GENRE AND FARGO

"Noun: A category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter."


Richard Maltby said in 1995, "Genres are flexible, subject to the constant process of change and adaptation. Because different audiences will use a genre in different ways at different times, its boundaries can never be rigidly defined, and at the same time it is susceptible to extensive subdivision."


I believe that this theory is fully supported by the Coen Brothers' film 'Fargo' because it seems to push the boundaries as a film in the Thriller genre; this can be said because it does not follow the typical conventions of a Thriller film. 
If this genre is to be strictly defined, a Thriller should "provide thrills and keep the audience cliff-hanging at the 'edge of their seats' as the plot builds towards a climax." 
http://www.filmsite.org/thrillerfilms.html
In most scenarios, tension and suspense are built up by the main protagonist being put in an out-of-the-ordinary situation which requires them to fight for their character's or another's life/safety. This character's bravery is usually a very different aspect to their personal traits, this is very quickly established in the opening of Zack Znyder's 2004 film 'Dawn of the Dead'.


Going back to the film 'Fargo', it challenges the initial perception of a Thriller film because it takes on a comedy aspect, in a black humour kind of manner which can be associated with this genre however the humour is neither witty or outstanding. Dark colours are also associated with the genre however, the film is set in Minneapolis in winter, 1987 which means that the whole film is set in a snowy and stranded location. 
The bright white scenes contrast very strongly to the typical connotations of a thriller film and unsettle the audience into building a sense of security and then tearing down this safety net and portraying the idea that white is now a mysterious and overwhelming colour. It also has a great impact that it contrasts highly to the colour of blood so for example, when Gaear Grimsrud is feeding fellow accomplice, Carl Showalter, into the wood chipper, the blood stands out in a very eery manner against the bright white snow.
The two main protagonists, Jerry Lundergaard and local police chief Marge Gunderson are not typical thriller characters because Jerry is a nervous car salesman who tries to manipulate his father-in-law into giving him money through his outrageous plan and Marge is a heavily pregnant police chief who is the 'hero' of the film.
Overall, I believe that 'Fargo' does not fit the Thriller genre alone because of the many conventions that it does not follow and the general tone of the film is not of that which would make the audience feel on edge. 

The Coen Brothers – Joel and Ethan Coen

Joel David Coen and Ethan Jesse Coen are more commonly known as the Coen brothers and they work together professionally as American filmmakers. Joel was born on November 29, 1954 and Ethan; September 21, 1957.

The films that they have produced together are the following (filmography):

1984 – Blood Simple

1987 – Raising Arizona

1990 – Miller’s Crossing

1991 - Barton Fink

1994 – The Hudsucker Proxy

1996 – Fargo

1998   The Big Lebowski

2000   O Brother, Where Art Thou?

2001   The Man Who Wasn't There

2003   Intolerable Cruelty

2004   The Ladykillers

2007   No Country for Old Men

2008   Burn After Reading

2009   A Serious Man

2010   True Grit

RULE OF THIRDS

The rule of thirds is a compositional rule taken into consideration in the visual arts such as photography, film and painting. It states that an image or frame should be divided into 9 equal segments by being divided by 2 equally-spaced horizontal and 2 equally-spaced vertical lines. If the subject is focused on away from the centre segment and on a different line of thirds, then the image/frame becomes physically more interesting and appealing to the eye. 

MISE-EN-SCENE

a french term meaning what it is put into a scene or frame, it is the visual information which is in front of the camera and communicates essential information to the audience.

The five elements of mise-en-scene:

• setting and props
• costume, hair and make-up
• facial expressions and body language
• lighting and colour
• positioning of characters/objects within the frame

These elements are all crucial to the making of a successful film because they help to establish a scene and they can portray different pieces of information to the audience which may have not been initially noted upon.

A brief extension upon two elements of mise-en-scene: 

 COSTUME, HAIR AND MAKE-UP

• act as an instant indicator to us of a character's personality, status and job
• depict the time period/setting and culture immediately

BODY LANGUAGE AND FACIAL EXPRESSIONS

• clear indicator of how someone is feeling (towards a certain person or situation)

Mise-en-scene is very important to the directing and producing of a piece of visual media because different settings, scene layouts and lighting all provide many connotations for the audience to decipher.

An introduction to AS Media Studies

Welcome to my blog, this will be where I post work and updates from tasks being set and what I have learnt from the subject.
The first crucial lesson was that film is a visual medium.