Genre and Narrative

How far do the american films you have studied for this topic depend on well established narrative and genre conventions?

Badlands and Natural Born Killers both have similarities and differences in narrative and genre, Badlands is set around the 1970's and in this time media had very little influence on americas population. Where as in Natural Born Killers the media has been given the impression that it has complete control over people and it can alter their behaviour and make them violent. Although these films do have similarites they both have similar narratives and themes, Badlands has key features of the dysfunctional family, mass killing spree and a love aspect to the narrative; where Natural Born Killers takes it to an all new exaggerated level, the characters in NBC are more knowing in what they are doing and take enjoyment out of going on mass killing spree's where as characters Kit and Holly in Badlands are extremely naive and are less in tune with what they are doing.

The genre 'lovers on the lamb' has conventions that are present in both films, they both have the run -away couple who are in pursuit of the american dream, the characters desire to become someone else, to become famous, to become a social icon to their generation. A key scene in both Badlands and NBC is the death scenes of the female characters parents. In Badlands Holly's fathers death sequence is a lot more serious and hard hitting than NBC in this scene Holly stays behind Kit as the scene progresses she takes no part in killing her parent, where as in NBC Malory takes enjoyment in killing her parents, this may be because of the abuse that she had gone through because of them, but Malory takes part in drowning her father in the fish tank and setting her mother on fire. We know that Malory was a victim to abuse from a line she said to her mother before she killed her "you didn't stop it" this abuse could be the reason why Malory is as eccentric and crazy as she is and why she does begin her killing spree.

This genre and narrative links very well to the idea of the 'american dream', this dream is represented so many times in both films. Kit and Holly seek this dream through freedom and notoriety, Kit tries to become notorious and "famous" just as his idol James Dean, he tries to reflect his idol in his character and you can see this from choices he makes through the movie, such as choices he makes on his appearance and look. The hat he wears in the end scene where he is caught and how he dresses and presents himself.