Genre Theory - A1

 Genre Theory

Genre Theory is Steve Neale’s theory of Repetition and Difference. Steve Neale states that genres all contain instances of repetition and difference, difference is essential to the economy of the genre.

Neale states that the film and its genre is defined by two things:

How much a film is conformed to its genre’s individual conventions and stereotypes. A film must match the genre’s conventions to be identified as part of that genre.

How much a film subverts the genre’s conventions and stereotypes. The film must subvert convention enough to be considered unique and not just a clone of an existing film.

Neale states that Hollywood’s generic regime performs two functions:

To guarantee pleasure and meaning for the audience.

To offset the financial risks of film production by providing collateral against innovation and difference.

Using the first episode of Series 2 of The Missing to provide examples.  

Identify the way the episode uses crime drama and/or Nordic-noir codes and conventions. 

 

Popular cinema relies on audiences finding pleasure in difference and repetition i.e., recognition of familiar elements and the way those elements are linked in an unfamiliar way or the way that unfamiliar elements might be introduced. Therefore, The Missing Series 2 offers codes and conventions of a crime drama that the target audience look for and can recognize. 

The opening episode has several crime dramas and Nordic-noir visual and thematic codes. In the title sequence or introduction, short shots are sequenced to quickly go through the location, time, and information of the series (symbolic montage) and melancholic music is used. Muted colours and subdued, lowkey lighting are used throughout the story in the past, in which it takes place in the winter of Germany. The setting has a cold, bleak, depressing atmosphere as it is a residential area. 

The Missing also includes the use of long slow pans and tracking shots over landscapes and landmarks of Eckhausen, Germany. The Missing focuses on crime and police investigation on Alice Webster’s abduction, along with a detective who struggles with personal relationships (family). He has personal problems related to his health and past such as his brain tumour and Sophie Giroux, a missing girl who is believed to be held captive along with Alice. Other characters including Alice’s family members, Sergeant Eve Stone and Daniel Reed have shown complex and flawed personalities as each of them have their own problems and secrets. Dramatic tension, suspense and plot twists are also used throughout the episode, which are elements of a crime drama. 

How does the episode offer new or unconventional experiences for the audience? 

 

The first episode of The Missing Series 2 offers different and unconventional experiences for the viewers. Narrative techniques and binary oppositions are included to drive the story forward and create suspense and enigma.  

For instance, the semantic and symbolic codes would be the father’s behaviours and reactions towards Alice’s abduction. When he is asked about his daughter, he taps his fingers repeatedly throughout the scene, connoting his anxiety and impatience. When Alice is giving information about the kidnapper, he storms out of the hospital room, locks himself in the toilet and hit the wall, connoting his embarrassment and helplessness. Another symbolic code is the idea of freedom, which is repeated twice in the episode. Even though everyone thinks that Alice is eventually free from years of being held captive, Baptiste believes that she is still a prisoner. These significant narrative codes are the elements that make the story interesting and intense. 

Additionally, The Missing breaks a gender stereotype in which women are often seen as weak and fragile compared to men by making the father, who is supposed to be tough and reliable, has difficulties handling the situation and is shown to be weak mentally. Binary opposition is used as Sam Webster is a physically strong yet mentally weak person. It would also express and define this particular character’s personality and complexion, offering the viewers a new and unconventional experience. 

Sam accepts the girl who came back as his daughter since he wishes it to be true so badly and hence believes it what he wants it to be. Whereas Baptiste and Gemma have their own suspicions of her and investigate the case deeper. The fact that Baptiste confidently rejects the girl’s identity as Alice gives the audience an unconventional experience and enhances the story’s tension. These details act as hermeneutic codes (enigma codes), giving the viewer an insight into the characters’ personalities and creating a sense of drama.  

Moreover, the change in locations and time zones suggests a new and interesting way of telling the story as it creates an enigma and makes the viewers develop a curiosity about the correlation between different temporal and geographical markers. Unconventional experiences are also offered through the family reunion as instead of being glad and happy that Alice has finally come back after 11 years, they seem to be more miserable and falling further apart.