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Batman Genre Analysis

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Superhero Genre Study

The Dark Knight Genre Analysis

How is The Dark Knight similar to a generic superhero film?
  • The film contains a lot of generic fight scenes, which include some cheesy one-liners from Batman.
  • The setting of Gotham is very similar to the other city settings seen in other Superhero films, such as Superman’s Metropolis or Spider-Man’s New York.
  • Batman continues to wear his signature Batsuit, with his emblem on it. This is one of the main defining features of a superhero.
How is The Dark Knight different to a generic superhero film?
  • The film does not follow the generic story structure and doesn’t end with a happy ending.
  • The Dark Knight blurs the lines between hero and villain with the characters of both Batman and Harvey Dent.
  • We focus on the personal issues of the character of Bruce Wayne / Batman a lot more than other superhero films. Rather than a simple object or villain being his “weakness”, it turns out to be his own moral code that stops him from resolving the problems he faces.

 

Pan’s Labyrinth Final Essay Feedback

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Overall, I got 19/28 marks, which I think is pretty good, at least as a first proper essay. To improve, I’d say I need to make more references to the rest of the film, talking more about the themes of disobedience in the face of fascism. I would have also liked to have made more references to film elements within the text. Overall, though, I think the essay turned out relatively well and I think I can improve in these ways next time.

Pan’s Labyrinth Context Research

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  • A lot of Pan’s Labyrinth’s historical context revolves around the Spanish civil war.
  • There are also a lot of allusions to Del Toro’s abusive Christian upbringing.
  • There are many references to Catholicism and fascism within the film, which relates to the prior.
  • Del Toro pulls from a number of inspirations, from history to art.
  • He also draws on the myths and ideas from the art he is inspired by.  An example of this can be seen with The Pale Man’s inspiration from Saturn Devouring His Son relates to the theme of parental abuse.
  • The Faun’s representation may mirror the fascist leaders, asking her to blindly do as she’s told while not necessary telling the truth.

Narrative Analysis of a Pixar Film

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Monsters Inc. Story Mountain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Structural Moments in Monsters Inc.

  • ACT 1: A lot of time is taken introducing the world and the characters – we are shown the way the monsters’ society operates and we are given time to see the character dynamic.
  • ACT 2: A child enters the monster world, children are believed to be toxic to monsters. Main characters must hide her. Wacky hijinks ensue.
  • ACT 2: Child is stolen by the antagonist. Main characters must get her back.
  • ACT 2: They get her back, partially due to the power of friendship.
  • ACT 3: They return her to her home and the antagonist is trapped. Life goes back to normal.

Character Types

Protagonist: Sulley – He is the main hero of the story and the central figure who drives the story.
Antagonist: Randall – He is the main villain of the story, creating the main tension in the story and puts the narrative into motion.
Donor: Yeti – The Yeti helps Sulley and Mike return to the monster world through his knowledge.
Helper: Mike – Mike appears to be Sulley’s sidekick, helping him throughout the film. While they have similar amounts of screentime, Mike generally impedes progress to the overall objective rather than makes progress, like Sulley – despite being a helper, Mike does not actively drive most of the important parts of the plot, unlike Sulley.
Princess: Boo – She is the person Mike and Sulley are trying to rescue.
Dispatcher: Henry J. Waternoose III – As the pair’s boss, he essentially sets the story in motion.

Conflicts and Themes

Monsters Inc.’s biggest theme is the conflict between good and evil. This can be seen on the big scale, through the fact that the corporation is exposed as evil, and on the small scale, through there simply being “good” and “bad” monsters,

Genre Analysis of Pan’s Labyrinth

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Class Analysis of How Pan’s Fits the Fantasy Genre

Reflection on the Genre Analysis

Similarities:

  • Pan’s Labyrinth has some very generic locations including long corridors, mysterious forests, etc.
  • Pan’s has a particularly generic archetypal villain – Vidal.
  • The story has the generic struggle between good and evil.
  • Ofelia sacrifices herself to save her brother instead.
  • Pan’s includes a generic chase scene of the main character being chased by some evil.

Differences:

  • The Faun doesn’t fit in with generic conventions – he expects Ofelia to follow him blindly and it makes the audience unsettled and untrusting of the Faun.
  • Ofelia’s death defies generic fantasy conventions – based on the genre, we do not expect Ofelia to die.
  • Pan’s does not include a large battle scene as per other fantasy films, but instead multiple smaller, more tense scenes.
  • Ofelia does not prevail over the evil, other characters kill Vidal at the end.
  • The use of war tropes and props such as Carmen’s wheelchair contrasts the fantasy tropes – this creates the more serious elements of the film as well as putting forward some of the overarching themes (i.e. the impact of war on children).