Research for CCR Question 1

How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?

My film uses conventions respective to its genre, thriller. In the opening scene, the main character is seen stressing in their car with police sirens in the background. This already shows the audience that the movie will be about figuring out what he did to get into that situation. The first scene evokes a sense of mystery and thrill to the audience.

The caller scene, the main part of my opening, does a good job at establishing a sense of danger and thrill because the antagonist, who is not shown in the film (another common convention of thriller), presents himself as someone who has power over the protagonist. By having Xander (the main character)'s parents kidnapped, he has leverage over him. This is also a common theme in thriller movies because when the antagonist has leverage they can force the protagonist to act against their will.

Another key convention that my opening uses is it uses an anonymous protagonist. This is a very common convention in thriller movies because it builds mystery and suspense, especially for an opening. When a film doesn't reveal the protagonist at the start, it makes it brings more questions to the audience.

However, my opening also challenges some conventions, Instead of the protagonist being an adult like most thrillers, the protagonist is an ordinary teenager. This develops a theme of vulnerability and defenselessness, as Xander cannot do anything but comply with the antagonist's requests.

My opening represents social groups because it shows how ordinary people can suddenly be put in serious situations. Xander was a stereotypical teenager. He uses a smartphone, he has sports jerseys in his room, he has a videogame console. These are all common traits of modern teenagers. He goes home one day and finds out his parents went missing out of nowhere, this develops the theme that anybody could get caught in an unlucky, dangerous situation.

Overall, my opening challenges and complies with conventions of thriller such as mystery, suspenseful pacing, and challenges conventions by making the protagonist a regular teenager and everyday locations for filming. All these things make the movie feel familiar to audiences of the genre.

This image represents some of the key conventions that most thriller movies have. My film, being a thriller, uses most of these to give the full effect of the genre.