In this Blog post I will be discussing World War Z and why it has a Hollywood production context and how this will relate to the genre and how that in turn effects the production context. I will be giving examples from the film as to why it is what it is.
To begin with we must talk about the genre of the film, the genre of World War Z I would say is a hybrid genre of horror and action, as the zombies are what makes it a horror as the blood and gore that comes with them. For example, the scene where the zombies are trying to bite Gerry there is a lot of blood as he fights them off and stabs them, this enforces the genre. The film also fits in with the genre of a horror as it creates suspense in certain scenes as horror do mixed with creepy music. For example, when Gerry and his family are trying get to the roof where they can escape from the zombies by helicopter, they have to go up a stairwell and to get to the roof they have to go through a door and the music starts to build up and this makes the scene tense as you know something bad is going to happen. It also be said to be an action film as their are lots of explosions and gun shots that are iconic with an action film. For example, when they are in Israel once the zombies are attacking the city a helicopter is shooting zombies but crashes and explodes. The gun shots and the explosion in that scene is what people would associate with an action.
There are many ways why this film fits into a Hollywood production context, the locations that have been used the budget and the famous faces. With Hollywood productions they have a big budget and this allows them to do much more with the film, World War Z had a budget of 190 million pounds, this allowed them to do much more with this film than other production contexts could. For example, the special effects for the zombies. The first scene in Philadelphia when the zombies attack and turn people the effects used for the eyes as the people turn into zombies. Another effect that shows the extend that a decent budget can give is the scene in Israel when the zombies climb the wall on top of each other to get at the people on the other side. As the budget is quite large it has enabled this film to be filmed in lots of different locations, they film in different American cities; Philadelphia, New York and New Jersey; as well as foreign countries such as South Korea, Israel and Wales. Another way in which this film fits into a Hollywood production context is the stars that are present in the film. For instance the main face of the film is Brad Pitt, he is a very famous Hollywood actor and having him in the film will attract lots of publicity for the film, as people who likes certain actors will want to see a new film with them in it. Another famous actor who was in this film is Peter Capaldi, he may have only had a minor role he is still a known British actor and can draw in more viewers to watch the film.
One aspect that relates to the production context is the story line as it has an in-depth story line as the main aim is to find a cure to the zombie outbreak, it is in-depth because the answer to it isn't simple or obvious, as there are some clues. For example, there is no cure to the outbreak but Gerry finds a way to camouflage people against the zombies, there are some clues that's lead him to find this. As the zombies pass some people and eat other people. Gerry concludes that the zombies bypass the people who are ill and by having vaccinations people can hide in plain site from the zombies. Another reason why World War Z fits into a Hollywood production context is the technology that has been used, as it is very advanced than compared to say a Bollywood film. As the type of shots that they have are quite visually decent as their is an aerial shot out of a helicopter in Jerusalem this gives the audience a big view of the scene and they can see the carnage that the zombies are creating. It is because of the budget that this film has that allows the kinds of shots that have been used. Another good use of technology is when the security cameras are used in the medical facility, they use it to show the characters going through the block b to get the vaccines, it gives a different aspect that helps with the enjoyment of the film.
The dialogue that is used in World War Z are family friendly as they have no swearing involved, even though it has a 15 age rating. There is a scene where one of the scientist makes a reference that mother nature is a serial killer, by creating natural disasters that cause multiple peoples deaths, he says that she leaves bread crumb trails that will allow people to find the cause, this is informative to the audience and characters as we know that there will be a trail and a way to stop the disaster happening and killing anymore people.
In this film some of Vladimir Propp's seven spheres of action have been used to help with the story line of the film. For example. the hero is Gerry as he is the one who goes away from his family to stop the infection of Zombies. The helper is a soldier called Segen who Gerry meets and saves in Jerusalem as she helps him once he is in the forensic laboratory getting the vaccines to combat the zombies. The dispatcher is Gerry's old friend Thierry Umutoni, a UN deputy secretary general, who sent him on his quest to find the cure to the Zombie outbreak. The villains are the Zombies as they are the main threat to the characters in the film. The false hero could be seen as the doctor, Andrew Fassbach, as he was going to be the man that saves everyone's lives by finding the cure to the zombie outbreak but he dies from his own stupidity by holding his finger on the trigger and falls over and shoots himself dead, he was meant to be the savior but as he dies it becomes clear that he wasn't and isn't anymore.
In Hollywood films there is always a disaster that will need to be averted and the main character will always find a way to avert the disaster and save the day.
Good work Louise just needs proof reading.
ReplyDelete