Unit 10 assignment

Unit 10 Assignment.
As one of many well-known and iconic genres in today’s films, science fiction films typically
follow certain codes and conventions which are very distinctive and are found commonly in
the sci-fi genre. Looking at two films of the same genre that are still quite different allows us
to see just how identifiable the science fiction genre is even if the two films aren’t exactly
similar. In Neale’s theory, he claims that genre is repetition which is exactly what goes on in
Aliens (1986) and Annihilation (2018), while both these films are years apart they still share
some similarities and differences which typically define the Sci-Fi genre.
In James Cameron’s Aliens, it uses a trope never actually seen much before in a science
fiction filmwhich can easily make it quite distinguishable compared to others. It takes a
trope from another genre, horror which is putting a child in a dangerous and scary situation
to make the audience fear and worry for the child’s safety throughout the filmwhich adds
to the tension. The character of Newt in Aliens is supposed to do just that, putting a young
and vulnerable child in a situation
where they will encounter
creatures that are also hunting
down and killing adults makes
their role extremely important in
the film. Sci-Fi films typically take
an everyday normal setting and
put something that doesn’t
belong there such as alien-like
creatures or extremely
technologically advanced
equipment. Both are extremely common in the genre and are actually key characteristics
that make it evident compared to other genres. Mise-en-scene is very important in this
genre as props, setting and outfits can make the filmmore believable as it puts it in the
universe that the film is set in and takes the audience there as sci-fi isn’t often meant to be
exceptionally believable. The amount of the genre of films set in the everyday situation are
very slimbut it is still an area of sci-fi that a lot of films deal with in invasion themes.
The use of setting in this scene is important as it creates the impression of danger and fear.
The water and shallow focus on the child and the alien behind them that is just slightly
blurred makes it seemeven more menacing and scary than if it were in sharp focus. The
setting behind the character of Newt who is the child is in a water-filled room. Sci-Fi plays
with the average viewer's fears, some people have a fear of water important too as that is
where they are in, people also have a fear of the unknown which can mean that as we don’t
fully know whether or not that is an alien behind them whether or not to fear.
This scene is particularly quite sad too as we watch Ripley find Newt to only have her taken
by the alien hiding in the water behind her. In this scene, there is a short burst of non-
diegetic music before Newt is heard screaming showing a shot-reverse-shot of Ripley then
of Newt missing. This makes the audience fear what happens to Newt now that they were
taken by the Aliens. The whole film has rather poor lighting to add to the tension and hide
away from the special effects available in 1986 compared to the lighting of Annihilation
which was created when there were even more special effects. Applying Vladimir Propp’s
formula to this scene in particular would put Newt as ‘the princess’ as she needs help being
rescued after all, only being a child in the presence of giant Aliens that wish to hurt her. The

‘hero’ would be Ripley, who in this scene and throughout the filmgoes to great lengths to
protect her, even putting her own life at risk to make sure that Newt does not get hurt. The
‘villain’ would be both the Aliens as a whole species and the Alien Queen, who hurts Bishop,
‘the helper’ who assists Ripley throughout the film.
Another film that uses some of the same codes and conventions that Aliens use is
Annihilation, a Science-Fiction filmthat uses similar codes and conventions such as
technologically advanced equipment and creatures is Annihilation which was released in
2018. It uses a lot more CGI and actually relies on that and green screens for a lot of its
scenes. Much like in Aliens however 32 years apart in age and further in technological
advances in the movie industry making it easier to make the world that Annihilation is set in.
For example, one of the scenes in the
film that show that it is different is the
scene pictured below where they find
a pastel-coloured wall that is feasting
on the body of an old veteran who was
sent to check out the events that lead
to the other characters visiting there.
Compared to Aliens this is very
different as the creatures hunting our
main characters are actually quite
brightly coloured which is against the
typical tropes of the genre. Most
creatures are painted out to be dark or
evil colours but the bright colour scheme of these compared to the drab outfits of our main
characters make our protagonists seem evil as they are trying to stop the creatures from
making life and evolving which is all they wish to do. This approach gives a new perspective
in the film that has not really been approached much where the supposed antagonists are
actually doing nothing wrong and the people we have been supporting throughout the film
are trying to destroy the work of the place.
The bright lighting of this filmmakes it seem even more disturbing as the creatures have
mauled apart the firs expedition team which makes us fear even more for our protagonists
who are the second team of biologists sent to investigate what exactly is going on there. The
mise-en-scene is very important in this film as, mentioned earlier colour-scheme of
costumes tell a lot about stereotypes of characters, as the more ‘evil’ characters or the
‘villains’ may way darker colours like red or black. It makes it seemeven that more
disturbing on top of the creature’s visual design as many taken on humanoid-like forms. A
lot of science fiction films can border on horror for an audience as both Aliens and
Annihilation do that in a way that makes it still science fiction but with a twist which makes
it a lot more interesting.
The change of colour makes them appear even more disturbing, shifting the stereotypes of
‘the villain’ being dressed in darker colours and ‘the hero’ and ‘the princess’ both having
rather bright coloured costumes or outfits. This makes Annihilation rather interesting
compared to the creatures in Aliens which are very dark coloured, however so are the
costumes of Ripley and the crew which makes them both each other’s villains. In

Annihilation the ‘princess’ so to say is the old crew who went missing on an expedition into
‘the shimmer’ where they are sent in by a team lead by a biologist. ‘The hero’ in this case
would most likely be Lena, who is the only character in the end to actually make it out of
‘the shimmer’ as we see in both the first and last scenes of the filmwhere she is sent to
recover her husband Kane’s old crew.
In 1986’s Aliens another scene
that Cameron uses is Bishops
partial death during the very last
battle with the Alien queen to
show the crossover between sci-
fi films and horror. This scene
uses special effects and body
horror to make the filmseem
like horror with sci-fi elements.
Especially with a well-liked
character like Bishop, this can
make audiences quite upset.
Often horrors kill off characters
the audience particularly liked or the majority of them to make the filmseem maybe more
disturbing or upsetting to those watching. It makes them think that their favourite character
will get to live through the suffering of the film, to just die at the last hurdle which is
another way emotionally manipulate audiences.
The crippling injury he sustains makes him no longer useful however he does save Newt one
last time while Ripley and the Alien Queen are fighting, solidifying his role as the helper in
the film. In this scene, the colour of his SFX organs are a very light shade compared to the
colour of the set and his costume making the injury stand out more. The white liquid used
when he is ripped apart also creates a very eye catching scene which the audience will
instantaneously be drawn to instead of anything else. The attack is rather quick and is
prompted by a focus on some acidic saliva that has dropped onto the ground when we think
that the characters are safe and well.
We then find out that Bishop is an android, having the same organs as Ash is Alien (1979)
who was revealed to be an android too. The effects made with milk and pasta show just
how much the special effects have changed over the years compared to Annihilation which
was made is 2018. This also shows how the science fiction genre has evolved over the years
compared to thigs that can now just be generated by a computer and a green screen to
make it look as believable as they need it to be. Bishop is a character who is seen as 'the
sidekick' and this would make people sympathize with his injury as he has stayed
true to Ripley and Newt throughout the whole events of the film. His fatal injury and
revelation that he is an android also lends to both the genre of drama and horror, via
killing off a beloved character just because. Since Bishop in a way acts like a 'hero'
in some scenes, especially towards the very last fight scene with the Alien Queen.
When Newt is about to fall out the air lock, Bishop grabs her and saves her when
Ripley is too busy to save her. So 'the side kick' Bishop ends up actually saving the
life of 'the princess' who is Newt. This will make the audience ffel more sympathy

when Bishop is injured as he was quite the memorable and important character in
the film, and in the franchise as a whole.
Similarly, in Annihilation human
nature plays a big part in how
the character’s act towards
others and towards their own
teammates which can cause the
demise of many characters. As a
lack of trust makes a lot of
characters go insane, which
leads to the bear in the cabin
scene pictured here. This is one of the poorer lit scenes in the whole film which lead up to
the group being attacked by a mutated bear. This attack is one of the things that shows the
group dynamic as a whole and exposes the underlying theme of human nature versus
animal nature and how people naturally are. The slow descent to the madness that some
character’s exhibit also shows a psychological aspect to the film, much like Aliens, playing
with nature, instinct and fears to make the audience more apprehensive. It adds another
threat of other humans on top of the creatures our protagonists are fighting.
The human threat is shown via a change in lighting to a very dark poorly lit scene compared
to the brighter more well-lit scenes with our creatures. The bear in this scene also follows
the colour scheme that is shown throughout the whole filmit is a theme that prevalent to
symbolize what is good or bad. In this scene, Ventress, Lena and Radek are sedated and
kidnapped by ‘the false hero’ who is Thorensen, who is eventually mauled to death by the
mutated bear we see later in the scene. This shows a cruel sense of justice for Thorensen
who did abduct her fellow team members but also got pretty much exactly what she
deserved for doing so. It also shows that our ‘hero’ in Propp’s theory- Lena isn’t actually as
good as she first seems, having lied to her team about her husband Kane’s identity in the
first place. That lie lead to Thorensen kidnapping them all and her eventual death, that
wouldn’t have happened had Lena said who her husband was in the first place instead of
causing distrust in the group and making her team lose their trust in her.
The character of Lena goes against typical conventions of the sci-fi genre as she is a rather
strange hero in a way that makes her unlikeable. As she is the only character who does
escape the Shimmer this makes her seembetter than the other characters and makes the
audience slightly angry, even though they were aware of it from the very beginning. Since
she does lie to her group and cause the eventual death of Thorensen and even the death of
Sheppard, who was mauled to death by the same bear earlier on in the film. Sheppard also
died because Lena hadn’t noticed that she was taken by the bear so in the end both of the
characters that died were because of Lena. This makes her different to the typical hero who
usually has not made impact on the death of their fellow teammates.
Murder Mystery Genre.
As one of many well-known and iconic genres in today’s films, murder mystery films
typically follow certain codes and conventions which are very distinctive and are found
commonly in the whodunit? genre. Looking at two films of the same genre that are still

quite different allows us to see just how identifiable the murder mystery genre is even if the
two films aren’t exactly similar. In Neale’s theory, he claims that genre is repetition which is
exactly what goes on in Crooked House (2017) and Murder on the Orient Express (2017),
while both the same genre they still share some similarities and differences which typically
define the codes and conventions of the murder mystery genre. Comparing these two films
from the same year, that are both adaptations of Agatha Christie novels will show just how
different the murder mystery genre actually is.
In Agatha Christie’s Crooked House, a father of a very prestigious family is killed in his home,
all those in the house have extremely
strong motives as do all in murder
mystery films. This is in order to keep
the audience guessing until the very
last minute who actually committed
the murder. Especially in Crooked
House, the final killer, responsible for
in fact four of the character’s deaths,
including their own brings them to
justice in a twisted way. Pictured
here is Lady Edith de Havilland, she is
a femme fatale in a way despite her
age, often pictured through the filmthe filmwith a shot gun, choosing to shoot moles in the
garden. She is also pictured with her extremely aggressive dogs throughout the film which
even end up attacking some characters she, if applying Propp’s theory would most likely
take on the role of ‘the false hero’ at first glance. This scene uses a very overcast sky for the
whole film, which shows that something is definitely going wrong at the house and signals
that there will most likely be another murder. She is also ‘the helper’ but to the villain, who
is her young grand-daughter, she even takes her and her granddaughters lives so she
wouldn’t have to grow up in prison. She shows great love and respect for her
granddaughter, even though she displays psychopathic traits at the young age of 10, leading
to the deaths of two characters.
This scene actually uses shallow focus, to highlight her concentrating face, that shows she
has a lack of remorse for hurting and hunting things, as evident by her two hunting dogs.
She dresses in period clothing in a hunting jacket, gloves, boots and trousers to show how
true to the piece they wish to be. She also looks rather happy and content, not worried
which puts her as a main suspect, especially for her hatred towards the victim, who is her
ex-husband living in the same house as her with his new wife. She constantly paints herself
as the villain trying to deceive the hero, though denying at the start as did everyone else
who was being investigated. She even hides and destroys the evidence that ‘the villain’ had
planted to protect her and to take the blame herself. Choosing to take her own life even
though she did nothing wrong shows that in a way she is ‘the true hero’ taking down the
villain and solving the case. She even solves it before the princess and the hero who were
too late, trying to chase their car on the way off into a quarry.
As a character in the era of the film, she is head of a matriarchal family which she now runs
despite her sons wishing to. This shows Grant’s theory, having the audience to relate to the

fact she is an extremely headstrong and powerful woman which shows a new feminist
approach to murder mystery films as the typical reader and viewer is a woman which makes
them relate more.
Another film that uses some of the same codes and conventions that Crooked House use is
Murder on the Orient Express, a Murder mystery filmthat uses similar codes and
conventions such as a murder which makes a detective come to a certain place. However, in
Murder on The Orient Express it is a situation where the detective is already there before
the murder happens. Even though both these films were released in the same year they
approach the different ways that murder mystery films can end in their own unique ways.
As we learn in the end that in fact all of the characters are actually responsible for the death
of Rachett for the kidnap and murder of a young American toddler. Usually, in whodunit
there is typically one villain, and possibly an accomplice but murder mysteries as a whole
usually don’t directly follow the codes on conventions of films in general and Propp’s theory
can’t be used in such a film as Murder on the Orient Express. The film goes against the
codes and conventions of its genre making it rather interesting to watch, as with all films of
the same genre it does keep you guessing until the very last moment to make it feel as
though watching the film to find out who was ‘the villain’ was worth it.
Murder on the Orient Express puts Poirot in
a situation where he thinks that there is just
one murderer, some people even giving him
advice and helping him catch the killer,
however in the end it turns out that all of
the characters have actually stabbed
Rachett as a way of getting revenge. The trip
on the train was planned as majority of the
people on the train had a personal
connection to the young girl who was kidnapped and killed by him so that they could all
arrange to murder him. This scene takes place in a train cart, which is the main setting of
the whole film apart from some scenes where they are outside of the train, this too is a
period piece that uses mise-en-scene to show this throughout so the audience are fully
submerged into the piece. The scene is very well lit and uses this to contrast the weather
outside which is extremely snowy and cold, murder mystery films tend to not use darker
lighting to keep it appearing a lot more bright but can often use weather outside to show
that something is amiss and going badly for example the murder of Rachett.
Rachett’s death isn’t that uncommon in the genre as typically very bad and evil people are
put in a situation where they have to face the consequences of their actions and in both
Agatha Christie films that I have analysed, both characters that directly cause harm on
another end up dead in the very end of the film. It makes audiences think what justice
actually is, is it getting revenge and becoming a murderer yourself or is it a twisted sense of
justice, where they would be better in death than in prison like Josephine in Crooked House
and like Rachett in Murder on the Orient Express.

Overall, In both Murder on the Orient Express and Crooked House they use their genres in
different ways that make both of them unique in their own ways despite both being
adaptions from the same writer made in the same year.

Unit 10 assignment

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Unit 10 assignment