Obsession Genre Analysis

Semantic and Syntactic Elements

Props and costume – Axe, balaclava, Setting – Street at night, inside her home, the loftCamerawork –• See her first normally then from the Point of View of the killer• Shaky camera when she's running• Match on action of her locking the door

Semantic Elements:

Syntactic Analysis• Balaclava – the idea of the unknown, why is this man hiding, connotations of

violence and criminals in the news. Makes him look less human• Axe – brutality, could use a gun but a blade is much more personal and up close, an

axe suggests swing and power, brute force attack• Street at night – links to everyone's basic fear at night that they are being followed or

watched, afraid. Particularly when she walks past and he is revealed in the bushes, spot something in the corner of your eye

• Inside the house – the idea of the invasion of what is supposed to be a safe place, makes people uncomfortable and the idea that when they get home from the cinema he might be there

• The loft – childhood fear everyone was scared of the loft and what was up there, she is driven up there by this lunatic. People may be afraid of what is up there when they get home

• POV From Bushes – Makes the audience feel dirty and wrong watching this woman without her knowledge

• Running shots – the blind panic and fear she feels is taken to the audience, we cant see what's happening, brings them in

Current events

• Recent news story about young females, rape, stalkers etc. reminds the audience that this is a very real threat

• Claire's Law passed after murder of Claire Wood by ex-boyfriend the “Facebook Fugitive”

• Young women are seen as most vulnerable, men go to see it for the fear and take women, they feel protective over the woman

• Lee Rigby's killing – the blade, uncontrolled brutal attack, dismembered and brutal. People understand the disgusting brutality and the mindless violence behind it, plays on a very real fear.

Paragraphing• If I was to look at my advanced portfolio in terms of genre, Altman's

theory of genre splits this analysis into two halves, the semantic and the syntactic. The semantic elements of my piece are things like the axe the killer uses, the balaclava that he wears; whereas the syntactic elements are what these things make the audience feel. The axe is a symbol for the brutality and mindless violence the killer is committing, it is an extremely up close and personal weapon, as opposed to a long distance rifle which is much more cold and calculated. News stories like that of Lee Rigby's killing and the footage of the men covered in blood remind the audience of just how messy murder with a blade is. Other current events such as the passing of Claire's Law also remind the audience that this is a very real threat, it is not a ghost story, things like this happen all the time and could happen to anyone, and this makes it far more scary.