Codes and Conventions continued

Codes and Conventions

To continue my Codes and Conventions research I have made a list of some of the conventions that I have found the list can be viewed below.

• Intense and exciting soundtrack which creates suspense and tension in the scene
• Contain lots of explosions so that the viewers don't lose interest in the film (Whammo Theory)
• Weapons are usually firearms but can contain melee weapons 
• Can have a chase scene were the hero/heroine flees from the villains henchmen
• Costumes vary among film can range from casual clothing to army gear
• most have a basic narrative so it can be followed easily by a majority of viewers
• Characters conform to a specific archetypes such as Heroes being brave, powerful and fearless (Propps character theory)  
• Todorov's narrative theory suggests film starts with Disrupted equilibrium and the films plot involves restoring the equilibrium
• A variety of camera shots are used for different reasons (Close-ups to show emotion)
• The setting can range from a busy city to an exotic temple

Characters in the action genre are normally associated a theory created by Propp which states that all characters in the action genre are stereotyped as a certain role. For example the heroic protagonist in the action film will be based on the hero archetype meaning they are brave, strong and fearless where as the love interest of the hero will be a damsel in distress who is weak, pathetic and will always be saved by the hero. A lot of characters in the action genre fit with these archetypes such as Indiana Jones as a hero, Stormtroppers as henchmen and Alfred (The Dark Knight) who  is a helper and a father figure. However, characters that are too stereotypical are often criticised as they reinforce a negative stereotype. Because of this i'll make sure that while my characters do show traits of the stereotypes they are based on they are not a carbon copy of that stereotype (the hero may show signs of weakness in the film opening).