Genre (C3)

• Southern Gothic genre conventions
• Social problems: drugs and poverty
• Grotesque visuals: daddy's bones
• characters with negative qualities: teardrop
• outsider theme: Ree is both an outsider and an insider
• violence theme: beating scene, teardrop and his gun
• sense of place: the film has a poetic authenticity inside the ozark
• fear of institution: dislike of police
• WB as a realism genre
• There is a focus on everyday life and it's mundanity, opening + ending
• naturalistic camerawork: objective shots, no special effects, continuity editing, eye-level framing
• natural lighting
• diegetic soundtrack
• music is intradiegetic: sang from the characters
• sense of place: location shooting, location is a theme, guitar ballads are part of the heritage
• WB as a dark fairy tale
• female driven stories: conflicts and relationships are largely between women
• atmosphere is prioritised over plot: simple storyline, focus on capturing the forgotten America and Ozark experience
• men are opponents or protectors who arrive at the nick of time
• main character has one goal (the heroines quest): finding her father
• character archetypes?


  heroine = ree

  crone = mirab

  wicked stepmother claiming the younger child = sonya and blonde

  three witches = mirabs three sisters
• WB as a western
• hostile elements: guns, violence, horses, western clothing
• western hero = ree (tough and self-sufficient)
• vast desolate landscapes
• sheriff = sheriff baskin
• WB as a noir
• pessimistic mood
• morally ambiguous heroes?


  ree = illegal activates to help her family

  teardrop = helps at the end
• themes of dark harsh atmosphere and a potential for violence
• aesthetics = lowkey lighting + shadows
• detective searching for answers = ree