Genre and Narrative Conventions

 Genre & Narrative Conventions

Characters:

Lovers/ usually a character as an obstacle to overcome (In both Badlands and natural Born killers this is the parents of the female counterpart)

This runs parallel to the true story of Charles Starkweather and Carol Ann Fugate who were lovers and started off their killing spree with the murder of carol's family

Lighting:

Low-key/often tinted with red/white/blue

Mise-en-scene:

Locations: Mid-west or Southern US/desert or open plain locations/the open road/diners/motels/gas stations

Props/Clothing: Leather/denim/rebellious/birdcage/cars/TV screens/newspapers

Camera:

Two-shot/wide-shot/low-angles/high-angles

Editing:

Differs between the two films we study with 'Badlands' being incredibly classic and slow paced whilst 'natural Born killers' is the complete opposite as it is quite energetic, experimental and frantic.

Key Themes

• Dysfunctional family- Ties to the idea that they are rootless and that there is usually a character to overcome, this is most likely going to be the dysfunctional family, which has lead to them to be perhaps a title twisted and this is the only thing icing them down to their old lives, with them removed, they are free to do whatever they please.

US independent: (500) Days of Summer

• Plot: The film follows Tom and his 500 days with the girl he fall in love with, theres only one problem Summer doesn't believe true love exists.
• Budget: Production cost $7.5 million, earning $60.7 million worldwide in the box office.
• Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel and Chloë Grace Moretz.
• Genre: Comedy, romance and drama.
• Box office: By September 8th, the film had taken $1.9 million from 318 screens in the United Kingdom, after its September 2nd release in UK and Ireland. The film was regarded as a successful 5-day opening by Fox Searchlight, earning around half as much as the science-fiction blockbuster District 9, which took $3.5 million. As of February 25th 2010 the film had grossed $32,391,374 in the US and Canada, with a total of $60,722,734 worldwide. The DVD and Blu-ray Disc release sold 759, 081 copies as of October 2010, earning $11,382,604 in consumer revenue.
• Production: The film was distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures and premiered at the 2009 Sundance Festival.
• Certificate: The film was rated PG-13 for the use of sexual material and language.
• Marketing: To help promote the film, Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel starred in the debut episode of Microsoft Zune and Mean Magazine's "Cinemash" series. The director of the film, Marc Webb, created a music video as a companion piece to the film, titled "The Bank Heist". The video features Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel dancing to "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?", a song by Deschanel's folk group, She & Him.
• Release date: The film made its debut at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. It proved to be a huge success, receiving a standing ovation from the festival crowds. The Europe premiere was shown at Switzerland's opening of the 62nd Locarno Film Festival. Filmed independently, the film was picked up for distribution by Fox Searchlight Pictures and opened in US and Canadian limited release on July 17th 2009, later expanding to wide release in the US on August 7th 2009. The UK and Ireland release was on September 2nd 2009, and opened in Australia on September 17th 2009.
• Reception: Based on over 200 professional reviews, it obtained a "certified fresh" seal on Rotten Tomatoes, with an approval rating of 87% and an average score of 7.6/10. At the websites year-end "Golden Tomato Awards", the film was honored with the best reviewed films of 2009 and placed 2nd in the romantic category. The film received the 2009 Satellite Award for Best Original Screenplay and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay, in addition to nominations at the 67th Golden Globe Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film three and a half stars out of four. He wrote, "Boy meets girl, boy loses girl. It's been done to emo death. That's why the sublimely smart-sexy-joyful-sad (500) Days of Summer hits you like a blast of pure romantic oxygen" and concludes "(500) Days is otherwise a different kind of love story: an honest one that takes a piece out of you".