Panashe Sibanda Blog

Narrative is defined as "a chain of events in a cause effect relationship occurring in time. I cheated a summer trailer and within it, there are some aspects of narrative of which I will explain in this essay. Levi Strauss claims that all stories operate on clear binary opposites which is concerned with the idea that there is either good or bad in a horror film with no in between. My horror trailer does this to an extent as there is a clear evil character, shown with the antagonist who is chasing the teenagers, however, in one of the title cards, I mention how the characters made a regrettable choice which has led to the events of the horror trailer. This implies that they are being chased for a reason and whether that reason is valid or not is left shrouded in mystery, which blurs the line between good and bad. Kate Domaille says that every story can be fitted into eight different narrative theories. One of these theories is called "Circe" which means the chase whe...

Final Girl: The final girl refers to the last remaining female survivor in a horror film, typically in slasher survival films. She is typically the one to confront the antagonist in the film’s final act. She is a conventional character and carries typical tropes, which include but are not limited to; being a virgin, being innocent, being resourceful and innovative and being someone the audience feels sympathy and roots for in the context of the story. She is also someone the audience relates with, as she is the moral compass for the group and is relatively normal in comparison to other characters such as the “slutty blonde girl”.  Feminist, Carol Clover created the theory of the Final Girl and discovered that this changed audience’s views on female characters. Females are typically seen as victims and/or are sexualized with horror films usually being male centred.  Carol J Clover, a feminist who studied slasher films came to the realisation that the final girl change...

The title for my media trailer is called Don't Look Back. In this essay, I will give a full analysis of the trailer including explainations for the design choices me and my group made. The trailer opens with two title cards,one saying "panashe sibanda production"  and the other saying "a single choice leads to a terrible mistake". This already tells the viewers that from a story standpoint, someone or some people made a decision that acts as the driving force for this plot. We don't know what the choice or mistake is which leaves viewers curious and interested. This frame then fades into a wide shot with Esther treading through a forest carefully. This frame gives us a look at what we can assume to be our protagonist as well as set the location of the scene. It transitions into a ripple effect and we are taken to a completely different shot of two characters a boy and a girl walking laughing and smiling at each other. This was taken in a close up sho...

Task 3: Cabin in the woods uses very typical horror conventions in its movie such as the cast, which includes “the jock”, “the dumb blonde”, “the druggy”, “the smart one” and “the virgin”. The film seems like a supernatural, slasher film and its mise en scene shows this. There are zombies which show the supernatural side but these zombies are equipped with weapons, showing the slasher side. The film definitely sexualizes women such as in the scene whereby she is attacked by the zombie after she nearly drowns and is thrown around the place which is a representation of domestic violence, as she is powerless to this figure she cannot seem to escape no matter where she goes, deeming her defenseless Task 4: Cabin in the woods is interesting in how it tells a message throughout its whole runtime. The film starts with the typical “teens go to a creepy cabin the middle of nowhere surrounded by the supernatural” setting but it diverges into a deeper conspiracy about how the Gods and d...

Religion in horror usually uses themes of  life and death, spirituality, man playing god/blasphemy, man fighting inner as well as outer demons, or good versus evil. Religious artifacts may be  Christian, occult, satanic, voodoo.   Death is common in horror films and some things represent this such as  objects, such as coffins and gravestones. In horror, the difference between life and death can be confusing, especially with supernatural elements involved like ghosts. In pyshco, taxidermy birds represent the dead mother.  Light usually represents feelings of hope, salvation, good, escape or in some cases death. Light in horror usually adds a sense of comfort due to it lighting up the dark  Colors usually symbolize different themes in horror. Red can mean violence, blood or lust.  Weapns can be as a phallic object to convey masculine power for example. The weapon the villain uses can reflect the character. Chainsaw in Texas chainsaw massac...