GENRE

Captain Phillips

By Ed and Helen

Our thoughtsInitial Reaction

Plot

The true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3ASoBrFGlc

Thriller

Captain Phillips falls into the thriller genre.

There is a narrative plot which reveals the conclusion at the end which makes the viewer carry on watching.

The story line is constantly keeping the audience asking questions: “is he going to die?”, “are the crew going to survive?”.

Codes and Conventions of Thrillers

Quick shots/ obtrusive editing/ jumps cuts Low key lighting (shadows) Dark setting Constantly on the edge of your seat Particular narrative which keeps the audience

watching until the end Antagonist/protagonist/victim/messenger… Contain major plot twists which shock the

audience Well known thriller directors: Edgar Wright (Hot

Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim: comedy thrillers)

Deconstruction of film cover The cover itself is fairly dark The facial expression from Tom Hanks is that of

concern, making the audience question what he is concerned about

The man in the background has eyes that are staring directly at Hanks, suggesting that he is obsessed with this person or just needs him, or as he looks slightly scary, is supposed to scare the audience. (Narrative enigma)

The use of “The Bourne Ultimatum” at the top of the poster allows audiences familiar with this genre to associate the successful Bourne trilogy with Captain Phillips, “oh it’s that guy, it must be good”

“In 2009, Captain Phillips was taken hostage by Somali pirates. This is his incredible story of survival”. This immediately shows that the story will be incredibly tense, because the audience is aware of the threat that Somalian Pirates hold against ships in that particular sea.

There is what looks like a gun which is blurred out, and is the object that Hanks is focusing on, suggesting he’s scared or concerned for his own safety. (Narrative enigma)

The use of the red might suggest blood/violence/anger.

Screenshot examples: Thriller This shows the Somali

pirate in the background glaring at Hanks as if he is a threat or that he is trying to intimidate him

Hanks has a concerned, scared expression on his face, suggesting the tension of the scene

The camera blurs out the pirates to focus on Hanks, his expression is capturing all the emotions that he is feeling in the scene

The camera has blurred out Phillips in order to focus on the intense face that the pirate is pulling, the eyes in particular being intimidating, and it makes the audience scared or tense, which helps in building up the tension in the narrative.

The guns are symbols that represent violence, death and war. As the two guns are pointing at Phillips, it deepens the tension built in this scene

The pirates are wearing yellow and red, red being a colour of blood and war (as well as this, the character is the cruellest), yellow being important in this scene as it shows he is the leader, as well as the fact that he is pointing and he is the one who is talking

Theorists

Vladimir Propp: analysed folk tales, who came up with 32 character types.

Captain Phillips features some of these characters:1. Hero 2. Villain Tzervtan Todorov: narratives begin with a state of

equilibrium, where there is harmony and balance between characters and their environment/situation. Then comes some form of disruption which sets in motion a train of events.