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Question 1: Conventions of Action Adventure

10 marks | 9 minutes

 

Question 1 is all about the typical conventions of action adventure films.

 

The typical question is as follows: Explain two ways in which the narrative (the characters and events) in the extract fits the action adventure genre.

 

The sorts of conventions you should look out for are as follows:

Characters:

  • Hero (protagonist)

  • Anti-hero

  • Villain (antagonist)

  • Heroes vs villains

  • Damsel in distress

  • Underdog

  • Sidekick

 

Remember: you might

see all of these and

more in the actual clip,

but you only need to

write about two of them.

 

Key tips:

 

  • Don’t just retell the narrative (i.e. don't just describe what happens in the clip)

  • Remember that you must explain how the conventions fit the action adventure genre.

  • Avoid referencing other films (unless you do it very quickly and it is linked very precisely to the point you are making about the exam extract)

  • Learning and revising the terms above will help - but be ready to adjust to the specific conventions that you see in the clip, not just the ones you expect

  • Don't explain how the extract does not fit the genre, but you can briefly comment on how the extract reworks a convention of the genre

  • To get into Level 4, you need terminology but there is no need for theory - terminology will be things like the terms listed above plus words/phrases such as genre, generic hybridity, conventions, binary opposition, setting.

 

 

So let's practise... watch the following clip and look for as many conventions as you can. After watching the clip, scroll down to see how your notes compare with mine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Events:

  • Quest/mission

  • Quest to save damsel in distress

  • Suspense as build up to an action sequence

  • Conflict/violence

  • Combat

  • Race against time

  • Fighting against the odds

  • Danger/jeopardy/peril (the threat of danger)

  • Teamwork (often among heroes)

  • Speed and motion

  • Spectacle (including explosions)

Revision tip: use these bullet

points to play Action Adventure

Bingo with any clips you like.

Spot plenty of conventions? These are my notes:

 

Characters:

  • Hero (protagonist) - Yes, definitely. The main male character (Bourne) is a typical action adventure hero. He is male, strong, resourceful (nice use of a pen - don't try that in the classroom) and has impressive fighting skills.

  • Villain (antagonist) - Yes, the 'bad guy' is clearly our villain. He even has bad hair.

  • Heroes vs villains - Yes, pretty much that whole scene was a fight between hero and villain.

  • Damsel in distress - Yes, to some extent. The girl didn't actually need saving during the fight, but after she discovered the documents in the bag she panicked and needed calming down.

  • Underdog - Yes, initially our hero is the underdog as the villain launches a surprise attack and is better equiped (he has a gun and then a knife).

  • Sidekick - To some extent. You could argue the girl acts as a kind of sidekick in that she has the role of hero's buddy and obeys his command (typical of a sidekick).

Events:

  • Quest/mission - no.

  • Quest to save damsel in distress - not really, but there is the hero's attempts to calm down the stressed female character.

  • Suspense as build up to an action sequence - definitely. The opening 11 seconds is all suspenseful build-up ahead of the fight.

  • Conflict/violence - absolutely.

  • Combat - absolutely.

  • Race against time - no.

  • Fighting against the odds - yes, because the villain is better equiped than our hero.

  • Danger/jeopardy/peril (the threat of danger) - yes, throughout the fight, but more interestingly during particular moments in the fight when the villain gains the upper hand.

  • Teamwork (often among heroes) - there is some at the end of the scene (female character checking bag whilst Bourne questions villain)

  • Speed and motion - yes, the fight is a speedy, frantic sequence

  • Spectacle (including explosions) - not really, although the villain does make a spectacular exit.

 

So how do you write about them in the exam? A reminder of the question: Explain two ways in which the narrative (the characters and events) in the extract fits the action adventure genre.

 

Key tip: pick the two things that best fit the action adventure and that you have plenty to say about. So, in the example above, you wouldn't pick sidekick as it's not really a big part of that scene.

 

Here's how I would answer the above question.

 

One of the ways in which this extract fits the action adventure genre is by having a strong male protagnonist. This is very typical as most films within this genre have a narrative that is centred around a male hero. Specifically, the physical strength (breaking the villain's arms), resourcefulness (use of a pen as a weapon) and combat skills are very much in keeping with action adventure as is the fact that he is the character in control seen when he orders the female character to search the bag whilst he questions the villain.

Another way in which the narrative fits the action adventure genre is through the use of suspense building up to the fight sequence. We see this during the 11 seconds before the villain crashes through the window when because of the silence and Bourne's actions, the audience know something is going to happen, but not exactly what. Films in this genre often contain scenes like this as a way of creating tension and anticipation.

 

 

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