Narrative:
In what ways is the setting important to our
understanding of the film?
The setting helps us to understand that the vampires only
attack when it is the 30 days of night.
It also helps us to see that the town is in the middle of
nowhere, meaning that no one can help them.
The setting helps us to see that it is an easy target due to
being the ‘northern most’ town in the U.S. (repertoire of elements, due to it
being an isolated location)
How do the vampires differ from conventional screen
portrayals?
The vampires are in a group.
The vampires first attack the dogs using a knife to kill
them.
They don’t speak English they speak ‘vampire’.
All of the vampires teeth are sharp not just the traditional
fangs.
Animalistic, alien-looking, pale skin, black eyes.
How do the kill scenes fit with ‘conventional’ kill
scenes?
The kill scenes are quite graphic but we don’t actually see
the vampires kill any of the victims we just see the bodies/blood afterwards.
Central kill scene when the vampires are attacking the
town?
This is an unconventional kill scene because usually the
vampires don’t attack more than one person at once however, in this scene the
‘head’ vampire scrapes his nail on a record which cause the rest of the vampires
to attack the whole town rather than just the one or two victims they have been
killing.
It shows that the producer is trying to move away from the
traditional vampire and create a more modern vampire for the audience.
Structure:
Who’s the protagonist?
Eben the town sheriff/ vampire slayer is the protagonist. He
is a flawed protagonist because he is physically unwell, due to having asthma.
Who are the antagonists?
The group of vampires are the antagonists.
Notes from Collins 2nd lesson on 30 days of
night à
The film is based on a comic that came out just after 9|11;
many critics have argued that it is a direct reference to the vulnerability of
American towns against outsiders. It suggests that if the outsider believes what
the rest of the community believe then you should accept him into the community
but if not then you should kill them.
The character that gets off of the ship at the start of the
film is a direct reference to ‘Renfield’ in the original Dracula.
Join the love interest’s narrative at the end of their
relationship. It is a postmodern relationship as we join them at the end and
watch their relationship come back. We watch something that is broke coming
back together.
Feminist critics have suggested that the film essentially
teaches the at first glance strong female character that protects Eben to being
a passive mother like figure by the end, as she ends up cradling a child
waiting for Eben to return to save them.
Structure:
When we first meet Eben he is watching the sun set and then
the last scene with Eben is when the sun rises.
Technology:
Kill the sleigh dogs to prevent their means of escape from
the city.
Take all of the mobile phones they can find and burn them on
the edge of the city.
Cut off all of the electricity and phone lines.
They destroy the helicopter.
Showing how vulnerable we are as communities when our
transport, electricity and big weapons are taken away, because we are too
reliant on them.
The first kill:
The community of vampires kill one individual first. They are
killing off the outsiders and weakest first.
He is the most important as he controls the generators in
town.
The terrorists in 9|11 were targeting places that were important
control centres in the U.S, which is symbolised in the film by the vampires
killing the man who controls the generators first, as a show of power.
The third kill:
A vampire comes through the window without being invited in which
are different to most other vampire films because in the other vampire films we
have watched the women usually open the window for the vampire due to being
hypnotised.
It also relates directly back to Americas fear of the time
that they weren’t even safe in their own home. They didn’t know what the
terrorists wanted, and Americans just didn’t understand their lifestyle.
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