Fantasy Genre: "Films that deal with fairy tale adventures or plots from the dark ages"
Following our initial ideas, we individually researched the genre ourselves to find out more about its conventions:
The Repertoire of Elements.
Following our initial ideas, we individually researched the genre ourselves to find out more about its conventions:
The Repertoire of Elements.
Films from the fantasy genre often create hybrids with the science-fiction and horror genres as the magical elements they include compliment these: all of the genres have the freedom to be flexible with their narratives and create a sense of unknowing. The genre revolves mainly around unexplainable events and wonder allowing to push the boundaries of possibility. The films are generally well received by both children and adults as they offer escapism and mystery.
Good vs Evil is the most recognisable theme and is relevant to all fantasy texts: It involves conflict between two opposing sides. The audience is often lead to sympathise with the "good" character as the plot is lead by them. The good and the evil don't have to be shown through characters, the evil, for example, could be an unfortunate situation. Traditionally, evil characters invaded the lands of the good characters - a concept that is common in fairy tales.
-The Hero personifies the good: They generally live up to their role as the plot progresses because of what is demanded of them and represent the "moral goodness." The Hero undergoes a quest relying on a helpful force (often involving saving the world) which may be lead to self-improvement and/or a reward. Their experience will be mystical and contain elements of supernatural phenomena.
-The Dark Lord personifies the evil: They will have committed an atrocity that has made them feared by others and they threaten the equilibrium at the start of the narrative.
These characters do not have to be human; often they are talking animals or creatures which are believable in the genre.
Magic in some capacity will feature in a fantasy film as a defining feature. It is because of this that the films can have unrealistic plots. The magic often is usually only possessed by the Hero and/or the Dark Lord which helps to identify them both as influential characters. The Hero uses their magic for good and the Dark Lord uses theirs for evil. Fantasy characters that are associated with magic are wizards, witches and magicians. Magic can be subtle or used as a "force", like in Star Wars for example and is realistic in the setting of the film.
The events shown in these films are unlikely to happen in real life, though they may have some scientific relevance or truth in them. Because of this they are enjoyed by audiences because they offer escapism.
Examples of mystical characters would be vampires, dragons and fairies.
Todorov's theory is most applicable to fantasy films. In addition to the Hero and the Dark Lord, the narrative includes a Reward, traditionally in the form of a princess who would have been distressed and a Mentor who is older and who guides the Hero.
ICONOGRAPHY:
Because of the creative freedom of the fantasy genre it is difficult to define it as being either a "male genre" or a "female genre." It is dependent on the type and the plot of the fantasy film. Emotional characters and themes are something associated with the female genre and will be applicable to most fantasy films. Also love is often an integral component, accounting sometimes for music with 'sweeping chords' also considered to be feminine aspects, whilst also dealing with situations that are infeasible in the real world. Contrary to this though, references to battles and conflicts between different worlds are compatible with the male genre. Ultimately though, as these films are used for escapism, they are generally considered to be female. They are high culture too; they are made with large budgets and appeal to mass audiences due to their 'tried and tested' formulas.
In order to help us to try and establish what an audience would want from a fantasy film as a group we asked some people what they liked most about the genre and what they expect from it themselves. The two girls we asked were both of a similar age to the group members and so could be a potential demographic to consider for a target audience as we would relate to their thoughts and experiences regarding the fantasy films they may have seen.
Good vs Evil is the most recognisable theme and is relevant to all fantasy texts: It involves conflict between two opposing sides. The audience is often lead to sympathise with the "good" character as the plot is lead by them. The good and the evil don't have to be shown through characters, the evil, for example, could be an unfortunate situation. Traditionally, evil characters invaded the lands of the good characters - a concept that is common in fairy tales.
-The Hero personifies the good: They generally live up to their role as the plot progresses because of what is demanded of them and represent the "moral goodness." The Hero undergoes a quest relying on a helpful force (often involving saving the world) which may be lead to self-improvement and/or a reward. Their experience will be mystical and contain elements of supernatural phenomena.
-The Dark Lord personifies the evil: They will have committed an atrocity that has made them feared by others and they threaten the equilibrium at the start of the narrative.
These characters do not have to be human; often they are talking animals or creatures which are believable in the genre.
Magic in some capacity will feature in a fantasy film as a defining feature. It is because of this that the films can have unrealistic plots. The magic often is usually only possessed by the Hero and/or the Dark Lord which helps to identify them both as influential characters. The Hero uses their magic for good and the Dark Lord uses theirs for evil. Fantasy characters that are associated with magic are wizards, witches and magicians. Magic can be subtle or used as a "force", like in Star Wars for example and is realistic in the setting of the film.
The events shown in these films are unlikely to happen in real life, though they may have some scientific relevance or truth in them. Because of this they are enjoyed by audiences because they offer escapism.
Examples of mystical characters would be vampires, dragons and fairies.
Todorov's theory is most applicable to fantasy films. In addition to the Hero and the Dark Lord, the narrative includes a Reward, traditionally in the form of a princess who would have been distressed and a Mentor who is older and who guides the Hero.
ICONOGRAPHY:
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