Summer Film Research

Matt Starr

Post- Apocalyptic Timeline

1927

1936

1959

1968

1978

1981

1998

2004

http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/post-apocalyptic-films--6 More information at

Typical Post- Apocalyptic ThemesTypically in P-A films it is near the end of civilisation and the environments are over grown, deserted and covered in junk. The abandoned locations are a reflection on the loneliness the characters feel. There will usually be destroyed buildings (9), dumped cars (Zombieland) and litter filled streets (I am Legend). Shane Acker’s says that P-A films have to have “hope for survival” and show “characters banding together to survive.” These rules are generally abided by especially in “Zombieland” and “28 Days Later”.

Usually there will be an enemy or problem that the main characters will have to contest with. This could be other survivors/bandits (The Road), Machines (9) or zombies (Zombieland). Sometimes it isn’t just the external issues the protagonist will have to battle, the internal issues such as loneliness can be the characters biggest struggle (I am Legend).

Todorov’s theory The P-A genre goes against Todorov’s theory in a big way. There is not usually an equilibrium starting point but the main character can have flash back throughout the film showing the audience what life was like before. Most of the time the disruption of the equilibrium has already happened as well, but sometimes the audience see the apocalypse (The Day After Tomorrow). Typically a P-A film will start at stage 3 which is the recognition of the disruption. The audience will be told about what happened and what is currently going on because of the disaster. The narrative will always be based around the attempt to repair the damage, by finding a cure, travelling or by attacking the things that have enslaved you (The Matrix). The last stage, stage 5, will usually not be reached either, sometimes it does, but most of the time the film will end only showing the start to achieving better days (The Road). Another quite common ending is for the main characters to be killed or the characters just carry on as they had done during the film. The fact that the genre does not comply with Todorov’s theory might be why the genre is interesting to watch, it is very different from the other genres.

CharactersNick Lacey says that “Each new expression of genre is likely to be different” and I think this is especially true when it comes to characters. There are a range of characters typically seen in P-A films. A lot of the time the lead character will just be an ordinary individual (28 Days Later). Sometimes the characters will be displayed as survivors that will be dirty, unkempt and depressed. They differ from the ordinary individual because they are shown to have survived for a while in the P-A world, whilst the ordinary person will likely of just have started their journey. Another common character can be the tough guy such as Tallahassee in ‘Zombieland.’ These sorts of characters appear in many types of films but in this particular genre they seem to be less effected by what has happened and seem to get on with what they need to do. Sometimes the character could be an exclusive person that has a job to do, protect a book (The Book Eli), save the human race from machines (The Matrix).

Mise-en-sceneThe Mise en scene is alike in most P-A films. The lighting is usually dark and desaturated to show how the world has been destroyed. Another reason for the typical darker lighting is because of how lonely and depressing the characters feel when they are living in these environments. However, this isn’t always the case because in ‘Zombieland’ and ‘Mad Max’ the setting is bright with saturated colours. Having livelier colours will represent the more positive feel of the film, ‘Zombieland’ is a comedy so having the lighter colours will give the film a less dramatic theme.

The Props used will normally involve some sort of weapon (gun, knife) and possibly a car for getting around quickly ( I am Legend). Sometimes props will help the audience understand the situation the character is in. In ‘I am Legend’ he wears two watches which have alarms on them to alert him when it is getting dark and in ‘9’ he carries around a light because it is so dark in his world and he is the saviour. There are not many props that are specific to the P-A genre because a lot of items will be regular everyday items.

Typical Post- Apocalyptic shotsMost of the time in P-A films long shots are used to convey the emptiness of the world the character is in. It is effective as it shows all of the characters body and many of the surroundings, which proves to the audience there is no one else there.

Point of view shots are also effective as they let the audience see what the character sees. In ‘I am Legend’ an associated P.O.V is a good way of portraying to the audience that the character, Robert, can not believe what he is seeing, when he sees one of his manikins has moved on it’s own.

Close ups are commonly used in the P-A genre because they can show the characters emotions or reactions. A close up presents the fear in Robert’s eyes when night time comes in ‘I am Legend’. It also displays the shock on 5’s face when he watches The Brain return in ‘9’.

Typical Post- Apocalyptic editing techniquesEye line matches are commonly used in P-A films as they offer a certain sense of mystery. The audience will see a characters reaction and it will then cut to whatever the character has reacted to.

Slow motion is also seen in the P-A genre when some action is happening on screen. It slows down the action so the audience is able to fully experience what is going on and it can make some sequences look a lot more impressive because it has become more detailed. In ‘The Matrix’ there is the famous stunt of Neo dodging the bullets by bending over backwards. The opening to ‘Zombieland’ is a range of slow motion shots of people being attacked by zombies and it is effective as it shows the situation the characters are in.

The use of Computer Generated Imagery has been implemented in P-A films frequently in recent years because it can bring to life whatever situation or problem the director has in mind. CGI graphics have been applied in ‘Zombielands’ to give the film a comic feel.

Social Realism Timeline

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1959

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2009

More information at http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/social-realism-timeline

Typical Social Realism themesThe typical locations in Social Realism films are gritty, depressing and poor areas. They will normally be near factories because the citizens of the town will work in the factories. In ‘Kes’ the family live in a mining town and it is repeatedly called “the pit.” In more recent films the characters are usually placed in areas such as flats, council houses or on estates. Crime can be featured and a lot of the secondary/background characters will be living the same lives as the main character. The character will have hard choices to make in the film and this will be represented in the type of area the character lives in. Sometimes a character can appear quite heroic because they have succeeded even though they live in poor conditions, this is shown when Rita gets her degree in ‘Educating Rita’. The themes will usually have a deeper meaning than the film will portray, can have a political theme underneath the story.

Characters

The typical characters in Social Realism films are working class people that live tough lives. They’ll live in down trodden areas in small flats or on estates and will be quite poor. Usually the characters will be very angry and possibly violent. Sometimes the main character will be an immigrant and the audience will see what it is like for them in some of these places. Immigrants are typical characters because they will show the struggles that they face trying to live in Britain and have better lives (Dirt Pretty Things). In ‘Kes’ all of the kids at the school are wearing different uniform and P.E kit because the families were all too poor to be able to buy a uniform or kit so the kids would have to wear a uniform of various different clothes. It is also set in a mining town so many of the people living their work in ‘the pit’ which is a usual type of manual labour job featured in social realism films. Many characters can end up in jail because of crimes they have committed, Vera is arrested because she is an abortionist in ‘Vera Drake’.

Mise-en-sceneThe Mise-en-scene in social realism films can differ depending on setting and time period. If it is modern and the characters are in a gang or rough area there will be prop weapons such as guns, knives and bats (Kidulthood). Other regular props will be cigarettes and hoodies. If the film is set in the past then characters will be dressed in shabby looking clothes. The clothing can also represent the type of job the character has (In our Name), which can tell the audience a lot about the persons life. The lighting is usually natural and may possibly be slightly desaturated. The natural lighting is used to give the film the look of real life, which can give it a dramatic effect. The desaturated lighting is showing how gritty and horrible some of the peoples lives are in the film.

Typical Social Realism shots

Close ups are commonly used to show the emotion of the characters as they react the bad situation they are in. This is a shot of Vera being told that she is going to jail, from ‘Vera Drake’. Close ups are also used to show weapons because it gives them item more attention which will make the audience believe that something bad is about to happen. Wide shots are also effectively used to show danger as they can get a lot in frame it shows the characters surroundings with nothing there, so the character is not being helped.

The ending shots in both ‘Kes’ and ‘Vera Drake’ show the main characters in an even more depressed state then they would be because of what has happened in the film. Billy is seen burying his Kestrel at the end of ‘Kes’ and Vera’s family are seen around the table all looking very sad because of Vera’s imprisonment (Vera Drake).

Typical Social Realism editingShot reverse shot is the most commonly used editing technique in social realism films because the audience can get more involved in the characters and the situation they are in. In the pictures below Stan and Reg from ‘Vera Drake’ are talking about World War 2 and the viewers get a feel of what times were like in the era the film is based. If there is a scene where the character is being chased then fast cuts between shots will be used to portray the speed of the action on screen, when Sam is running from the police in ‘Adulthood’. Some editing techniques are not used in this genre because it is supposed to reflect real life and using techniques such as CGI does not represent real life. The continuity is very well done in the genre as the settings and clothes always look the same each time the audience sees them which represents the mundane lives the characters lead, for them nothing changes.