'A' Grade Exam Response: Section A - Text (Film)

How typical are your three main texts of their genre?

The three texts chosen are a mixture of genres. Postmodern films in today's society are growing more prominent, two of the three films are hybrids of two or more genres, these two being 'Sin City' and 'District 9'. The third is 'Fish Tank', a purely social realist film.

'Sin City' is a hybrid of film noir, comic book and horror conventions which is not only postmodern but is also typical in its use of genre conventions. 'Sin City' uses classic film noir conventions such as a cynical protagonist in the form of two main characters Hartigan and Marv, rain-soaked streets, low-key lighting and a voice-over narrative. A good example of this cynical protagonist convention is Marv who states that "Hell is waking up every goddam day and not knowing why you're here" in a voice over. This shows how much he despises himself, it also shows a typical film noir genre convention in his character portrayal and the way his thoughts are conveyed. This stems from the theme of paranoia, an aspect of all film noir characters which originates from the 1940's view of society in the wake of World War II and the possibility of a new 'cold war'.

Another example of 'cold war' paranoia can be seen through Bruce Willis's character Hartigan. One scene reflects this mood when Hartigan is shot in the back by his cop 'buddy' Bob, again this displays the typical noir convention of corruption and anxiety present in such classic films as 'Double Indemnity' and 'The Maltese Falcon'. Hartigan's heroic actions are demonstrated in his desire to save the innocent girl Nancy from the corrupt Senator's son, he clearly wishes to stop evil which is dominating the powerful leaders in the city. He cannot depend upon friends and is impelled by his conscience to oppose 'sin' as a moralistic cause which leads to his demise as females tend to do in typical noir narratives.

In terms of mise-en-scene the trench coat Hartigan wears is typical of the noir genre but it also resembles the typical comic-book convention of a 'caped super-hero', making the film somewhat of a hybrid. Applying Propp's character roles within the comic-book genre in 'Sin City' we can see how the cape has been used to represent a superhero, constantly blowing in the wind. However when Marv goes to kill or hurt somebody he removes his trench coat showing he is carrying out a good deed, his character is more complex, more of an anti-hero another typical noir convention.

Noir films typically also contain a femme-fatale and 'Sin City' contains many. Each male character has contact with a female character who could, in some way, be said to resemble this common character; for Hartigan it's Nancy, for Marv it's Wendy and for Dwight it's Shelley & Gail. Wheras Wendy and Shelley are typical femme-fatales, Nancy is also seen as an innocent young girl, displaying how the genre can be made different for a postmodern audience.

'District 9' is also a hybrid genre, mixing typical Sci-Fi conventions with documentary stylistics and narrative structure. Typical Sci-Fi conventions can be seen with the use of advanced technology, aliens, robotics and spaceships. These conventions are mixed though with a documentary style approach to the narrative structure creating a feeling that the events are 'real'. The use of 'faux' stock footage of news reports and interviews with experts and civilians makes the events seem more truthful or realistic. The use of hand-held camera also reinforces this reading as this is a typical cinematic technique of a documentary.

In the opening scenes of 'District 9' we see interviews with various 'expert' witnesses giving us clear exposition to the events which have led up to the alien landings. This is important in developing a realistic documentary approach to the narrative, something that may be seen as new to the typical Sci-Fi conventions of other films such as 'The Fly' or 'Invasion Of The Bodysnatchers'. The interaction between the main character Wikus and the cameraman, when he is unable to remove his microphone from his clothing, is playful in its approach to mixing the realistic and the fictional elements of the film. This is something not typical of the Sci-Fi genre but shows how genres repeat conventions and also make them different by mixing styles.

'Fish Tank' however is not a hybrid, it follows the codes and conventions of the social realist genre very closely. Its kitchen sink style relates to well established generic techniques and themes. It revolves around topical social issues (family dysfunction & underage sex), makes use of hand-held camera and can be viewed as gritty and realistic in terms of its representation of British social life. The mise-en-scene of a working class council estate can be seen in the opening sequence and is typical of the genre. In this scene we can instinctively conclude that this is of the social realist genre as Mia shouts "Tell your old man that I think he's a c*nt". This alone clearly shows her working class upbringing; but the use of long takes, hand-held camera and use of only diegetic urban sounds as she quickly walks through the estate can be seen as typical stylistic conventions of the social realist genre. Her brisk walking continues throughout the film and suggests a character who is going nowhere fast. Original social realist films of the 1960's such as 'Saturday Night and Sunday Morning' and 'A Taste of Honey' dealt with similar social issues and also contained similar techniques, but they tended to include non-diegetic music to support the action and emotional context to appeal to a mainstream audience. This shows how the genre has developed over time, as all genres do, but 'Fish Tank' has pushed the genre to new depths of realism by attempting to create more realistic representations of social situations. 

The narrative issue of 15 year old Mia's desire for a sexual relationship with Connor, her mother's boyfriend, could also be seen as a controversial topic in today's society to spark debate, a regular consequence of the generic conventions of social realism. 

In conclusion, all three texts are very typical of their genres, using many classic conventions from each different genre. In some cases these may be mixed with other genres to develop a wider audience and create difference for modern audiences.      

Genre & Narrative Theory

MS4 - Text, Industry & Audience: District 9 (Representation/Genre)

Science fiction is creeping into more mainstream films: Guardian.co.uk Anne Billson

Science fiction isn't all 'talking squids in space'. And its creep into mainstream cinema is everywhere from Never Let Me Go to Midnight in Paris

It has already been observed that Mike Cahill's Another Earth and Lars Von Trier's Melancholia share the evocative image of another heavenly body in close proximity to Earth. The most significant thing about this coincidence is that neither film would normally be classified as science fiction. And it's not as if either director is distancing himself from the term, the way Margaret Atwood seems to be. She's made increasingly baroque contortions to explain that what she writes is "speculative fiction" and not SF.

There has long been a tendency for SF themes to bleed into the mainstream and non-SF genres. What is It's a Wonderful Life if not a story set in a parallel universe? And we've come to expect a touch of SF in our action films; as far back as the 1960s, James Bond and other spy movies flirted with technology so farfetched it tipped over into futuristic, and it's rare for a Hollywood thriller now to pay much heed to the laws of physics. But more and more high-concept, big-budget action flicks – Limitless, The Adjustment Bureau, In Time are just three recent examples – are coming out of the closet as unabashedly SF, even though not one of them features what Atwood refers to as "talking squids in outer space".

These films are aimed at audiences who probably wouldn't object to talking squids, but I've written before about the way chronological jiggling, time warps and parallel universes have infiltrated mainstream drama, romcoms and sitcoms. And "SF creep" into the mainstream and arthouse is on the rise, even if the term "science fiction" is only mentioned by critics disparagingly, as if the fact that the film under question refuses to classify itself as that makes it superior to the usual genre nonsense.

Take three other 2011 high-profile releases. Never Let Me Go was sold as Brit-lit (tagline: "Based on the best selling novel"), whereas it was really The Island for People Who Don't Like Explosions, with Keira Knightley instead of Scarlett Johansson. Hanna was sold as a junior Bourne Identity ("Adapt or die"), whereas it was essentially a junior Universal Soldier ("Robots run amok"). Midnight in Paris was basically a time travel yarn, but was sold as a Woody Allen film, which is permissible since he's a genre unto himself and has already flirted with SF in Sleeper, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex … and – in the most memorable bit of Stardust Memories – aliens. ("We enjoy your movies. Particularly the early, funny ones.")

It's tempting to dismiss such films as SF for People Who Don't Like Science Fiction, since mainstream pontifications on the genre still yield blinkered pronouncements from folk who wouldn't be caught dead at a Star Trek movie. Conversely, a lot of people who might have enjoyed Monsters were probably put off by it being marketed as a variation on District 9 ("After six years, they're no longer aliens. They're residents") when it was really the sort of thing that plays better at Sundance than at a fantasy festival – a low-budget relationship movie that happened to have tentacled aliens as walk-on extras.

But it's more likely a symptom of the way boundaries between traditional genres are dissolving. So maybe it's time to redefine genres, or even nominate new ones. Since barely a week goes by without another set of actors doing give-me-my-Oscar-now acting in overwrought drama triggered by a traffic accident (Another Earth, Margaret, Rabbit Hole etc) I propose "roadkill" as a new genre. Remakes, sequels and prequels can be lumped together under "recycling". Then there's the "girls in fetishwear" genre typified by Sucker Punch and Colombiana. This Year's Leslie Mann Movie would take care of all those bromances involving her husband, Judd Apatow. And we mustn't forget The Tom Cruise Running Very Fast film.

MS4 - Text, Industry & Audience: Film

'A' Grade Exam Response

Section A: Text

To what extent are your chosen texts typical of their genre? [30]

The three chosen texts that I have analysed are 'Sin City', 'District 9' and 'Fish Tank'. All of which use different genre codes and conventions to create an interesting text that communicates a unique message to its audience.

'Sin City' is a product of postmodernism and is a hybrid of comic book and film noir conventions. This film focuses and is influenced mainly by the film noir genre and takes the feelings and attitudes felt at the time of the cold war, post WW2. These feelings include mistrust, paranoia, corruption and depression. This could also be linked to how film noir protagonists are cynical. For example, Marv says “I don’t even know why I’m on this Earth”. This is clearly a sign of depression that adds to the cynical attitude that Marv has throughout the film. A good example of the corruption within the film is the scene where Bob (John Hartigans partner) shoots John in the back because he wants to stop the senator’s son from hurting Nancy (a young girl).

Another convention of film noir that is present in 'Sin City' is the use of voice over narration. These are used only for the main protagonists to allow the audience to gain a deeper insight into that they are feeling at that moment in time. An example of this is when Dwight is talking about how he misheard his girlfriend saying, “Stop” when she actually said, “Cop” after the women in Old Town had just killed him. With this narration it helps guide the audience into what is happening with each interweaving storyline within the film and is typical of classic film noir from the 40's.

Other typical conventions of the film noir genre is the consumption of alcohol, prostitution and smoking. This is shown throughout the whole film. For example, the scene where Marv gets kidnapped in the bar, when he is drinking. The scene whereby Dwight has just fought off the cops with the women, he is clearly shown to smoke. Finally the scene whereby JackieBoy is trying to pick up one of the girls in old town hints at the idea at prostitution and perverse sexuality, clear indications of noir conventions.

All of the above are typical conventions of the film noir genre, however 'Sin City' also includes comic book conventions to create a more modern and interesting film that would appeal to a wider modern audience. For example, the protagonists have superhero powers often found in comic book/films. A scene which shows this well is when Bob shoots John in the back 5-7 times after he tries to save Nancy from the senator’s son. After getting shot this many times he still doesn’t die, instead he falls to the floor and continues talking - a reference to superhuman abilities, typical of the comic book genre.

Within 'Sin City' there are clear hero/villain roles, a convention often seen in comic book/films. The character of Marv, Dwight and John are seen as heroes by saving the princesses (regarding Propp's character theory) i.e. Nancy and Goldie. The most obvious villains within the film are Kevin, the villian who ate many prostitutes and the ‘Yellow Bastard’, the person who kidnaps Nancy near the end of the film who finds sexual pleasure in his victims screaming so then he can rape them.

Another film that could be considered postmodern for its experimentation with genre conventions is the sci-fi film ‘District 9’. The film contains conventions of the science fiction genre and a documentary approach to many of its stylistics, in effect it takes a similar approach to ‘Sin City’ in adopting new conventions. The film could be seen as science fiction, for its use of intertextuality within the genre. The scene in which Wikus begins to transform, biting off his own nails in the mirror, is a visual reference to David Cronenberg’s film ‘The Fly’. This is postmodern for its use of intertextuality and therefore makes it typical of the sci-fi genre. However, there are also more blatant science fiction conventions that could also be mentioned. For instance during the final scenes of the film, Wikus fights the MNU soldiers in a giant robotic suit, displaying his ability to use new alien technology. The use of new and futuristic technology here is a key element of science fiction, a genre that is heavily influenced by the realities of modern scientific discoveries. This action sequence is also reminiscent (and a convention) of many other science fiction films, most notably ‘Aliens’ when Ripley fights the alien creature in a similar way. The genre also lends itself to long futuristic action sequences, something that a sci-fi audience would expect. As well as this, District 9 features a completely new social and cultural way of living. The scene that depicts a street sign saying ‘No non-human loitering’, is an example of how the social way of living has adapted itself to alien life. This convention is typical of the science fiction genre, as it takes a futuristic way of life and combines it with reality. It is reminiscent of the science fiction film ‘Serenity’ which combines a futuristic setting with genre conventions of a western.

Despite its heavy science fiction influence, ‘District 9’ also takes conventions of the documentary format, thus making it less typical of the science fiction genre. As with ‘Sin City’, the film’s exploration in convention dilutes it from being considered one genre alone, making it postmodern. For example, its use of on- screen graphics and news montage is a convention of documentary, applied to a fictional text to give it the illusion of reality. In the opening sequence, an on screen newsreel reading ‘Aliens riot in the streets of Johannesburg’, accompanies news footage of rioting aliens. Blomkamp is using irony here, to reflect the reality of the themes and representations: the aliens represent the black people during the apartheid in South Africa. By giving something so obviously fictional a realistic documentary convention, it makes it postmodern, again making it impossible to identify it as one genre. Another example of documentary conventions.

'Fish Tank' is more typical in its use of social realism conventions and could also be considered very much a 'kitchen sink drama'. Social realism conventions include the use of predominantly diegetic sound, hand held camera work, a narrow depth of field, working class lifestyles and social problems, but it also presents a linear narrative for the audience making it appear more realistic. Hand held camera work can be seen throughout the film, it helps to show to the audiences Mia’s point of view, it helps to track her movements and constantly follows her round in the film. At the start of the film the audience sees Mia walking around on her own, the use of a wide angle shows that she is comfortable in the environment she is in and shows that she is in touch with the environment. This stylistic quality clearly makes 'Fish Tank' appear the most realistic representation of the texts I have studied and sets it apart from the other films discussed as it has more relevance to 'real life' than the fantasy aspects of both 'Sin City' and 'District 9'.

The locations and regional accents also help to reinforce social realism conventions, it helps the audience recognize that Mia's from London, this can be identified through the accent and the language they use “tell her that her old mans a c**t”. The mise-en-scene helps to establish the location of the film; working class council flats, which are also a regular convention of the genre.

Fundamentally when analysing to what extent a film is typical of its genre, it is important to look at the codes and conventions used within the text. With this in mind, many films can experiment with conventions, creating a hybrid of genres showing that many modern films are now considered postmodern. Both 'Sin City' and 'District 9' mix elements of genres and style whilst 'Fish Tank' could be said to be more typical of its use of classic conventions.

How To Construct An 'A' Grade Response - MS4 Section: Text

Sci-Fi genre

District 9 - Genre/Representation

District 9: Science Fiction/Codes & Conventions

District 9: Science Fiction & Representation

'District 9' is a 2009 dystopian science fiction thriller film directed by Neill Blomkamp.A dystopia is the vision of a society that is the opposite of utopia. A dystopian society is often a planned structured society in which the conditions of life are deliberately made miserable, characterised by poverty, oppression, violence, disease, scarcity, and/or pollution for the benefit of a select minority or some unnatural societal goal.

A typical dystopia paints a picture of government or society attempting to exert control over free thought, authority, energy, freedom of information. Others focus on systematic discrimination and limitations based on a variety of factors - genetics, fertility, intelligence, and age being a few examples.

An underlying theme in 'District 9' is state reliance on multinational corporations as a government funded enforcement arm. As MNU represents the type of corporation which partners with governments, the negative portrayal of MNU in the film can be seen as a statement about the dangers of governments, particularly in their outsourcing of militaries and bureaucracies to private contractors.

Themes of racism and xenophobia are also put forward by the movie in the form of speciesism applied to the aliens. The use of the word "prawn" to describe the aliens is a reference to the Parktown prawn, a king cricket species considered a pest in South Africa.

MS4 - Text, Industry & Audience: District 9 (Representation/Genre)

District 9 labelled xenophobic by Nigerians:

The squatters of Chiawelo share the District 9 limelight with another group on the bottom rung of society.

Nigerian immigrants play a large part in the film – taking the roles of gangsters, prostitutes or witch-doctors. They are depicted eating alien flesh or having sex with the creatures. Many Nigerians are furious.

An internet backlash is under way with an online petition and a Facebook group, "District 9 Hates Nigerians", accusing the film of xenophobia.

One blogger, Nicole Stamp, wrote: "That's Hollywood's Africa, isn't it. Black Africans shown as degenerate savages who'll have sex with non-humans and are pretty damn eager to eat people. Disgusting."

There was further criticism yesterday from the Nigerian-born British actor Hakeem Kae-Kazim, who appeared in the films Hotel Rwanda and Wolverine.

He told South Africa's Beeld newspaper that many Nigerians were upset about the film. "I have lived in South Africa," he said. "The country has so many beautiful things to offer … its problems can't be ascribed only to a small group of people."

On Facebook, he wrote: "If the African continent truly wants to be liberated, we cannot sit back and allow this depiction of a 'few rotten apples' to be spread across the world."

He expressed concern that District 9 would reinforce negative stereotypes of all Africans.

"The idea that it's not only Nigerians, but all Africans who behave in that way, will be spread across the world. I find that to be a painful thought. The manner in which the Nigerians are depicted cannot be justified."

Read related posts @ The Guardian

MS4 - Text, Industry & Audience: District 9 (Representation/Genre)

'District 9' is a 2009 dystopian science fiction thriller film directed by Neill Blomkamp.A dystopia is the vision of a society that is the opposite of utopia. A dystopian society is often a planned structured society in which the conditions of life are deliberately made miserable, characterised by poverty, oppression, violence, disease, scarcity, and/or pollution for the benefit of a select minority or some unnatural societal goal.

A typical dystopia paints a picture of government or society attempting to exert control over free thought, authority, energy, freedom of information. Others focus on systematic discrimination and limitations based on a variety of factors - genetics, fertility, intelligence, and age being a few examples.

An underlying theme in 'District 9' is state reliance on multinational corporations as a government funded enforcement arm. As MNU represents the type of corporation which partners with governments, the negative portrayal of MNU in the film can be seen as a statement about the dangers of governments, particularly in their outsourcing of militaries and bureaucracies to private contractors.

Themes of racism and xenophobia are also put forward by the movie in the form of speciesism applied to the aliens. The use of the word "prawn" to describe the aliens is a reference to the Parktown prawn, a king cricket species considered a pest in South Africa.

District 9, Genre and Representation

District 9, Genre and Representation v3 from christimothy12

Section A: Text - Exam Response for Film Texts

To what extent are your chosen texts typical of their genre? [30]

The three chosen texts are all films typical of their genres; focusing on the films Sin City, District 9 and Fish Tank.

Sin City is classified as a Hybrid genre, film noir and comic book. By creating Sin City in this post modern form, it mixes genre conventions to create a new identity and broadening its audience by not limiting individual genre conventions and excluding viewers who hold an oppositional reading of them. Postmodern is the recycling of ideas, showing that nothing is original anymore.

The Film Noir conventions are present throughout the film; with themes of mistrust, paranoia, corruption and depression; these themes of mistrust and paranoia can be seen early on the in the film when Bob, a corrupted cop, stabs Hartigan in the back and then shoots him. All of the protagonists are depressed and they don’t care for their own life and safety, (one of the protagonists) John Hartigan doesn’t care if he gets killed while rescuing the young girl, Nancy, he says “Old man dies a young girl lives” clearing displaying to the audience that he doesn’t care about himself and backing up the idea of depression in the protagonists is a typical convention of film noir. 

Film noir films have very distinguishable character roles, notably a cynical protagonist and a femme fatale. This noir protagonist is normally driven by their past and is often represented as a hard hearted, disillusioned male character who has encountered a beautiful seductive femme fatale; this can be seen in the character of Marv who is on a mission for women – femme fatale, he states “hell for me is waking up everyday not knowing why I’m here”. A femme fatale is a beautiful woman, cruel and dishonest, willing to do anything to reach her goal and uses the protagonist as a tool to help her accomplish some unsavory deed. The character of Wendy is typical of this role and uses her body to persuade Marv to help her with finding out Goldie’s killer; she is both seductive and deadly another example of a typical character trait.

Comic book conventions are also present throughout the film; the super powers that each protagonist seems to have, the use of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds, and the mise-en-scene is important to make this film a hybrid of the two genres. The use of non-diegetic sound is present throughout the film but is clearly heard through the use of a voice over, it helps the audience to know the protagonists thoughts but also gives the audience an insight into their past. At the beginning of the film when the character of John Hartigan is going to save the character of Nancy it is showing to the audience his thought process and how he has to will himself to go on. This convention is typical of this genre. However, Sin City’s mix of these two genres is also not uncharacteristic of other productions as it is also present in the stylistically similar ‘The Spirit’.

The use of over exaggerated superhuman strength and super powers can seen in the film when a grenade lands in Dwight’s lap and he survives, this is typical of the comic book convention. Another character, Marv is able to jump off a building and is able to walk away unhurt, his super human strength can also be seen in the film shortly after he has been electrocuted he comes back to life. The use of hard and low key lighting is also another key convention of this hybrid genre, casting shadows onto the faces of characters and creating an air of suspense around them. Kev the Cannibal is first shown in hard lighting showing to the audience that this character is untrustworthy. The lighting is key for when the audience first meets the character.

District 9, like Sin City, is also classified as a hybrid genre mixing together sci-fi conventions with documentary conventions. The Sci-Fi conventions are present throughout the film; with the theme of aliens and humans living together, futuristic themes, new technologies and their consequences but also scientific explanations to justify the narrative plot are all common of the sci-fi genre. The use of new technologies and their consequences can be seen when Wikus is carrying out a search of a slum and finds a canister filled full of liquid, he tampers with the canister which results in the liquid being sprayed in his face, the fluid makes him feel sick and it becomes clear that is it causing his body to change into an alien.

Futuristic themes are also a common sci-fi convention this can be seen when the audience sees the alien’s spacecraft hovering over Johannesburg, they have travelled through space to get there and now can’t move, with no one from the outside being able to get inside.

Many of the sequences in District 9 are presented as documentary footage; with characters addressing the camera. During these sequences, mobile framing helps to create the impression of a total reality, a complete world; the camera appears free to cast its gaze wherever it wants. In these sequences and in those where the camera is more straightforwardly a dramatic fiction camera, not present in the world the film. The mise-en-scene abounds in revealing details, and looks extremely “lived in” and effect greatly by the extensive use of location shooting in Johannesburg. An extended documentary style sequence at the beginning of the mobile deftly sketches a network of relations between groups; the soldiers-turned private military contractors that MNU in turn employs groups that promote the aliens’ rights.

The use of on screen logos helps to make the footage we are watching to make it feel more realistic as being a documentary. A lot of the footage is shot by ‘MNU’ and is showing how the company works, all of the workers are talking about an event that has already happened, creating an enigma code for the audience, it switches narratives, starting of in the present then flipping to clips of people that work at MNU.

Fish Tank is also a hybrid of genres, mixing together social realism conventions and drama conventions. Social realism conventions include the use of diegetic sound, hand held camera work, a narrow depth of field, working class lifestyles and social problems, but also present a linear narrative for the audience. Hand held camera work can be seen throughout the film, it helps to show to the audiences Mia’s point of view, it helps to track her movements and constantly follows her round in the film. At the start of the film the audience sees Mia walking around on her own, the use of a wide angle shows that she is comfortable in the environment she is in and shows that she is in touch with the environment.

The locations and regional accents help to reinforce social realism conventions, it helps the audience recognize that Mia s from London, this can be identified through the accent and the language they use “tell her that her old mans a c**t”. The mise-en-scene also helps to establish the location of the film within working class council flats, a highly typical convention of the social realist genre. 

Science-fiction Genre

Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic elements such as spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstellar space travel or other technologies. Science fiction films have often been used to focus on political or social issues, and to explore philosophical issues like the human condition. In many cases, tropes derived from written science fiction may be used by filmmakers ignorant of or at best indifferent to the standards of scientific plausibility and plot logic to which written science fiction is traditionally held.

The genre has existed since the early years of silent cinema, when Georges Melies' A Trip to the Moon (1902) amazed audiences with its trick photography effects. The next major example in the genre was the 1927 film Metropolis. From the 1930s to the 1950s, the genre consisted mainly of low-budget B-movies. After Stanley Kubrick's 1968 landmark 2001: A Space Odyssey, the science fiction film genre was taken more seriously. In the late 1970s, big-budget science fiction films filled with special effects became popular with audiences after the success of Star Wars and paved the way for the blockbuster hits of subsequent decades.

Defining precisely which films belong to the science fiction genre is often difficult, as there is no universally accepted definition of the genre, or in fact its underlying genre in literature. According to one definition:

Science fiction film is a film genre which emphasises actual, extrapolative, or speculative science and the empirical method, interacting in a social context with the lesser emphasized, but still present, transcendentalism of magic and religion, in an attempt to reconcile man with the unknown (Sobchack 63).

This definition assumes that a continuum exists between (real-world) empiricism and (supernatural) transcendentalism, with science fiction film on the side of empiricism, and horror film and fantasy film on the side of transcendentalism. However, there are numerous well-known examples of science fiction horror films, epitomized by such pictures as Frankenstein and Alien.

The visual style of science fiction film can be characterised by a clash between alien and familiar images. This clash is implemented when alien images become familiar, as in A Clockwork Orange, when the repetitions of the Korova Milkbar make the alien decor seem more familiar. As well, familiar images become alien, as in the films Repo Man and Liquid Sky. For example, in Dr. Strangelove, the distortion of the humans make the familiar images seem more alien. Finally, alien and familiar images are juxtaposed, as in The Deadly Mantis, when a giant praying mantis is shown climbing the Washington Monument.

Cultural theorist Scott Bukatman has proposed that science fiction film allows contemporary culture to witness an expression of the sublime, be it through exaggerated scale, apocalypse or transcendence.

MS3/MS4: Postmodern Theory - Useful Notes

Postmodernism: An Artistic Style

Postmodernist art reveals itself when:

1. It's self-referential. In other words, it refers to itself, or is about itself. Postmodernist artists often refuse to let their works be simply or totally about something else. Their works are about themselves as works of art, and they constantly draw attention to themselves as artifices instead of trying to be windows on some sort of reality beyond themselves.

2. It's "intertextual." That is, it's art that often likes to be about some other work of art, or some other "text." A famous pop artist named Roy Lichtenstein loved painting images taken right out of comic books. That's "intertextuality," he made art about somebody else's art.

3. It's category-defying, often in confusing ways. Postmodernist artists love to defy our expectations and do things they're not "supposed" to do -- maybe to remind us that the rational categorisations we often use to understand art never work as well or as perfectly as we like to think they do.

4. It's "pastiched." Fancy French word, that. "Pastiche," to recent art critics, is the practice of borrowing elements of different genres and different styles from lots of different historical periods, then mixing them all together in a single work of art. It creates a kind of historical collage.

5. It's not snobbish. In fact, postmodernist art can be very "pop." It often draws its subject matter from the realm of popular culture and employs pop-culture forms and genres. Most postmodernist artists don't draw the sorts of distinctions between "high" and "low" culture many artists of the past did -- and so they defy yet another mode of categorisation.

6. It gets fact and fiction all mixed up. Postmodernist artists aren't much interested in the distinction between real and make-believe. They often make famous "real" historical figures interact with fictional characters in their works, and they often re-tell "actual" textbook history in peculiar, unsettling, often illuminating ways. Mixing fact and fiction is a way to amplify this idea.

Read more here.

MS4 - Text, Industry & Audience: District 9 (Representation/Genre)

Here is another useful document for the study of 'District 9'. It includes a transcript of the directors commentary (from the DVD) which discusses the making of the film and the comparisons that can be drawn with the social/political history of South Africa. It is well worth downloading or printing out.

MS4 - Text, Industry & Audience: District 9 (Representation/Genre)

Here is a good article/review of 'District 9' that you will find useful when considering the central themes and issues of the film. Representation and genre are extensively discussed and the analysis will be helpful when comparing and contrasting with the other texts.