Whiplash genre

A Ppt about the film Whiplash for MS4 Media studies students

1. SECTION A: TEXT Genre, Narrative & Representation Case Studies: Whiplash , The Theory of Everything & Jurassic World

2. GENRE- WHIPLASH (2015) Answer questions 1 and 2 in the booklet http:// sjd-a2-mediastudies.blogspot.co.uk/

3. Q1: What is a Drama? Define this genre: Drama ; as a stand alone genre would be classified as a genre which: ‘ Exhibits real life situations with realistic characters, settings and story lines ’ (Burton, 2012) Throughout a narrative we are presented with the journey of a character’s development (usually emotionally) alongside intense interactions and climactic sequences.

4. Q2: What is the purpose of this genre? Relate to audiences… The purpose of a drama is to move the audience emotionally through the relatable characters, familiar (or recognisable) settings and believable scenarios. Texts of this genre will position the audience to feel emotionally attached and invested in the ongoing plot- keeping them interested.

5. SUBGENRES AND HYBRIDS SUBGENRE : Where the elements of one genre have developed to form a more niche genre. Sub-genres have the tendency to indicate the mood and tone of the drama based on its additional themes. For example: A crime drama contains themes of criminality, law enforcement and the legal system. A comedy drama will suggest an equality of serious and humorous content.

6. SUBGENRES AND HYBRIDS HYBRID : Where the elements of two or more genres have combined, but are not as common. For example: Western / Sci-fi This is where the definitive identification of genre within a text can be difficult and more complex, as it can be argued that most texts have some degree of hybridity , combining elements of multiple genres within the same text.

7. EXAM QUESTIONS ON GENRE 1. Explore genre conventions in your 3 main texts This question is inviting you to ‘ explore ’ - to look into, inspect or scrutinise in detail- the genre conventions of your 3 texts; considering the following: Key Conventions / Signifiers- Iconography, Settings & locations, characters, stars / celebrities, plots / storylines, themes. Techical & Audio Codes- Use of camerawork, editing, sound, dialogue, language and music.

8. EXAM QUESTIONS ON GENRE 2. How typical are your 3 main texts of their genre? This question is not too dissimilar from the previous question and is again inviting you to explore the ‘ typicality ’ of your text in relation to its genre. In addition to the previous question, here you should begin to explore: Key codes and conventions which are typical of and thus reinforce the genre Any codes and conventions which open the discussion of a challenge to the genre

9. EXAM QUESTIONS ON GENRE 3. To what extent do your 3 main text’s challenge genre conventions? Now this isn’t to state that all of your texts WILL challenge genre conventions; the question is merely asking you to examine the degree to which your texts may challenge genre conventions. To state that a text challenges genre conventions ‘to some or to a certain extent’ , is to imply that it is partly, but not wholly, true. In your answer you should consider: Offering an opinion ; ‘to what extent?’ Discussing the text’s typicality as well as it’s subversion of conventions Hybridity and subgenres

10. EXAM QUESTIONS ON GENRE 4. ‘Most texts today mix genres’. How true is this of your three main texts? Similarly to the previous question, in this answer you may offer an opinion on the hybridity of your 3 main texts. Since it can be argued that most texts have some degree of hybridity, it would be expected that you would be able to provide a coherent discussion which refers directly to the quote, rather than simply describing the different conventions of genres in the texts. *In all cases, you should always begin your essay by defining genres, sub-genres and hybrids*

11. ANALYSING GENRE IN WHIPLASH Whiplash is credited in different sources as belonging to the genres of drama, musical drama and psychological drama; suggestive of hybridity . Use your worksheet to complete task #2. Consider : Key signifiers- Mise-en-scene: Iconography, Costume, Settings & Locations, Colours, Characters, Stars / Actors, Storylines, Themes etc. Technical and Audio Codes- Use of Camerawork, Lighting, Editing, Sound (Dialogue & Music), Special Effects etc. You have 15 minutes!

12. DRAMA CONVENTIONS THEMES CAMERAWORK LIGHTING NARRATIVE STARS Conflict Hardships Struggles Emotional Pain Physical Pain Mostly Chronological. Usually ends with a hard hitting climax to leave a lasting impression. Typically ends on a positive note. Binary opposition to reflect themes- Costume, Lighting, Camera Angles As with most genres; use of stars can reflect the genre of the text. Actors, directors and studios can all be synonymous with certain genres e.g. Tom Hardy with Action or Christopher Nolan with Sci-Fi Investments and contribution made by distribution & production companies can be reflective of genre. High concept blockbusters will have substantially larger budgets than independent films- often suggestive of genres which require higher budgets. Steady pace. Typically increasing with a build up in the tension leading to conflicts and climactic sequences. Reflects mood and emotion of scene. Cool, often low key lighting to indicate conflict, sadness or antagonistic characters. LK also used to reflect often gritty and bleak scenes. Warm, high key lighting to indicate a sense of equilibrium or connection to character. Reflective of tone/emotion. Close ups indicate emotion, position the audience to respond- typically shorter in duration. Wider shots used to show depth / physical connection between characters / conflict- longer in duration. Characters often wear understated, simple costumes. Authentic. Reflective of setting. Parallel music used to indicate emotions. Pace of music reflected in editing. Characters will typically have interesting, plot driving back stories. Often relatable (Uses and Grats - Preferred Reading). BUDGET EDITING SOUND/MUSIC COSTUME CHARACTERS SETTING & ICONOGRAPHY Settings- realistic, recognisable. Authentic. Cities / Towns. Schools / Homes etc. Sometimes harsher settings evident to reflect often gritty storylines, such as urban environments, hospitals or police stations. Props are usually minimal & reflective of story or setting.

13. WHIPLASH THEMES CAMERAWORK LIGHTING NARRATIVE STARS Conflict Hardships Struggles Emotional Pain Physical Pain Chronological. Ends with a hard hitting climax and nail biting performance by Andrew despite early objections from Fletcher. Ends ambiguously- is it a happy ending? Binary opposition: Teacher Vs Student Hands Vs Sticks Writer, director and Teller relatively unknown at time of film’s release. JK Simmons known mainly for Juno , Spiderman , Oz : Often plays similar characters – snappish but harmless cranks- recognisable to fans. Budget was relatively small in comparison to high concept films and was shot with $3.3m. No special effects used, merely some practical like sweat & blood. Shot in 19 days reducing additonal pay to cast and crew for longer shoots. Steady pace. Typically increasing with a build up in the tension leading to conflicts and climactic sequences such as ‘chair throwing’ scene.. Pace also reflects fast pace style of Jazz played. Reflects mood and emotion of scene. Cool, often low key lighting indicates conflict with Fletcher- intimidation. Warm lighting used in more positive scenes or scenes when humanising the ‘cold’ Fletcher- e.g. Bar Scene. Darker lighting helps connote the psychological intensity in the rehearsal studio. Reflective of tone/emotion. Close ups indicate emotion, position the audience to respond- typically shorter in duration. Wider shots used to show depth / physical connection between characters / conflict- longer in duration. Authentic. Reflective of setting. Plain outfits for students. Fletcher wears all black, tight-fitting shirts to indicate physical strength and heighten muscles. Sense of physical threat always there. Black Vs White in first scene to reflect binary opposition. Parallel music used to indicate emotions e.g. tone of music in Bar Scene. Genre specific music- Jazz, along with references to existing Jazz artists and drummers to reinforce believability. Backstories: Andrew’s desire to succeed to challenge his ‘average’ father. BUDGET EDITING SOUND/MUSIC COSTUME CHARACTERS SETTING & ICONOGRAPHY Settings- realistic, recognisable. Fictional Schaffer Conservatory of Music. Practice Rooms. Some external shots to establish setting- New York. Props: Instruments and sheet music. Even Andrew’s bedroom is cleared to make room for his drums. Reflective of the focus of the film and Andrew’s increasing desire to succeed regardless of anyone else in his life.

14. GENRE Chazelle’s work typically revolves around the theme of music, in particular Jazz, since Chazelle himself used to be a Jazz drummer at Princeton High School. The expectation is that the film is therefore going to feel authentic and realistic, offering themes based on true stories. Much of this storyline has been written as a reference to his own life, therefore can be argued as somewhat biographical , where he references the constant fear and anxiety he felt. He based Fletcher on his former band instructor but exaggerated his persona, reflecting existing band leaders known for their harsh treatment of students. Chazelle’s previous film: Guy & Madeline on a Park Bench (2009) and f ollow up film: La La Land (2016) are both music orientated, focussing on the genre of Jazz .

15. “I like genre movies, and this fits pretty squarely into the sports-film genre. You’re building up to the big fight, or the big game. In this case, it’s the big performance. There are certain kinds of narrative rules in terms of how you do that, where you have to bring the character really low before you bring them high, and you have to do another microcosm of that within the big fight. Even if they’ve had their low point, you can’t just have them show up to the climax and immediately knock the guy out. You still need to have another mini low point. There are narrative rules that you don’t have to follow, but I actually thought since this is not a sports movie, they would be fun to follow. It gave me the leverage to wholeheartedly embrace some of those tropes.” (Damien Chazelle , 2016) GENRE

16. HOMEWORK Using your notes, consider and write out / type up the answers to the following questions: In what ways can we determine that Whiplash belongs to the genre of Drama? In what ways do you consider the text challenges the genre conventions of Drama? Can you evidence hybridisation in this text? If so, how?