Genre Research: Mystery

    As someone who aspires to go into the law field one day, I have always been one to question everything. I am a curious soul who, not proudly, overthinks a lot. My innate reaction to overanalyze and ask questions makes mystery one of my all-time favorite genres. I love the surprise, the twists and turns, and most of all when I figure out the mystery before it's revealed. My love of mystery made it the perfect genre to research. 

What is Mystery?

    When I think of mystery, I think of it like a puzzle. There is often an unsolved question or something unexplainable and an attempt to answer. Mystery is typically based on an investigation, solving a crime, or the solving of an unknown event by using and piecing together clues to make clever insights and figure things out in the end. Mysteries are filled with plot twists, complexity, and depth, which keeps people interested until the very end.

    The genre makes specific appeals to audiences and invites members of the audience to participate themselves and help the protagonist solve the problem at hand. Mysteries calls for audience engagement and provides an escape into a world where curiosity is welcomed. 

    The typical audience for the genre is older teens (around 14 or 15) to young adults (35) and sometimes to middle-aged (50), but it can be somewhat diverse. Although the genre is enjoyed by a mix of genders, it is seen as slightly male-dominated. This group is attracted by the films as they are often intellectually challenging, suspenseful, and have a lot of action. This is considered when marketing films in the genre and really helps attract the specific audience. 

Conventions of Content:

    

    Many films in the mystery genre have a plot revolved around a crime. The protagonist often tries to solve a crime through a series of clues and hints that are shown throughout the film. There is almost always a solution where the protagonist figures things out and presents it to the audience in a cool way. 

Sherlock Holmes (2009)

     

    A good example of this would be the movie Sherlock Holmes (2009) shown above. In the film, a detective and his partner help solve the series of murders and crimes going on in London. The story is centered on solving crimes, as many other mystery films are. 

    

    In discussing the clues of a mystery film, it's important to mention how foreshadowing and red herrings are incorporated. Foreshadowing is used to indicate to the audience what the solution to a crime may be. It is often like a hint to the audience. It keeps the audience especially engaged in a film by allowing them to participate alongside the protagonist as they try to solve the crime. Red herrings are misleading clues that throw off both the audience and the protagonist. They are essential to the genre, as without them the film would be boring. I mean, who wants to watch a film if they know exactly what's going to happen?

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) 

    

    A good example of a red herring is in the film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011). The film introduced the crime as being a murder case. This is actually misleading, as it gives a narrative that's not necessarily true since it is found out later that no murder actually took place. 

    Suspense and a satisfying ending with a solution also play a big part in the genre. The conventions of the genre work together to build suspense and make the ending as satisfying as possible. 

Conventions of Production Techniques: 

  

    In production, all types of techniques are used to better mystery films. Often there are inserts of close-ups that emphasize the emotional reaction of the protagonist as things in the case unfold, long shots that are used to show action sequences, and medium shots to keep the story going. Special lighting is used to adapt the atmosphere of the piece. Low key lighting is frequently used as the heavy shadows create a darker atmosphere and build suspense. 

    Sound also works to build the suspense in mystery films. Non-diegetic sounds like music can impact the emotion of the film by creating an eerie feel. Diegetic sounds like a creaking door, and footsteps also add to the film. Sound plays a huge role in building tension, which is released at the end of the film with a satisfying ending. 

    Mise-en-scène elements also work together to add to mystery films. Setting is very important to the genre, and typical settings include isolated mansions or smaller houses and even sometimes bigger cities. Props play a huge role in mystery films and can even represent the film as a whole. Often props are the murder weapon or something used by the protagonist to help them solve the issue. 

Clue (1985)

    Ex: Props play a huge role in the movie Clue (1985) and very much represent the film. Other production techniques of the genre are used, including music and low key lighting that make the film more visually and emotionally appealing than it would be without. 

Marketing and Institutional Conventions

    

    As previously mentioned, the typical audience for the genre is older teens (around 14 or 15) to young adults (35) and sometimes to middle-aged (50), but it can be somewhat diverse. Although the genre is enjoyed by a mix of genders, it is seen as slightly male-dominated. This group is attracted by the films as they are often intellectually challenging, suspenseful, and have a lot of action. When marketing, the audience is kept in mind.

    Many mystery films are marketed through movie posters. Movie posters of the genre tend to focus on  the main characters of the film and specifically their faces. Details of the mystery the movie is centered on are also presented as a way to intrigue the audience.  Posters typically go for a particular atmosphere of an ominous, dark, intense feeling. Although we are advised not to, people often judge a book by its cover, which is why movie posters are so important to marketing films. 

    Trailers are also used when marketing media from the mystery genre. They introduce the story and plot of the film as well as include some real and some misleading clues to the solution of the mystery. Trailers are especially important to marketing as they offer more detail on what the film is going to be about.

Film Sample #1: Knives Out (2019) 

    The movie Knives Out (2019) is centered around the supposed "suicide" of the crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) and detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), who believes Harlan actually died as a result of a murder. The detective investigates the whole Thrombey family and pays specific attention to the nurse, Marta Cabrera (Ana De Armas). Although I don't want to spoil the rest of the plot, just know the movie is amazing and filled with a lot of twists and turns. As a film of the mystery genre, much of the conventions I discussed earlier are used in the production, storytelling, and marketing of the film. The film uses a lot of music to build tension and low key lighting to set a dark atmosphere. The storytelling is typical of a mystery and includes an unsolved question (the death of Harlen) and an attempt to answer (the investigation by detective Blanc). The investigation includes a lot of red herrings or misleading clues that had me switching up who I thought the murderer was for the entire movie. There was a lot of suspense as well they added emotional weight to the film. In marketing, the movie poster focuses on the characters of the film and their facial expressions, as well as a dark and intense mood.  The conventions used really embody the genre mystery.  
                         

Film Sample #2: Enola Homes (2020) 

    The movie Elona Homes (2020) follows teen girl Elona Homes (Millie Bobby Brown) as she searches for her mother, who disappeared. In her journey of looking for her mom, she also comes across a runaway lord who she helps. As she tries to solve the case, Elona has to try to outrun and outsmart her brother Sherlock, who wants her to give up. The movie is great and encompasses themes of women empowerment and breaks the traditional convention of appealing to an audience of men. The movie is part of the genre mystery and therefore still uses the conventions of the genre. In production, the film uses music to add intensity to scenes and takes place in olden London, so it has an emphasis on setting. The storytelling has an unsolved question (Elona's mom's disappearance) that Elona tried to figure out throughout the entire film. As most mystery films do, there are a lot of misleading clues, suspense, and intensity in the film. In marketing, the movie poster focuses on Elona but also includes details of her journey in the background. The conventions used really embody the genre mystery.  

More Film Examples

    If you would like to watch some films in the mystery genre, I have six listed below. 

Murder Mystery (2019)

Missing (2023)

Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

Chinatown (1974)

Glass Onion (2022)

A Simple Favor (2018)

Representation Patterns of Never Have I Ever

    Hey everyone! Today I really wanted to talk about the amazing show Never Have I Ever. The show created by Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher is a show I hold near and dear to my heart. It's one of those shows I continue to rewatch because of the perfect combination of drama and comedy. The show focuses on the life of the main character Devi Vishwakumar, a teen girl just trying to get through high school, and all the chaos she gets herself into. There are many other characters in the series, but her academic rival and later boyfriend Ben Gross is one of my favorites. Throughout the 4-season series, patterns in representation of both Devi and Ben's cultural or socioeconomic backgrounds are used to further the plot as well as connect to the audience. If you're interested in watching the series, I have linked the trailer for the first season below. 

      

    Devi's character, as a first-generation Indian-American, highlights her culture and heritage through construction and selection. As the series progresses, there is more selection of Hindu holidays and cultural events that originally Devi seems to view as obstacles in her attempt to fit in with her non-Indian friends and classmates. In season one episode "...Felt Super Indian," Devi and her family attend Ganesh Pooja, a religious holiday, where Devi seems to be embarrassed. The specific selection of the scene where Devi's crush shows up at the event where Devi is constructed in cultural attire further emphasizes the discomfort she feels with her cultural identity. This scene is later juxtaposed by a scene in season 4 where Devi seems to accept her culture and embrace it. At her grandma's wedding, there is a selection of a scene where she dances to a Tamil song with her cousin as she is again constructed in a saree. This time, it is evident she's enjoying herself, as she is proud of who she is and her heritage. Typically, Indian-Americans aren't the main characters in media or are very heavily stereotyped, but the way this series represents Indian-Americans seems to be transcendent the common representation. The way Devi is represented aims to connect to other Indian-American teens who struggle to embrace their culture. The show aims to show that people should embrace their culture and love their background. 

    Although the show is great at showing Devi's character development and is somewhat independent of stereotypes, it also includes a couple of stereotypes about Indian culture. Devi strives to go to Princeton University and cares a lot about academics. Her mom is very strict with her and for the most part, doesn't let her have a boyfriend. Placing a strong emphasis on academics, and having strict parents is a major stereotype of Indian culture. Even if it is not negative, it's still an overgeneralization.   

    The representation of Ben Gross characterizes him as the stereotypical rich white male also through construction and selection. Typically, the rich white male is shown to be picture-perfect and not emotional, but the way Ben Gross is represented goes against this common stereotype. The construction of Ben's huge home emphasizes how lonely he is.  There are a lot of scenes where Ben is shown to be lonely, and there is even a whole episode dedicated to it. The episode "... Been the Loneliness Boy in the World," through a selection of several scenes of  Ben being home alone after his parents left him, emphasizes how lonely he feels. This representation goes against the stereotype that rich people are happier and better off.  Although he is characterized as privileged, he is shown to also struggle with his self-worth. People could assume his life would be better just because of his money, but the representation of his character shows this to not always be the case.

Devi and Ben

Sound Project

     Hey everyone! For the last few weeks in AICE Media Studies AS, we have been working on learning all about sound. We've learned that sound gives dimension to scenes, adds emotional impact, complements visuals, makes visuals more realistic, and much, much more. We've also learned about sounds like Shepard's tone (several sounds separated by an octave layered on top of each other), non-diegetic sound (sound that is incorporated by the non-native world), and much more. We have learned the difference between sound effects, which are artificially created, and foley sounds, which are sounds mimicking other sounds created physically for a more dramatic effect. We have focused a lot on foley sounds and watched a lot of people use all sorts of objects to create some. 

    After learning a lot about sound, it was time to put what we learned to use. We were assigned a project, The Sound Project, in which we were first given a partner. Then, we were instructed to work together to brainstorm a scene, create an outline of the sounds in that scene, and then create a 1-2 minute soundscape. The overall goal of this project was to convey some sort of story with sounds alone. There were no visual elements allowed, and the chosen scene had to be able to realistically take place in a 1-2 minute timespan. Most of the sounds for this project could come from digital effects, but four of the sounds had to come from random objects on a foley stage.

    When approaching the development of our project, the first thing we did was come up with scene ideas. Originally, we were going to do a coffee shop but then settled on a woman going to the beach and drowning while surfing. We made the change because we wanted to make the piece more interesting. Next, we created our outline. We tried to separate the overall story into multiple parts and write out all the individual sounds of the scene. We wanted to include all the sounds that we could to make the scene more realistic. When editing, we made some changes to our plan, but the outline kept us overall organized. If you want to see our outline, it's shown below. 

    

    After creating and submitting our outline, we started downloading digital sounds and came up with ideas for our foley sounds. We started to edit our project in class using Adobe Premier Pro and filmed our foleys at home. We used many digital sounds, like ocean waves and four foley sounds. For example, we shook dice between two cups, which mimicked shaking sunscreen spray before you use it. If you want to hear and see the creation of all our foley sounds, watch or click on the link below. 

or

Click Here To Watch Our Foley Stage Sounds

    While editing, we constantly referred back to our outline to make sure we weren't forgetting anything and to make sure that our soundscape was organized and in order. We did run into some problems while editing, such as much of what we edited one day in class didn't save and we had to redo it. In the end, we figured it out and submitted our project. 

    Overall, I really enjoyed doing the project and really liked how our soundscape turned out. I think we did a really good job of the sounds of the beach and used a good variety of sounds to portray the scene and create a story. I think we could work on the foley stage sounds as well as add more layers to create a more in-depth scene. 

    If you would like to listen to the final project, you can play the video or click the link below.  

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Click Hear To Listen To Our Soundscape