ParaNorman

      

ParaNorman is a 2012 American 3D stop-motion animated horror comedy genre film directed by Sem Fell and Chris Butler. It is a story about a boy who gets misunderstood by the people that tries to save his town from a centuries-old curse. It is one of the successful hybrid genres of animated film in the industry. Through this film, I found differences genres of film such as Action, Horror, and Comedy. In this essay report, I am going to explain the Rick Altman’s semantic and syntactic approach of genre in related to the example of this film. 

            Genre is used for the filmmakers or audiences to classify a film. It is can be categorised or analysed through difference keep components in the film such as characters’ performances, plots, location, prop, music and sound, etc. It is important for the filmmaker to understand the genre and create the film based on what genre of the film is. So that audiences able to recognize the elements of the film that can be related to the genre and this gives audiences a sense of satisfaction. However, genre is still a very common and confusing term to be used by the filmmakers or critics to analyse or criticise the film genre as there is no proper guideline or theories to support their criticism, ideas and opinions. It creates a platform of critics that is mixed up with doubt, confusion, conflict and discrepancy due to the lacking of adequate theory to support the words from the people towards the genre study. Therefore, a theorist wanted to design a solution for these issues by considering a more advanced theory to the genre study. The theorists who name Rick Altman wrote a book Film/Genre to backing the genre study research by proposing the Semantic and Syntactic Approach of the film genres. Semantic approach is related to the kind of music, prop or setting of the film that can be defined, recognized or categorized in the particular genres of film. These elements are used in the way how genre communicates to the audiences. As differences genres have differences kind of elements convention to provide an iconography for a particular genre. For an example, the setting of a horror genre film should be low-key lighting and the props of the monster will be shown in the scene. Another approach proposed by Rick Altman is syntactic approach which is related to the interaction between character and the setting. It is also known as the narrative structure of the genres. For an example, in a horror film we expect the character will keep him alive from the monster and he will either fight or solve the monster problem in the end. Through this semantic and syntactic approach, people able to produce a more refined reading of the genre. Nevertheless, this approach will still depended on the audience’s interpretation as different audiences have different response toward the genre texts. 

            ParaNorman is a story about a boy who name Norman Babcock able to see and speak to the spirit, no one would actually believe him except his new friend, Neil, believe his ability is real. One day, Norman’s uncle who has the same ability told him to finish the important annual ritual in order to protect the town from a curse cast by a witch. At first, Norman doesn’t believe at all until his uncle’s spirit entrusted his last wishes to him and went to heaven. Norman gives it a shot, things not smooth enough as Norman face a few obstacles during his way to finish the ritual. But, he missed ritual timing and the walking dead arise. Unconscious, Norman has a dream and realizes the witch is a girl who name Agatha that was wrongfully convicted by the town council and end up she cursed these town council. Norman decided to find the grave and convinces her. Agatha recalls the happy memories with her mother that triggered by him and she found her peace and her soul went to the heaven. Norman becomes hero and everyone accept Norman for who he is. 

            In the film Paranorman, the main genre that can be found in the film is horror. Horor is a genre that gives a negative emotional reaction to the audiences by frightening, shock, disgust, etc. In this film, the sematic study that can be found in the horror genre of the film is the color tone of the film. As the film is more toward to greenish color in the shadow light of the scene which is also represent the setting of the horror film (G.Fallin, 2013). Besides that, a horror genre film is usually centered on the monster such as zombie, vampire and more. In this film, walking dead is the one of the reason that the Norman wanted to get rid of by reading the storybook to stop the curse that awake the dead. The syntactic of the horror genre is usually about how character wanted to solve the monster problem in order to stay alive. For an instance, Norman wanted to save the village by reading the storybook to hold the curse in order to prevent the dead awake, this is part where the character and the monster have conflicts to ensure his survival. Besides, the character will usually run or hide from the monster in a horror film. For an example, Norman and Alvin hide from the zombies when they stuck in the room. Next, comedy genre is also recognizable in the film as it contains some humorous scene in the film. Dark comedy can be found in the film as it is a humorous action or sense the based on problems of a personal or social nature. For an example, when the zombies are in the Prenderghast’s room, Norman was hiding under the bed, suddenly the zombie drop its ear in front of Norman and Norman feel disgust and puke which create a funny sense to the audiences. Moreover, Paranorman is an action genre film as it has lots of physical stunts, continuous high energy throughout the story. An action film normally contains a chasing scene as the syntactic approach of the genre. For instance, the Norman and Alvin were running away from the zombies in order to keep them alive. Besides, in syntactic of an action film will be always focused on a character’s heroism, as he/she will be the one to contribute in saving the world. In this film, Norman will be hero in saving his village from the curse. 

            Lastly, as genre is still has a very wide-ranging explanation in the study due to the different perception from one and another. Therefore, it is a must to have the guideline for the critic and researcher to refer on in undergoing the genre study.

References

Fallin, Garett. "Editing For The Horror Genre". Audiomicro.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 5 July 2016. Retrieved from: http://www.audiomicro.com/royalty-free-music-blog/2013/10/editing-for-the-horror-genre/