1. PR7 - Me and My Movies
There are a number of elements which can influence a person to
watch a particular film, for this task I have chosen to discuss the action
thriller genre, looking at three different films from this genre.
The first film I will be looking at is Taken directed by Pierre Morel
released in France in 2008 and then in 2009 in the USA. The plot involves
the protagonist a retired CIA operative Bryan (Liam Neeson) who's
daughter gets abducted and forced into the human trafficking
industry, after which the protagonist takes the law into his own hands,
tracking down his daughters abductors, killing them and saving his
daughter from a life of sex slavery. The second film I will be looking at is
Lucy directed by Luc Besson and released in 2014. The plot involves the
protagonist Lucy (Scarlett Johansson) who is tricked into becoming a
drug mule before gaining a number of supernatural powers due to one
of the bags of drugs exploding in her stomach, Lucy is then determines
to use her powers in order to get revenge in regards to her captives, as
well as to get the rest of the drugs.
The final film I will be looking at is Wanted, directed by Timur
Bekmambetov and released in 2008, with the plot involving the
protagonist Wesley (James McAvoy) a miserable office worker who is
recruited by a secret society of assassins after his fathers supposed
murder, after being trained by a female assassin Fox and having
learned a whole set of skills, the society has a loom in which a name
comes up therefore meaning that this person must be killed by one of
the assassins, Wesley then is given the mission to kill a man named
cross, meanwhile the society leader provides Fox with the mission of
killing the protagonist Wesley claiming that his name came up in the
loom, Wesley then faces an encounter with Cross, killing him in which
we have a plot twist which informs us that Cross is in fact Wesley's
father.

2. There are a number of things which attract me to the action thriller
genre ranging from the conventional themes and storylines, particularly
the theme revenge which is commonly associated with this specific
genre along with the iconic action sequences accompanied by
violence, weapons, car chases, explosions and special effects. I am
also attracted to action thrillers due to the iconic stars which feature in
them such as Liam Neeson. Both Taken and Lucy follow the
conventional action thriller theme of revenge and feature a storyline in
which the protagonist takes the law into their own hands therefore
attracting me to both of these films. Although Taken conforms to the
typical conventions of an action thriller in terms of a strong lead male
protagonist whose quest is to save the stereotypical victim, a
vulnerable female which in this case is the protagonists daughter, I am
particularly attracted to thrillers which break away from these
conventions by featuring females represented as strong and powerful,
which is what attracted me to Lucy featuring a strong female
protagonist and Wanted which featured the character Fox again a
strong representation of a woman which is not as often seen within
action thrillers.
Star theory refers to the use of a well known story in order to increase
peoples interest in watching a particular movie due to the fact that
they are a fan of that particular star or due to the star being iconic of a
specific genre, be this thriller, horror, comedy etc. I feel that star theory
has a great impact on whether I do or do not watch a movie, because
if I am a fan of a star featured within a movie I would be more
interested in watching the movie in contrast to a film which features a
star that I am not a fan of, therefore discouraging me from watching
the movie. In terms of the thriller the fact that Liam Neeson is iconic of
this particular genre and the use of casting him as the protagonist
increases my interest in watching films of this particular genre due to
the fact that I am a fan of the actor himself is what encouraged me to
watch the film taken. Also in terms of star theory I am a big fan of
Angelina Jolie which was the sole reason for me watching the thriller
Wanted.
Lacey's repertoire of elements allows us to break down a film into five
elements, character, narrative, iconography, setting and technical
and audio codes. Having looked at the trailers to each of the three
aforementioned films it enables us to gain a better understanding of
the relationship between audiences and films enabling us to see what
attracts a person to a film of that particular genre.

3. Taken
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V35Y8xvbHsE
Lucy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVt32qoyhi0
Wanted
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edpEspHOeVU
Characters: In terms of characters it is clear that the first film trailer for
Taken that the film features the stereotypical conventional characters
often seen within the action thriller genre, with the protagonist being
represented as both strong and fearless, expressed through his stern
body language and tone of voice and calm reaction throughout the
trailer in regards to his daughters abduction before threatening to find
and kill the men who abducted her. We then have the stereotypical
victim, a vulnerable female unable to defend herself from the
antagonists therefore having to rely on the protagonist to save her.
In contrast to Lucy which we can see from the trailer that Luc Besson
has broke away from these stereotypical characters, firstly due to the
fact that he has chose to use a female protagonist which is rarely seen
within action thrillers but also due to the unconventional representation
of this female, although at the beginning of the trailer she is portrayed
as you're stereotypical victim we often see within the action thriller
genre, it soon becomes apparent that she is in fact represented as
both strong and fearless throughout the film, however Luc Besson did
use the conventional attractive woman, often seen within this genre by
casting Scarlett Johansson as the protagonist. Again the final trailer for
Wanted confirms that the film itself completely breaks away from the
conventions of an action thriller in terms of characters, although it does
conform to the typical convention of an action thriller by having a
male protagonist, the representation of this protagonist completely
breaks these conventions due to him being portrayed as vulnerable
and weak at the beginning of the trailer, having to be taught by a
female character Fox, represented as both strong and fearless
therefore breaking away from the conventional thriller storyline in which
the man protects the woman.
Narrative: It is clear from the trailers that both Taken and Lucy follow a
similar narrative, and include numerous of the same themes all of
which are conventional to the action thriller genre. Due to both of the
films having an abduction as the inciting incident therefore setting the
themes of the story's, revenge by taking the law into their own hands.
However the main difference is that Taken follows the stereotypical
conventional storyline in which a strong male protagonists aim is to

4. save the vulnerable female from her abductees, in contrast to Lucy in
which a strong female protagonist, although vulnerable at first,
escapes her captives alone before setting out for revenge. Wanted on
the other hand does conform to some of the conventions of an action
thriller such as the narrative involving assassins however again this
particular film breaks away from the conventions of an action thriller
due to the fact that the narrative involves a strong woman protecting
a vulnerable male protagonist, training him to become a good
assassin.
All three trailers follow the conventions of a trailer for this particular
genre due to the fact that each trailer provides us with the inciting
incident, taken being the protagonists daughters abduction, Lucy's
being her captives kicking the protagonist therefore bursting the bag
of drugs and Wanted's being the death of the protagonists father. All of
the trailers also include a large quantity of the rising action from the
films including conventional scenes such as violence, car chases and
explosions however non of the trailers include the falling action or
dénouement due to the fact that it creates an enigma, therefore
encouraging the viewers to go and watch the film to see what
happens next.
Iconography: In terms of iconography, firstly within the trailer of Taken
we have Liam Neeson who is iconic of this specific genre due to his
repetitive role as protagonists within action thrillers, therefore
encouraging fans of his previous action thriller films to watch this film.
Iconic scenes such as car chases, violence and explosions are featured
within all three trailers as well as iconic props such as guns and iconic
themes such as abduction, drugs and revenge all of which encourage
people to watch films of this particular genre due to the thrill and
excitement.
Setting: All three movies follow the conventional setting for this
particular genre by being set within a big city, with Taken being set in
Paris, Lucy being set in Taipei and Wanted being set in Chicago.
Technical and audio codes: Fast paced editing has been used
throughout the three trailers, again a common convention of this
particular genre due to it anchoring the thrill and excitement within the
movie. Low key lighting has also been used throughout the inciting
incidents and rising incidents within the trailers as well as the non
digetic sound such as of heavy breathing both of which are again
common conventions of this particular genre.

5. In terms of media literacy there are a number of ways in which I find
out about films and where I gain information relating to them. One of
the more effective ways being through social media in which
production companies use social media as a platform in order to
promote a new and upcoming movie by creating a page in which
users can comment and share their opinions regarding the film whilst
reaching the thousands of people who use social media websites.
For example their is a page on Facebook in order to promote the
Taken trilogy as you can see below:
There is a range of information available within this page regarding the
Taken trilogy therefore informing us and providing us with any
information we need in relation to these movies, a prime example of
this being a recent post informing us that Taken 3 is now out on Digital
HD as well as providing us with the link to pre order this, as you can see
below:

6. It also provides us with all the information regarding the films such as
the release dates, genre and a sypnosis, as well as providing numerous
posters therefore again constantly promoting the film.
This page also allows us as an audience to share our opinions regarding
the movie therefore effectively reaching a range of people and
promoting the movies due to in my opinion word of mouth and
influence from friends and family being one of the most effective ways
to encourage a person to go and watch a movie. Near enough all film
production companies these days use social media as a platform to
promoting the film, by creating a page similar to the aforementioned
page promoting Taken, therefore being one of the most convenient
ways in which I tend to find out information about films.
Another way in which I find out about movies is the web app IMDB,
which is available through both website or mobile app and provides
you with a wide range of information regarding a films sypnosis,
production company and director details and box office takings as
well as providing you with similar movies by telling us what other movies
people who liked a certain film also liked, therefore influencing the films
I watch due to the fact that if I like a particular film and this website
suggest a similar one I will be more eager to watch it.
One of the most influencing
factors within this web app in

7. terms of encouraging me to watch films of the action thriller genre is
the fact that it provides both a rating of the film as well as peoples
reviews regarding the film, therefore it provides me with enough
information relating to the films success in order to help me determine
whether or not I want to watch the film due to me feeling that ratings
and reviews hugely influence not only my choice to watch a movie but
also by having a negative impression before viewing a film, I am more
likely not to enjoy it.
Another way I find out about films is
magazines such as Empire, consisting
of film reviews, articles interviewing
actors of a particular film and posters
promoting films due to the fact that
they provide me with a range of
information regarding what a film is
about as well as providing me with
reviews therefore either encouraging
or discouraging me from watching a
movie.
The reception theory (Stuart Hall) suggests that our age, gender,
ethnicity, social class, personal history and circumstances of exhibition
all influence the way in which we react to a particular film resulting in a
preferred, negotiated or oppositional view. Firstly we have age, in
terms of age it is clear that it can have an influence on our reaction
regarding a film, for example my reaction to specific genre has
changed completely over the years, as a pre teen I had a much more
preferred view in regards to the comedy/teen comedy genre being
attracted to films such as mean girls and clueless due to the fact that I
could then relate to the numerous conventional themes such as teen

8. relationships and the various teen issues, along with being able to
relate to the conventional high school settings, and having very little
interest in genres such as thrillers, however the older I have got the
more I have swayed away from the preferred view I had, gaining a
more negotiated/oppositional reaction in regards to teen comedies
whilst also gaining a much more preferred reaction in regards to the
action thriller genre. In terms of gender Stuart Hall suggests that this too
has an influence in regards to our reaction to a particular film, although
their is the ideology that action thriller has a predominately male
audience due to them being action packed, full of violence and
stereotypical male props such as guns, whereas females tend to be
attracted to more feminine genres such as the romance/romantic
comedy genres, I do not feel that this ideology is particularly true due
to the fact that I myself am a female yet I often have a oppositional
view in regards to the romance/romantic comedy genre and have a
much more preferred reaction in regards to a variety of films of the
action thriller genre. However I do feel that my gender has a slight
influence on my reaction to certain action thriller movies, for example I
seem to have a much more preferred reaction to action thrillers which
feature a strong represented female lead due to the fact that it almost
creates an idol for females like myself. In terms of personal history I feel
that this too influences my preferred reaction to the action thriller genre
in contrast to other genres, due to the fact that I myself as well as many
other people have felt the need for revenge at some point in their life
although, therefore this conventional theme within the action thriller
genre is what tends to attract me to these movies. Ethnicity can also
effect the way in which we perceive a film due to the fact that the
way in which a particular race has been represented within a movie
can have a huge influence in regards to how a person of that
particular race reacts to a movie, therefore determine weather or not
they have a proffered, negotiated or oppositional reaction.
Circumstances of exhibition can too influence our reaction in regards
to a move for example all the movies I have discussed within this article
I have watched from the comfort of my own home, therefore resulting
in me having a much more preferred reaction to these movies,
however I have also watched movies of the action thriller genre in a
classroom setting which although action thriller is one of my favourite
genres, I tend to find that when watching these movies within a
classroom setting I often have a much more negotiated/oppositional
reaction.
In terms of fandom there are a number of fan clubs and Facebook
groups for movies within the action thriller genre. Fans of these movies
will set up a number of pages expressing why they like these particular
movies, therefore providing a place where fans of these movies can
comment and express their feelings in relation to this particular genre.