Individual Narrative***

Before creating a group narrative, each of us came up with an individual idea so that we could effectively collaborate our narrative to create a final group narrative. When sharing our ideas, we took the best aspects of each narrative and combined them to make a successful thriller opening. Below is my individual narrative.

Characters:

Young woman: 

Within our thriller opening, a young woman aged around 18, will be portrayed as the victim. She will be represented as innocent in the narrative to establish her purpose in the narrative - the target. To achieve this representation, she will be dressed in light colours such as white, as this colour connotes innocence and purity, a technique often used in the thriller genre.This will assist the audience in building a relationship with the character because they will empathise with her. By using a character such as a younger female to play the victim, this will conform to the conventions of the thriller genre as the female will suggest innocence through her gender. In the primary research we conducted,most individuals stated that they favoured a female victim as her vulnerability is heightened due to her gender, thus making the audience feel empathetic and on edge. Furthermore, in the secondary research I have carried out, I have identified female victim throughout the analysis of other successful thrillers such as Scream, Se7en and Prom Night. These findings suggest that people who enjoy thrillers as a whole, prefer to see a female victim rather than a male. Therefore I have decided to also conform to this convention to increase the appeal of my narrative.


Male stalker/murderer:

A male stalker will be used as the antagonist in out thriller opening. By having a male antagonist, this increases the conflict between the antagonist and protagonist. This will be conveyed by the conflicting genders with the implication that the male antagonist will be much stronger than the female protagonist, heightening her vulnerability which leave the audience on edge. This relationship is supported by the primary research I have conducted, as the majority of the target audience claimed they enjoyed a female protagonist as she is ore vulnerable and therefore having a threatening antagonist will increase this, thus making the narrative more appealing. Furthermore, the decision to have a male antagonist is also supported by the secondary research I have conducted. In the majority of thriller films I have analysed, a male antagonist is used, such as No Country for Old Men, Se7en and Prom Night. This suggests that the target audience find a male antagonist more appealing than a female. He will be shown as having an obsession with the victim and consequently stalks her every movement and therefore represented as having psychological issues. The majority of the audience will be unable to build a relationship with the antagonist because of this reason which heightens their lack of similarities, classifying him as the unknown and therefore, the uncomforting. As a result, the audience will almost take the side of the protagonist, making them just as vulnerable to the antagonist leaving them on edge.

Narrative:

The narrative will consist of a young woman being stalked by an older male as he is shown to have an obsession with her. Obsession is a conventional factor between antagonist and victim within the thriller genre and therefore this will appeal to a mass audience. She is entirely oblivious of the stalker however begins to have dreams of the same nature suggesting she has become a victim. The significance of the dreams is the confusion between reality and illusion which make the audience and protagonist vulnerable due to the lack of clarity. She later becomes suspicious and sub-consciously aware that she is not alone when thought to be. The indication that someone is there but not knowing for certain again reinforces the lack of clarity and therefore builds suspense. It is later revealed that the stalker is someone very close to her. The narrative as a whole is conventional to the genre and therefore the audience will be able to recognise this clearly.

Themes:

A main theme within the opening will be obsession. Obsession will be shown with the younger woman by the antagonist. This is conventional to a thriller to make the audience feel uncomfortable and plays on the vulnerability of the female/victim. Themes of obsession can also be identified in other existing thrillers that I have analysed as part of me secondary research such as Obsessed and Prom Night, suggesting that the target audience find such theme appealing. Also, in the primary research I have conducted I have gathered results as to whether the target audience find violence appealing, in which the split between the contrasting opinions was very close. Therefore by having a theme of obsession, this implies violence without dwelling on the illustration on it, appealing to a wider audience. Another theme that can be identified in the narrative is the unknown, as the protagonist is initially unaware that she is being stalked, however when realises is still unaware of who they are. Therefore the unknown is a highlighted theme within the narrative as the protagonist has a lack of knowledge which makes the audience on edge as she has lack of control as a result.