R+P Post 6: Our chosen genre and how we plan to connote this

Genre: Teen Comedy
Sub-genre: Coming-of-age/British film

In order to effectively connote our genre we decided to research other films in the same category, such as, 'Easy A' and 'The Breakfast Club' in order to gain inspiration and information on how to do so. Also, we decided read up on the conventions of Teen Comedy. This is because we felt it would be helpful to completely understand the genre in as much detail as possible, before deciding upon our plan.

In the typical structure, we usually will meet the character during or after a particularly memorable moment. In our film, this moment will be his first day of school which he is experiencing in the opening sequence. Secondly, the main character will usually search to become more socially popular,  especially in a school based film and therefore it is the main plot-line of our film.

To enable us to highlight and project this theme and structure, we will need to set up various enigmas and emphasize certain representations. Firstly, we will utilize and advertise the easily recognizable and stereotypical british school corridor, in which our opening is set. By doing this the audience will rapidly register the school setting and therefore the teen genre. Furthermore, the young actors (16-18) and their typical school teen stylings will further anchor this genre for the audience. 

In order to connote our comedy genre we will punctate the opening sequence with funny, teen dialect and attitude that will be recognizable and relatable to our audience. By doing this, the TA will understand the humorous nature of the film whilst simultaneously becoming more connected to the characters and more immersed in our film. In addition, we will use different aids, such as a light-hearted and upbeat soundtrack for our opening, to connote our comedy genre more clearly.

Lastly, the sub-genre of our film, coming-of-age, will be denoted through the themes and storyline of the film.  This will be enough to effectively connote this sub-genre because our main character matures as the film goes on, which is the plot line for nearly all coming-of-age films. Arthur (our main character) will start of as the weird new boy at school that only desires to be popular; the film will follow his rise to popularity, until he realizes he is better of with the outsiders that helped him in the beginning; he matures and realizes people are much more than their group status. This storyline is quite similar to that of 'The Breakfast Club'; they do not fit in to their respective cliques, but as they begin to interact with each other, the 5 students realize they are all much more than their initial representations and all become friends, despite endangering their social standing. In both of these plot-lines people must grow up and mature whilst simultaneously dealing with teenage problems, such as relationships and school work.