Codes and conventions
-CHARACTER OVER PLOT - whereas basic thriller is plot driven - the thrills coming from the twists and turns and physical action within the plot, psychological thriller relies on the character and their mental state to deliver high impact thrills. The protagonist's psychology - their motives, morals, mental processes, fears, paranoias are what shapes the plot by their reactions to the threatening situation they find themselves in and the thrills are essentially created by exposing the viewer's own fears and paranoia's and in essence, threatening them.
-MIND GAMES -psychological games are a major plot thrill used to drive up suspense and tension in this subgenre. Games of deception - deceiving the protagonist and slowly demolishing their mental state are particularly alarming, especially from another evil character's equally unstable mind, but sometimes the conflict is literally within the protagonist's own mind - finally understanding or accepting something that has happened, for example a particularly traumatic experience they'd repressed within their mind, will be the climax of the film. This toying with people's mind and their subconscious are always unsettling for the viewer - the mind being a completely safe and seemingly secure place for any normal human being, as well as the reliance of mental resources, as opposed to physical strength throughout the film.
-Themes: REALITY - Characters attempting to determine what and what isn't true/real through the narrative.
PERCEPTION - Characters misperceiving the world around them or the world around them being displayed to them by outside factors in an obscured manner.
MIND - Used as a location for narrative conflict - characters battle their own mind to reach a new level of understanding/perception.
EXISTENCE/PURPOSE - The character's attempting to discover the purpose of their lives, the reason for their existence - the conflict occurring when they try to discover/question this purpose.
IDENTITY - Characters questioning and doubting their true identity and trying to discover it.
DEATH - The characters have a fear or fascination with death.
- Philosophical themes: METAPHYSICS - attempting to explain the world and define reality, a rather broad category that can be split into several subsections
EXISTENTIALISM - In a world that is uncertain and mysterious and they begin to lose the ability to make meaning of their lives, the protagonist must rely on their own mind and own morality to create a meaning of the world around them and themselves.
DETERMINISM - The world is out of control and the protagonist feels hopeless to change the events that are occurring around him/her.
FATALISM - Whatever will be will be, so the character is essentially fighting a losing battle to gain control of their lives in a meaningless and chaotic world.
ONTOLOGY - Trying to determine what exists and questioning this to an extent that results in answers more confusing than the questions
DUALISM - The protagonist struggles to grasp the difference between the mind and matter and are unable to determine what is physically present and what is a fabrication of their mind
MORALITY - The protagonist knows the difference between right and wrong, but is conflicted between listening to their own morality or following societal standards.
MORAL SKEPTICISM - The protagonist questions whether morals are false or can actually be determined.
NIHILISM - The protagonist feels hopeless and depressed with the view the world, and especially human existence, is without objective meaning, purpose, comprehensible truth, or essential value.
-MIND GAMES -psychological games are a major plot thrill used to drive up suspense and tension in this subgenre. Games of deception - deceiving the protagonist and slowly demolishing their mental state are particularly alarming, especially from another evil character's equally unstable mind, but sometimes the conflict is literally within the protagonist's own mind - finally understanding or accepting something that has happened, for example a particularly traumatic experience they'd repressed within their mind, will be the climax of the film. This toying with people's mind and their subconscious are always unsettling for the viewer - the mind being a completely safe and seemingly secure place for any normal human being, as well as the reliance of mental resources, as opposed to physical strength throughout the film.
-Themes: REALITY - Characters attempting to determine what and what isn't true/real through the narrative.
PERCEPTION - Characters misperceiving the world around them or the world around them being displayed to them by outside factors in an obscured manner.
MIND - Used as a location for narrative conflict - characters battle their own mind to reach a new level of understanding/perception.
EXISTENCE/PURPOSE - The character's attempting to discover the purpose of their lives, the reason for their existence - the conflict occurring when they try to discover/question this purpose.
IDENTITY - Characters questioning and doubting their true identity and trying to discover it.
DEATH - The characters have a fear or fascination with death.
- Philosophical themes: METAPHYSICS - attempting to explain the world and define reality, a rather broad category that can be split into several subsections
EXISTENTIALISM - In a world that is uncertain and mysterious and they begin to lose the ability to make meaning of their lives, the protagonist must rely on their own mind and own morality to create a meaning of the world around them and themselves.
DETERMINISM - The world is out of control and the protagonist feels hopeless to change the events that are occurring around him/her.
FATALISM - Whatever will be will be, so the character is essentially fighting a losing battle to gain control of their lives in a meaningless and chaotic world.
ONTOLOGY - Trying to determine what exists and questioning this to an extent that results in answers more confusing than the questions
DUALISM - The protagonist struggles to grasp the difference between the mind and matter and are unable to determine what is physically present and what is a fabrication of their mind
MORALITY - The protagonist knows the difference between right and wrong, but is conflicted between listening to their own morality or following societal standards.
MORAL SKEPTICISM - The protagonist questions whether morals are false or can actually be determined.
NIHILISM - The protagonist feels hopeless and depressed with the view the world, and especially human existence, is without objective meaning, purpose, comprehensible truth, or essential value.
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