Crime Genre Secondary Research main task

Crime films can be quite a diverse genre, creating some of the most interesting and varying stories and tones of any genre. From the cool storytelling of Pulp Fiction, the comedic tones of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, to the dark and gritty tone of Seven; there is truly a story for any fan of film. This secondary research will allow me to analyse successful and varying films within the crime genre in order to dictate an accurate audience that might appeal to my film.

Reservoir Dogs:

A heist film that doesn't show the robbery, instead opting for a build up of tension amidst the aftermath of a botched robbery. The story is told as a disjointed narrative, occasionally switching backwards and forwards within the timeline. This genre clearly appeals to more of a male audience, perhaps this is due to the large amount of violence, dark comedy and tones featured within the film. Women who did see the film, however did rate it highly with the men. We can also see that people from the age of around 18 to 29 was the actual audience for the film.

Goodfellas:

Based upon the true story of gangster Henry Hill, featuring some of the most iconic moments of film, exploring drama and comedy in a fluid way. This film is more for a male audience as can be seen below, again this is probably due to the high amount of violence, swearing and adult themes. Females as a whole rated Goodfellas slightly lower than males did. The actual audience for the film falls around the ages of 18-44. A mature age is common amongst the audience, due to its mature tone and characters, it is still worth noting that the film was still highly rated outside of its target audience.

The Dark Knight:

Based upon the DC comic character, The Dark Knight tells a gritty crime story with mobsters, corrupt members of the justice system and politicians along with an anarchist. This makes for one of the best crime films, which is interesting considering not many people would see the superhero genre as a platform for this type of film. The Dark Knight changed everyones opinions about superhero films and films in general. The film still has more of an appeal to the male audience, but there is a much smaller margin between the two than is usually seen in other crime films. This film appeals to a broader audience through great story telling, action, moments, cast, characters and performances. The audience age group is between the ages of 18 to 29, with large audiences still present up to the age of 45.

What Have I Found?:

I have found in my secondary research that certain genre tropes within crime films can isolate your audiences. If there is more violence in the film, it may appeal to an older audience. A film such as The Dark Knight would have a higher audience appeal for not being an R rated film such as Goodfellas or Reservoir Dogs, but these films typical cost less to make than the $185 million budget of The Dark Knight, resulting in a requirement to appeal to as large of an audience as possible by lowering the age rating. I should focus on appealing to the existing audience within the genre, through the use of conventions within the genre. I could expand my audience by adding characters and themes that may appeal to females, even though the research has shown that there is still a considerable female audience that comes with the genre.