Dystopian/Post-apocalyptic Research

 Its the End of the World as We Know It

I do not know what exactly lead us to fall down the rabbit hole of dystopian waste lands and post-apocalyptic worlds, but it was probably the amalgamation of the never ending feeling of loneliness brought on by quarantine and creativity that the two worlds allow. In class and over the years of creating videos for many different projects, I have learned to work with what you know, and since being closed off and alone has been so abundant, I think my group and I wanted to try and capture that feeling within our film opening.

Dystopia/Post-Apocalyptic Tropes and Conventions:

 

Survival

One of the most important and most prevalent genre conventions within the both genres is that of survival. Almost every character in the film is trying to strive in their new environment where things have become worse than ever before and the assumption is that the characters are the last of their kind on the planet. For example in the movie Snowpiercer, the characters are trapped in the confines of a train where they believe they are the last of any human life on the planet. The movies primary plot centers around a class system in which the rich live lavishly in the front of the train and the poor are forced to live in squalor in the caboose, this creates the conflict of the film where the poor rise up to take the train by force and improve their conditions. 

Humans are no longer on top

Be it, evil governments, aliens, or some mysterious force, humans are no longer on the top of the food chain. This also fits in with the idea of survival as now for some reason explained within the film, everything is on essentially even ground when it comes to survival. 

Lack of resources

In almost any film that features a dystopian/post-apocalyptic world, resources have been drained and are impossible to find. Depending on what exactly has caused the setting, different explanations for the lack of resources are presented. For example in the film, The Hunger Games, the different districts of the film have different access to resources, but all pale in comparison to the Capitals hoard of resources, that ultimately leaves the rest of the nation to suffer. The lack of resources can also be due to some sort of toppling of society in which the means of production are no longer, and every day commodities are no longer produced. Whatever the reason, dystopian worlds will leave their characters scavenging.

Composition

So far I have covered some major points in the world building of a dystopian film, but now I would like to discuss the technical side of things, as the composition of dystopian films can vary greatly based on the story elements being used. In films where the story is centered around some sort of totalitarian government and the world is advanced technologically, the shots may appear clean and more symmetrical to fit with the technological advancement of the society. If the film is set in a more post-apocalyptic world, where the characters are scavenging and dirtied, the shots will fit with the feel of this by becoming more handheld and messy, the editing will become more fast paced, and generally more amateur.

I hope to next tell yall about some film openings that have been inspiring me along this creation process, see you then!

Press, L. (2020, July 24). 5 best young adult Dystopian TROPES (& 5 Worst). Retrieved February 17, 2021, from https://screenrant.com/best-worst-young-adult-dystopian-tropes/

Erbland, K. (n.d.). The complete list: Everything you will find in a dystopian movie. Retrieved February 17, 2021, from https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2014/08/dystopian-movie-tropes