - polaroids, bars, blinds, confined spaces, camera - tilts & close ups & low angles, masks, binoculars, frame within frame, mirrors - reflection, whisky glasses, extreme camerawork, candles and running water are just a few.

Narrative:
Being watched, someone being followed, death - accidental, suicide, murder, suspenseful music, a mission, tense music, screams, corruption in police, double cross - secret phone call, red herring - false arrangement, money in briefcase - drug deal, hiring hitmen, being chased - sequence, gun point, kidnapping, discovery of body, arguement, discovery of murder weapon, police at crime scene, torture, forensic science, gunshots, smokey bar - gambling & drinking, sex scenes, fightscene, someone being captured, searching for clues and a trail to be followed are just a few.

Thriller moodboard

The following moodboard is a collection of pictures I feel sums up the feelings, emotions or conventions of the thriller genre.



The moodboard contains images portraying:

• Fear
• Seduction/femme fatale
• Tunnels & Stairs - entrapment
• A love interest
• A secluded, derelict building
• Voyerism- watching someone from shadows
• Guns - Weapons
• Murder
  
  

What do we expect of films within the genre of thriller?

What do we as an audience expect to be in a film of the thriller genre?
During a thriller we expect to be thrilled, we crave suspense, we want to be intrigued and we want a twist at the end to shock us. Although often if we are right about the ending we are just as satisfied because we have correctly predicted it, this often makes us feel like we are familiar with the genre and know a lot about film.

As an audience we expect certain themes within the film, such as:

• Anticipation
• Obsession
• Attraction
• Love
• Tension

We also expect there to be a villain, this villain can be in the following forms:

• Murderer
• Crook
• Gangster
• Strong Protagonist (we follow them throughout the story as our hero/heroine, even though he/she does wrong we empathise with him/her)
• Psychopath
• Sociopath
• Stalker
• Terrorist
• Fugitive
• Conman
• Corrupt Policeman

We also expect there to be mystery to draw us into the story and keep us thinking. There should be meetings between villains and heroes too, police raids are common, conspiracy and fraud. Stalking is also a convention which we see quite a lot within the genre.

Death should occur, it can either be pre-determined and planned, which is usually the case with a more sinister killer, or it can just be spontaneous, normally the killer is provoked or pushed over the edge to a place where they consider things they wouldn't normally do. This sort of killer is normally mentally traumatised by the guilt/memory of their actions.

As an audience we also expect dark colours to feature throughout the film, this gives a sinister feel and by concentrating this with shadows in particular areas of danger it signifies to us that something isn't right in that place. It adds to the feeling of suspense and emphasises villains and dangerous situations such as confrontations.

They normally feature detective characters who operate on the edge of the law, they don't abide by the regulations. Due to this they normally end up taking more risks and eventually solving the crime that other more cautious people may not have.

We expect deception, treachery, corruption and murder to occur. Often there are dark criminal underworlds and seedy underworlds where murder and plotting take place. Night shooting and shadows help to emphasise these places.

Genre

Why have genre?
Genres have certain conventions which help the audience to identify the type of film it is. If they are able to identify which genre of film it is they will have a rough idea as to whether they will like it or not, and this will either make them interested in watching the film or not, depending on their preferences within genre as a whole.

Whose uses genre?
Genre is used by both the audience and the industry to be able to identify films.

Genre is used within the industry by producers, directors and editors alike to be able to make good decisions about the type of shots that should be used, the type of characters etc. Basically they use the genre to be able to determine the following factors: characters, themes, iconography and narrative.

If conventions within the thriller genre aren't used in a thriller film then it will be difficult to tell it's genre so it won't appeal to the target audience as it is intended to do.

Where do genres come from?
Conventions come from multiple films using ideas from one specific film. By sourcing/referencing these ideas and incorporating them into their own film with a new twist, you get a collection of films with similar ideas. Referencing an idea from a film and using it in another is called intertextuality.

Overtime these group of films evolve into genres, this is because the audience like that type of film so they go to see them in the cinema, as a result film companies make more films of this genre so that they can make a profit.

Genres evolve to suit changing audiences. Remakes of films, such as Disturbia being a remake of Rear Window, use the core elements of the original but edit them to suit a different audience.

Sub-genres.
Sub-genres occur when lots of films of a certain genre have been made. This is because when there are a large amounts of a genre you get certain groupings within that genre, this then leads to sub-genres.

Sub-genres are a specialised version of a specific genre, however it has to be distinctive within that genre that there is a relatively large group with the same characteristics.