The Ordinary World:

The hero, Luke Skywalker is introduced sympathetically to the audience. There is usually a dilemma or stress the hero faces. In this case, Luke wants to join the Rebels and fight against the Empire just as his friends have done but instead he is tasked with working at his aunt and uncle’s farm.

The Call to Adventure:

Something shakes up the situation. In this film, the pivotal moment in this film is when Luke buys the two droids C3PO and R2-D2 from some merchants. R2-DT is tasked with bringing a rescue message from Princess Leia, a leader of the rebels, as well as plans for the Death Star, the Empire’s superweapon, to the rebels and Obi Wan Kenobi in order to expose any weaknesses and destroy it. Luke leaves his home with the droids to seek out Obi Wan.

Meeting with The Mentor:

Luke meets Obi wan and leans about the Jedi of the past. The mentor (obi wan) gives Luke his father’s lightsaber and promises to train him in the ways of the force.

Crossing the Threshold:

Luke arrives back at the farm to find his family dead and finally commits to leaving his old life behind, joining the Rebels and fighting the empire.

Tests, Allies and Enemies:

Here, Luke makes more allies: Han Solo and Chewbacca and he has his first encounter with imperial troops.

Approach:

Here, Luke and his allies travel to the Death Star and prepare for the major challenge of rescuing Princess Leia.

The Ordeal:

Luke and his allies have to go through an ordeal of tracking down and rescuing Leia from the empire as well as attempting to escape the Death Star in the process. This results in several battles between Luke, his allies and imperial soldiers as well as Obi Wan battling his old student and now a commander of the Empire, Darth Vader.

The Reward:

Luke is able to escape the Death Star with his allies and has successfully managed to rescue Princess Leia. However, this ordeal results in Obi Wan losing his life to Darth Vader and sacrificing himself to save the others.

The Road Back:

At this point in the story, the hero is often driven to complete their adventure and there usually is a chase sequence to signal the urgency of the mission. In this case, the chase sequence involves fleeing from imperial ships to deliver the Death Star plans to the rebels.

The Resurrection:

At the climax, Luke is tested once more as he joins the rebels in destroying the Death Star once and for all. Luke destroys the Death Star with the help of his allies and his actions change the character’s ordinary world forever.

Return with the Elixir:

The hero receives a reward for his actions and his character is forever changed. In this case, Luke receives a medal with Han Solo for destroying the Death Star.

Steve Neale states that all genres contain instances of repetition and difference. He states that a film’s genre is defined by how much it conforms to the genre’s conventions, and how much it subverts from them. A film must have enough conventions to be seen as part of that genre, but must also differ enough so that it isn’t just a copy of existing films. He also says that popular cinema relies on audiences finding pleasure in repetition and difference.

Thomas Schatz states that the identifying feature of a film’s genre is its cultural contexts. He believes that there are two types of genre: genres of order and genres of integration. Genres of order focus on a typically male hero, who fights against a force of evil. Genres like action, gangster and western are generally genres of order. Genres of integration focus more on cooperation between people, and are often more domestic films. Genres such as romance, musicals and dramas tend to be genres of integration.

Christian Metz theorised that all genres go through a cycle of four stages in their life. They are the experimental stage, the classic stage, the parody stage, and the deconstruction stage. In the experimental stage, the foundations and generic conventions are established. In the classic stage, certain conventions become iconic and are recognisable from that genre. In the parody stage, people mock the established conventions as audiences recognise them. In the deconstruction stage, the genre can evolve and merge with others, and rules can be broken.

The War of the Worlds (dir. Byron Haskin, 1953), comes in the classic stage of the science-fiction genre’s cycle. When this film is released, the typical conventions of science-fiction have been established, and the film follows these. For example, the classic conventions of an alien invasion, a strong male hero and victory of the protagonists are all seen in The War of the Worlds. When The World’s End (dir. Edgar Wright, 2013) was released, the genre had moved into its deconstruction stage.

Although feminist film theory, and female representation in horror is arguably influenced mainly by second wave feminism, context is another significant factor which can influence how and why females are represented through horror films

Professor Beth Younger of Drake university claims:

“The representation of women in horror interacts with and reflects whatever is going on in culture at the time”

Post – war disillusionment

“The disillusionment many soldiers , small businessmen and housewife/ factory employees felt in returning to a peacetime economy was directly mirrored in the sordidness of urban crime film”

The hardboiled tradition

“… created the “tough” a cynical way of acting and thinking which separated one from the world of everyday emotions – romanticism with a protective shell”

“when the movies of the Forties turned to the American “tough” moral understrata , the hardboiled school was writing with preset conventions”.

Noir conventions

“The majority of the scenes are lit for night. Gangsters sit in the offices at midday with the shade pulled and the lights off”

“in film noir , the central character is likely to be standing in the shadow”

“it , of course creates a fatalistic , hopeless mood”

“the rainfall tends to increase in direct proportion to the drama

“there is a love of romantic narration”

“the narration creates a mood of temps perdu : an irretrievable past , a predetermined fate and an all – enveloping hopelessness”

“it is obvious there is no hope for any future : one can only take pleasure in reliving a doomed past”

“A typical film noir would rather move the scene cinematographically around the actor than have the actor control the scene by physical action”

Themes of film noir

“the private eye had quit the police force in disgust”

“the over – riding noir theme : a passion for the past of present , but also a fear of the future”

“Thus film noir’s techniques emphasize loss nostalgia , lack of clear priorities”