Genre Development Report

Genre Report

The thriller genre has changed in many ways over the decades that they have been created in. This is mainly due to the changes in attitude in society, as well as the way audiences interpret different themes.

The main way that thriller movies have changed is by the themes that it covers. Thriller movies in the 1950’s, such as ‘Vertigo’, are much less violent than more modern thrillers, such as ‘Taken’, which is much more graphic and covers harsher themes. This is due to the fact that it is more acceptable to show graphic violence in this decade, as people are used to seeing it in the news, and it will not shock audiences as much now as it would have done 20 or 30 years ago, where such themes might have been considered more disturbing.

The editing pace in more modern thriller movies is also often faster than the editing pace in old fashioned thriller movies. For example, in ‘Adrift’, the editing pace tends to be very fast during the intense moments of the film, whereas in ‘Jaws’, the editing pace is slowed right down when the shark is about to appear for the first time, and close-up’s are shown of different areas of the boat. The slow editing pace in older thriller movies is used to build up the tension of the scene, as the audience are waiting to find out what happens next, so there is a lot of suspense. Nowadays, the editing pace in thriller movies tends to be fast, leaving the audience wondering what is happening as the scene moves quickly. Another reason that the editing pace is faster in modern thriller movies is due to the 'MTV generation' who are used to seeing fast-paced shows and music video's. I think that both of these methods are effective in different ways; the slower editing pace making the audience want to know what is going to happen next and the faster editing pace making them wonder what is happening as they are only seeing short clips.

Another thing to consider about why and how thriller movies have changed over the decades, is that the aim of a thriller movie is to shock, move, and ‘thrill’ an audience, and different things did this based on the time period that they were created in. A few decades ago, themes including the unknown were used, as this shocked audience at this time. However, in this decade, thriller movies contain more violent themes such as kidnap, rape, and post-apocalyptic worlds such as ‘The Book of Eli’ and ‘The Road’. These harsher themes have started to be incorporated into thriller movies, as they have become more common in real life, with people hearing about incidents from places such as the news. . For example, post-apocalyptic thrillers are more recent because of the increase of fear of global warming. This means that audiences can relate to the topic, and put themselves into the characters situations. This generation are also more cautious and protective about their children due to the rise in crimes such as abduction, which is another reason that film makers may choose these themes for their movie.

The representation of men and women in movies has also changed in the thriller genre over the decades. In older thriller movies, such as ‘Die Hard’, it is usually the man who is the main character and hero, as well as a man playing the ‘bad guy’; women in older thriller movies usually play the ‘damsel in distress’. This reflects the social attitudes of this time period, as women were seen as the ones in need of rescuing, and men were seen as strong and hero-like, looking after their family. However, in more recent thriller-action movies such as ‘Wanted’ and ‘Salt’, the main character is played by a woman. These films show women as smart and strong, as they are the hero’s of the films; in ‘Salt’, the main character who is a woman is thought to be the villain of the movie until the very end, which is uncommon for thriller movies in earlier decades. This shows that attitudes to women have changed in society, as these films reflect more modern attitudes. However, the women in these films are still represented as beautiful, as this allows the movie to appeal to a wider target audience.

Social issues are another thing that has evolved with time. Modern thriller movies may look at themes such as human trafficking and drugs, such as ‘Taken’, whereas older thrillers might look at crimes such as robbery, and hostage situations, as these were the most common type of social issues at that time. Thriller movies involve current social issues to ensure that an audience can relate to the movie, as it will make it more interesting to them.

As well as the change in attitudes of society, people’s fears have also changed over the decades. In earlier decades, people’s main fears included death and the fear of the unknown. However, the fears that people have nowadays are more associated with themes such as paedophiles, the dangers of new technology, and the destruction of the world, as these are issues that are more associated with this time period. Thriller movies have to ensure that the themes covered are relevant, as they want the audience to be able to relate to the characters and the situation, so that it is more interesting to them. For example, ‘I Robot’ looks at how technology can be a threat to society, and ‘Changeling’ looks at a mother who has lost her child, which are both themes that current audiences would be interested in.

Overall, the thriller genre has changed in many ways, reflecting social attitudes and problems at that time, to ensure that audiences can relate to the movie, and that they find it more interesting.