Just Jacey's Journey and Blogs: 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.