The Hurt Locker

 Explain two ways the characters and/ or events fit the action adventure genre.

The events fit the action adventure genre because it involves weapons; when a film uses weapons of some sort it is almost guaranteed that it is action adventure. In the clip it is very obvious that there is some sort of war going on, it includes a bomb strapped to a man (a suicide bomber) who is very panicked and distressed. This causes concern to the rest on the army troops who are trying to deactivate the bomb. There is a lot of panic and worry as a bomb is going to go off this shows the genre because there is a lot of action and running which causes noise from everywhere making it a action scene.

The soundtrack is notably used to create effects for the audience which fit the genre. There isn’t any sound just dialog and background noise of panic and shouting which aims to create tension which will be subverted by the inevitable convergence of characters. Shouting sounds are also used to create the effect of panic with lots of movement which creates action as the audience recognizes the cliché́. In addition, it also serves to imply there is an upcoming bomb scene where the characters will be in distress running away, reminiscent of action films.

Editing is also utilized in different manners to create effects which help to heighten the action. For example, editing is very slow-paced at first to create a tense atmosphere which again hints at an upcoming convergence.

The editing then speeds up, and cross-cutting is used frequently to help to bring together the characters in a panic discussion scene and the fast editing builds-up to the action, heightening tension. During trying to deactivate the bomb shot editing is used to show the conflicting emotions of antagonist and protagonists, and discontinuous editing is used to mimic the chaos of the situation.

Mise-en-scène is predominantly utilised at the start of the extract, with all the army men gathered around with guns. In addition, all the army men have a distinctive costume, to make them stand-out to the audience.

The conventional set-design of a deserted town creates the effect of danger when the tranquillity is displaced for action, as it is unexpected to the audience.

The props also mainly consist of weapons, providing a catalyst for action, which also creates terror by satinsing the genre through having excessive amounts of weapons. Lighting is natural simply to create the effect of realism in the town.

Camera devices are extensively used to connote ideals and create effects. For example, a high-angle shot is used to show their obedience and how much panic and horror there is. In addition, many mid-shots and close-up shots are utilised before the action to portray the characters’ fear. An establishing shot is also utilised near the start to depict the quiet suburbia, which is then displaced when the action begins. During the conflict, a handheld camera is employed when they try to deactivate the bomb to mimic the chaos and disorientation the bomb creates. In addition a focus pull is used to bring the armed suicide bomber into focus, and similarly the camera zooms in to the main army man who is in charge of deactivating the bomb, both establish the character importance.

 Discuss the ways in which people are represented in the extract.

The army men are represented in the extract as very serious trying their best to deactivate the bomb and get everyone to safety, there is a small amount of panic as nobody knows what’s going to happen but as stereo-typically the army men try and keep panic minimum and reassure it will be okay. The suicide bomber is portrayed as a bad person but in actual fact he isn’t he just got caught up in it all. This is stereo-typical because nowadays we assume that anyone who speaks the language of the enemy has the same skin colour or wears something that represents that religion, they are bad which is completely wrong and unfair. It’s not the innocent peoples fault that their culture and way of life is seen bad because of some minority bad people who put in a bad name.