Codes and Conventions

Crime as the main focus covering TV, Film and Gaming
Crime films are films that focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to
a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the farfetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_film
Crime thrillers are portrayed to include violence

with guns and knives. They often contain deaths
and gangsters.
The target audience is younger adults, I would say
predominantly males.
Codes and conventions

Typical codes and conventions which may be found in British crime films are:
The consumption of alcohol and illegal substances
The use of weapons such as guns or knives
The main protagonist attending a party/rave
Police attempting to arrest/intimidate the main protagonist
The main protagonist is usually a male character who has had a hard-up bringing
They emphasise the struggles and difficulties faced by the characters
Characters
The main protagonist is usually a male character who has had a hard-up bringing
and possibly has little money. Many British crime films portray the main
protagonists family as uninterested in the protagonists life which is what leads
them into disregarding the law.
The other characters are usually male and have the same upbringing as the
protagonist; they are normally rude and outspoken and will challenge strangers
in the street.
American crime films usually have a strong female character that the female
audience can relate to, however British crime films have a lack of female
influence in their films. In British crime films most women are portrayed as
inferior to the male characters and get ordered around by most of the men.
Costumes
In many British crime films they put emphasis on the realistic side of life. Most
portray the characters as people with very little money, this consequently means
that they do not wear expensive or nice clothing. In British crime films
particularly, it is usually implied that the characters are 'chavs' who wear
tracksuits and trainers the majority of the time.
Conclusion
British crime films focus on the harsh upbringing and lives which the characters
have been through to try and make them relatable. The films also incorporate a
lot of violence and drug crimes and portray the police and authority figures in a
negative light.
Crime films
The definition of a crime film is:
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach
to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the
far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always
glorified in these movies.
https://prezi.com/s72bsiabcfqy/codes-and-conventions-of-crime-films/
Genre
1.Horror in general and the way it is portrayed, who watches horror films, who
are they aimed at
2.Horror as a genre in Films (production technology) what are the main codes
and conventions of a horror looking at style (dark) and symbols (blood etc)
3.How are these films distributed? TV, DVD, Mobile phone, Netflix etc.. and where
they are consumed more
Crime as a genre is distributed through DVDs, TV programmes and films aired on
TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. You can watch a crime thriller anywhere, you
could also find a crime thriller genres in video games, such as The Godfather
video game or Gangland which include violence, guns and weapons.
4.Research how the genre of horror has changed over time, how do audiences
now see horror compared to the first release in the 20s. Has the genre become
more graphic, has the content changed, do audiences expect more, the invention
of POV horrors like Paranormal activity compared to Frankenstein or Dracula in
the 1920s
The crime thriller genre has changes over time from the early crime films in the
1920s, like the film Underworld produced in 1927 which is completely different
to a newer crime film that would be produced more recently because this film
was in black and white and a silent film. This differs to newer films like
Goodfellas, produced in 1990 that has colour and uses words rather than being
silent. The newer film has a lot of profanity and violence from scenes of murder
and shootings. The earlier film, Underworld, doesnt have any frightening or
intense violent scenes.
5.What is the typical narrative structure of a horror film and has that changed
over time you should find examples of this to discuss in your report
6.Look at the representation in horrors, again from 1920s to now. The role of the
scared female, the dominant male, the protagonist is always being male, or if it
is female she has been scorned in some way (Fatal attraction for example)
Narrative
http://www.slideshare.net/ibz10/narrative-structure-13101982
Stage 1: Equilibrium, Stage 2: Disruption (the crime) equilibrium is restored Stage 3: Character
Use recognises the disruption (story) stages Stage 4: Character overcomes obstacles to repair
disruption (solves crime), Stage 5: situation is resolved.
Representations
http://www.slideshare.net/mattyp99/7-media-representations-of-crime
FICTIONAL REPRESENTATIONS OF CRIME Mandel (1984): from 1945-1984 estimates 10
billion crime thrillers sold worldwide Around 25% of prime time TV and 20% of films are crime
shows or movies Fictional representations of crime, criminals and victims follow what Surette
(1998) calls the law of opposites the opposite of the official statistics
http://www.slideshare.net/smccormac7/crime-and-deviance-and-themedia?next_slideshow=1
media representations give impression that all age groups are involved in crime Dramatic
Fallacy- the media focus on violent crimes therefore creating fear of crime esp among elderly and
women by over focusing on crimes against these groups Ingenuity Fallacy- Media give
impression that criminals are clever, yet most crime is opportunistic Class Fallacy- Media give
impression that M/C are more likely to be victims of crime Police Fallacy- Media give impression
that the police are more efficient than they really are
Property crime is under represented, while violence, drugs and sex crimes are over represented
Fictional sex crimes are committed by psychopaths, not acquaintances Fictional cops usually
catch the bad guy

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Crime as the main focus covering TV, Film and Gaming

Crime thrillers are portrayed to include violence

Codes and conventions

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