In today's blog, I created a bubble diagram illustrating mise en scene elements within a chosen genre and subgenre. This diagram includes characters, set design, props, lighting, and acting. Genre is the stylistic category that films are put into. The names we give to describe these categories have been developed over time for what we watch in film. Genre is important to film producers and the audience because it helps set an expectation for what an audience is about to watch and it shapes the characters and story of a film. Examples of genres can include comedy, horror, action, and drama. A subgenre is a smaller and more specific genre within a broader genre. It is important because it tells exactly and more accurately what a film is all about. Romantic comedy, for example, is a lighthearted, humorous plot that is centered on ideas of romance and love. My favorite kind of genre is action because I enjoy the high energy and fast-paced storyline with some fighting involved.
The purpose of this assignment is to identify genre and subgenre using the elements of mise en scene. Me and my partner chose the genre science fiction and the subgenre alien invasion because even though it is a popular genre, it is often overlooked and is not mentioned as much are other popular genres. Aliens are also very common and recognizable in sci-fi. Science fiction is fiction based on imagined futuristic science and technology and environmental changes. Alien invasion is science fiction where extraterrestrial lifeforms come and invade earth. Iconography is the visual images and symbols used in a work of art. Four iconic images associated with sci-fi/alien invasion are:
Setting: field of land, inside a spaceship, a planet
Iconography: ray guns, alien egg, spaceship
Characters: extraterrestrial being, scientist
Tone and atmosphere: curiosity, wonder, exploration
Narrative themes are the central topic, subject, or message in a narrative. Four themes associated with sci-fi/alien invasion can be consequences of the unknown, cooperation or conflict, survival, and exploration.
Reflection
The objective of the activity is to research film genres based on key components, conventions, and technical codes. A main genre and a subgenre are chosen, identifying mise en scene elements like setting, acting, costume, hair, makeup, color, set design, lighting, and composition. I created a bubble diagram poster to represent an example of a subgenre inside of a genre and how the elements of mise en scene are put into place regarding genre. To complete the poster, me and my partner researched what a typical sci-fi movie has and how aliens are put into that category. We found that aliens are usually paired with spaceships, so in the middle of the poster, we drew an alien inside of a space. Aliens are also known to abduct things, so we drew robotic tentacles abducting the elements of mise en scene in a sci-fi/alien movie. We used our expert artistic ability and the help of informative websites to complete the poster. I learned that the elements of mise en scene can determine what the genre of a film is.
Work Cited
What is a Genre? || Definition & Examples. (2023, July 19). College of Liberal Arts. https://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/wlf/what-genre
Reich, J. (2017, July 11). 2. What Is Genre and How Is It Determined? Pressbooks. https://milnepublishing.geneseo.edu/exploring-movie-construction-and-production/chapter/2-what-is-genre-and-how-is-it-determined/
Hellerman, J. (2023, December 6). Deconstructing the Science Fiction Genre in Movies and TV. No Film School. https://nofilmschool.com/science-fiction-genre
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