Does ‘The Crazies’ follow the Classical Hollywood Narrative
and Why?
There are three defined reasons as to why I think The Crazies does not follow CHN. For example, the film does not start with equilibrium as it begins with the town in flames. As well as the brutal shooting to the unresponsive, yet dangerous man on the baseball pitch. Another reason I believe it does not follow CHN is because there is no resolution to the problems the characters face, as the disease is airborne. Thirdly, there is no new equilibrium as the town David and Judy were living in is completely destroyed, and the new town they are travelling to soon face the same battle.
How many of Propps’ character types are evident in ‘The Crazies’?
Hero- David is the hero as he saves his wife as well as attempting to save his peer.
Villain- the government developed the virus which in effect, kills majority of the population. Therefore, they’re the villains.
False Hero- Russel, Davids deputy, gets infected and causes a lot of trouble. For example, turning on David and Judy as though they are the villains. However, he does help to save them before the disease occurs. Also, the military could be seen as the false heros as they start their mission ‘saving people’ but they end up murdering most civilians.
The Donor-
The Dispatcher- David is his own dispatcher as he deems himself in control of the situation and ensures saving his wife from the virus and the military are his main priority.
The princess- Judy is the princess of the film as David sets out to save her, which he does to some extent.
The Helper- Russell is the helper within the film as he promptly assists David to rescue Judy. He also sacrifices his life, by distracting the military while David and Judy carry on their travels.
List five examples of binary oppositions in the film and explain them briefly.
Good VS Bad- David and Judy could be portrayed as the good forces in the film who are against the infection/military which are suggested to be the bad forces.
Night VS Day- The night scenes are when Russell, David and Judy are most vulnerable. However during the day the characters deem to be safe there is nobody around.
Presence VS Absence- The ‘presence’ being the when the mind is fully functioned, against the idea of the ‘infected’ person who are not in control of their actions.
Safety VS Chaos- Before the infection begins to spread we see the town as an ordinary community. This contradicts the chaos we are presented with throughout the rest of the film.
Freedom VS Confinement- Throughout the film, David and Judy are striving for freedom and to leave the government controlled town.
Identify the three ‘durations’ and give an estimate of the time each duration covers.
At the start of the film when Judy asks how long the incubation period is, the man form the government replies 48 hours. To which David replies that it is day three, therefore we are informed as an audience that the infection started three days before the story has started. The film duration itself is 101 minutes long to watch. The story duration includes the events that we are told about but do not see. For example, the plane that crashed which originally started the virus. This accident could have happened at any length of time, depending on how long it takes to create a virus or for a virus to spread.
Give two examples of events that cause later events in the film but which occur before the film ’starts’.
The main incident that happened before the film ‘starts’ is the beginning of the ‘trixie’ virus which spreads round Ogden Marsh. At the start of the film everyone is unaware of the start of the virus, but it is later revealed in the film. Another thing that is later revealed is that Judy is pregnant. This happened before the story starts and therefore us as an audience are unaware until the later revelation.
List two events from the 92 minute film that happen in another time of space than the ones we see.
Throughout the film we see the bodies of people who have been executed due to the infection. Judy finds a trailer filled with dead bodies which had been burnt or shot. Another event which happened off camera, was the decision to blow up Ogden Marsh. It is evident that the decision needed to be made and that is why Judy and David were adamant to escape.
There are three defined reasons as to why I think The Crazies does not follow CHN. For example, the film does not start with equilibrium as it begins with the town in flames. As well as the brutal shooting to the unresponsive, yet dangerous man on the baseball pitch. Another reason I believe it does not follow CHN is because there is no resolution to the problems the characters face, as the disease is airborne. Thirdly, there is no new equilibrium as the town David and Judy were living in is completely destroyed, and the new town they are travelling to soon face the same battle.
How many of Propps’ character types are evident in ‘The Crazies’?
Hero- David is the hero as he saves his wife as well as attempting to save his peer.
Villain- the government developed the virus which in effect, kills majority of the population. Therefore, they’re the villains.
False Hero- Russel, Davids deputy, gets infected and causes a lot of trouble. For example, turning on David and Judy as though they are the villains. However, he does help to save them before the disease occurs. Also, the military could be seen as the false heros as they start their mission ‘saving people’ but they end up murdering most civilians.
The Donor-
The Dispatcher- David is his own dispatcher as he deems himself in control of the situation and ensures saving his wife from the virus and the military are his main priority.
The princess- Judy is the princess of the film as David sets out to save her, which he does to some extent.
The Helper- Russell is the helper within the film as he promptly assists David to rescue Judy. He also sacrifices his life, by distracting the military while David and Judy carry on their travels.
List five examples of binary oppositions in the film and explain them briefly.
Good VS Bad- David and Judy could be portrayed as the good forces in the film who are against the infection/military which are suggested to be the bad forces.
Night VS Day- The night scenes are when Russell, David and Judy are most vulnerable. However during the day the characters deem to be safe there is nobody around.
Presence VS Absence- The ‘presence’ being the when the mind is fully functioned, against the idea of the ‘infected’ person who are not in control of their actions.
Safety VS Chaos- Before the infection begins to spread we see the town as an ordinary community. This contradicts the chaos we are presented with throughout the rest of the film.
Freedom VS Confinement- Throughout the film, David and Judy are striving for freedom and to leave the government controlled town.
Identify the three ‘durations’ and give an estimate of the time each duration covers.
At the start of the film when Judy asks how long the incubation period is, the man form the government replies 48 hours. To which David replies that it is day three, therefore we are informed as an audience that the infection started three days before the story has started. The film duration itself is 101 minutes long to watch. The story duration includes the events that we are told about but do not see. For example, the plane that crashed which originally started the virus. This accident could have happened at any length of time, depending on how long it takes to create a virus or for a virus to spread.
Give two examples of events that cause later events in the film but which occur before the film ’starts’.
The main incident that happened before the film ‘starts’ is the beginning of the ‘trixie’ virus which spreads round Ogden Marsh. At the start of the film everyone is unaware of the start of the virus, but it is later revealed in the film. Another thing that is later revealed is that Judy is pregnant. This happened before the story starts and therefore us as an audience are unaware until the later revelation.
List two events from the 92 minute film that happen in another time of space than the ones we see.
Throughout the film we see the bodies of people who have been executed due to the infection. Judy finds a trailer filled with dead bodies which had been burnt or shot. Another event which happened off camera, was the decision to blow up Ogden Marsh. It is evident that the decision needed to be made and that is why Judy and David were adamant to escape.
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