I’m not certain what specific genre I’m going to be doing for my project yet but if I were to do adventure, a particular issue I would address in my project would be the lack of strong and independent female leads in these type of films. In your typical adventure film, the protagonist is usually a strong, attractive, and brave man who, through a series of obstacles and challenges, gets to his destination, finds the treasure he’d been looking for, etc. But in my project, I want to represent the integrity and courage of a strong female who can navigate her way through those obstacles. Rather than portraying a charming and heroic man who gets the girl at the end of the plot; I’d want to portray a woman lead without her having to rely heavily on other people and without a typical romantic subplot. I would possibly make the leading role have a romantic relationship with another woman and incorporate more LGBTQ+ representation in adventure films.

One of many examples of this issue regarding representation would be Raiders of the Lost Ark. This movie is one of the most popular adventure films and I feel like it set the stereotype for adventure films needing to have a strong, attractive and heterosexual male role. Throughout this movie we see the courage and the daringness that Indiana Jones exhibits, and how by the end of the movie he gets a love interest, Marion, who falls for his charming looks and heroic deeds. Aforementioned, I feel this movie put a setting stone for the representation of people in adventure films (man is strong lead and his woman “sidekick is there to help). Most adventure films portray a strong male role and I’m just listing two of the many, but these filmmakers need to explore different elements to incorporate more women lead roles. Another film that represents a typical brave man who saves the day would be Jurassic World. In this movie the two main characters are Claire (a woman) and Owen (a man). Claire goes to Owen when she needs help to find her nephews in the park when all the dinosaurs are unleashed and he ultimately saves her nephews from death. The movie basically portrayed Chris Pratt as the hero of the movie; using his former military skills and animal expertise to save everyone. Claire sort of played as Owen’s sidekick through it all, guiding him with the in and outs of the park, while he did most of the action. 

I feel like the representational characteristics of this genre is not fair nor correct. The lack of independent female roles is not only specified in adventure films but it sure is prominent in this genre. There have been several attempts to portray a strong female role, for example in the film Tomb Raider, the protagonist was an independent woman, but the movie wasn’t necessarily good. I still appreciate that some filmmakers are making an effort to make more films with a woman lead. I just think that the portrayal of the typical attractive, brave, and charming young man is so overdone and not fair to those of other characteristics. There needs to be more representation of those who differ from the norm portrayed in adventure films. Even though I’m arguing against some of the characteristics in adventure films, I would retain some of them for my own project. For example, I’d still use the brave, fearless, and adventurous characteristics of an individual in my film, it’d just be portrayed through a woman rather than a man used in all adventure films. 

Genre

Adventure Films

Genre Conventions - Content 

Adventure films usually consists of a plot that revolves around a fascinating quest to discover something unknown or get to a particular place. Most of the time there is some sort of incentive for this quest, whether its treasure, discovery of place, or anything of great value. As the film progresses, the protagonist endures many obstacles (some deadly and life threatening) to heighten the intensity of their journey to their destination. Most typical adventure films are set in an earlier time period and have a lot of historical references that consist of many themes relating to heroism, conquest, and more. 

Genre conventions – production techniques

Typical production techniques in adventure films would include fast camera movements, intensifying the common scenes in most of these films (battles, chases, booby traps, etc.). The locations they choose for these types of movies tend to be more exotic (ex: Indiana Jones, The Goonies, The Wizard of Oz) and have more interesting settings. Another common production technique that utilized throughout this genre is the humorous dialogue and a romantic sub-plot; this often makes a serious issue more lighthearted and ultimately entertaining. By including more action-packed and energetic experiences in adventure films, filmmakers always keep the audience on the edge of their seats, and wanting to see more films like these.

Film/magazine sample #1 – include analysis of how this film embodies your genre:

Raiders of the Lost Ark (Indiana Jones): This is probably the most suitable film that embodies the adventure genre. Raiders of the Lost Ark is about a courageous and brave young man, Indiana Jones, who goes on a quest to find an old mystical relic before the Nazi’s get it in their hands and take over the world. The beginning of the film indicates that the setting is in an exotic location, the jungles of South America in 1936, and that the characters are in a foreign place, which is very common in adventure films. The villains in this particular movie, the Nazis, are clearly identified, as they cause problems, disrupt peace and are the complete opposite of the protagonist, Indiana, which makes the dynamics and narrative of the story central and more clear. Not only that but throughout his intense journey to find the relic and going through all the obstacles the Nazi’s put in his way, he finds a love interest that makes the story more lighthearted.  

Film/magazine sample #2 – include analysis of how this film embodies your genre

The Wizard of Oz: This is another film that fits into the adventure genre because it depicts journey of the protagonist, Dorothy, and her encountering many obstacles to get to a particular location, home. Like most adventure films, the setting is in a very exotic place: the magical land of Oz. In Oz, Dorothy goes on a journey to meet the wizard in Emerald City, there she hopes he can help her get home. Not long after she got to Oz, it was clear who the enemy was, the wicked witch of the West, who wants to sabotage Dorothy’s chance of getting back to Kansas as revenge for accidentally killing her sister. During this journey, Dorothy meets many new people (the scarecrow, the tin-man, and the lion) to help her on her adventure to find a way back home. Dorothy was the leader of this group and also helped bring out the best in each of the characters (courage for the lion, smarts for the scarecrow, etc.). This not only showed Dorothy’s adventure home but the adventures of character development and personal growth.

List of 5-7 other film/magazine examples within the genre (with links or images of these examples)

Journey to the Center of the Earth https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0373051/ (horrible movie but it’s adventure)

The Goonies https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089218/

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0325980/

The Mummy (1999) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120616/ (another Brendan Fraser movie)

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0814255/