The Raid: Redemption Genre and Narrative

Gareth Evans combines genre and narrative to produce emotional elements such as seriousness and comic in the film “The raid: redemptions.” He borrows his genre theories from literary genre criticism. His elementary genres include fiction and documentary, where other subgenres emerge, ranging from docufiction to docudrama. The raid features an elite squad that was put to the task of infiltrating a high-rise building that was owned and operated by a ruthless drug baron situated in the slums of Jakarta (Hutson et al., 2015). The team comprises of the likes of Rama, who was a rookie member of the team, where unrelated fiction combines to form subgenres such as action comedy. The film is classified by the setting, which is a high-rise building located in the slums of Jakarta. This paper looks at how genre and narrative combine to produce meaning to the film ”The Raid: Redemption” by Gareth Evans.

Genre and Narrative in ”The Raid: Redemption

In analyzing ”The Raid: Redemption” and its narrative, it is vital to look at language as the long-standing genre conventions. The film combines genre conventions and narrative using different imagery, where Gareth Evans portrays narrative components such as characters, plot and genre films (Portelli, 2017). These narrative components have a significance as mentioned earlier as they are elements of a generic formula, where the viewer negotiates the genre film while revolving around the preordained, value-laden systems of the narrative. The producer of the film includes elements by creating a new combination each time, which makes it a distinctive unit that relates to a specific genre (Hutson et al., 2015). The recurring iconography of genre films is an establishment of an individual narrative for the viewers, while it evokes the history of the genre itself.

Gareth Evans proves the fact that genre film uses intertextual references, which is a trait that reinforces the historical development of genre through the production of iconography are the repetitive application of crucial talents (Portelli, 2017). As a film that hybridizes two genres, ”The Raid: Redemption” makes use of two series of images, which are primarily sounds and situations, where it refers to the different genre traditions (Magliano and Clinton, 2016). The narrative part of the film centers on a single tactical team of rookies, Rama, who proves to be incidental to the choreographed mayhem as other characters, while it is set upon the hordes of criminals who heed to the call of a murderous mastermind (Hutson et al., 2015). The story depicts the transition between evil floods in, while the actors spring out of the apartment and doorways while firing their guns. The film features a meeting of conventions and an interplay between conventions and dominance, which are highly dependent on the narrative context. Its linguistics favor the style of film noir, while the majority of its iconography is portrayed in the use of comic as a significant genre. The application of locations and the casting draw heavily on the iconography of the comic, while the scene is the high-rise building. The linguistic style of the film and the characters stand in marked contrast with the other markers of the genre. On the other hand, the dialogue compliments with iconography through references to the criminals and drug lords.

In every genre, language performs a specific function and emphasizes other conventions of the genre by making reference to the dialogue or signifying the conventions of genre via the linguistic style employed. It is in the language that the narrative is sustained, where it adds credence to e story world since the film is fantastical (Portelli, 2017). The linguistic style that is associated with each genre convention is part of the construction of the film. The film is an utterance of the genre and its history, where the action interplays between the rearrangement of the existing iconography and conventions (Hutson et al., 2015). Individually, the film is not original as it builds upon the previous utterances and explorations of the existing examples of the genre. The rile of intonation is also significant in the analysis of how narrative and genre combine to produce meaning to the film. The actor portrays the simultaneity of the uttered and the unuttered to create the effects of intonation, which reveals how the words are said and the language, which is a revelation of what is said. The producer chooses to use the linguistic style of the genre over that of intonation.

The film combines narrative and genre to portray a catalytic event, where it propels the main character to find a resolution to the consequences of the flow of an action that results from a catalytic event. The dramatic action in the film leads to the resolution. The main character pays for the price of his ambition, where he tends to become triumphant and heroic in his effort. The effort he takes requires a ritualized demonstration of heroism, which spans from the climatic gunfight to the formidable raid of the apartment (Portelli, 2017). The Raid is a war film that portrays a climactic battle, where the fate of the characters is hardly determined by the individual actions, but by the superior forces of the side of the protagonist. The resolution is seen through the superior air power and through the arbitrary action that paves the way for the character to survive the battle. Therefore, each genre has a specific narrative style, which the audience expects and enjoys (Portelli, 2017). The Raid is punctuated by gunfights, the deployment of weapons and survival skills in what is essentially portrayed as a primitive slum. The resolution to the conflict is violence, which characterizes the genre.

Different genres exhibiting different shapes can also depict the shape of the narrative. In this action film, time is critical, where the primary consideration is the intensity of genre that is supposed to be in tune with the aspirations of the main character. Since this is an adventure film, its level of threat to the main character, Rama remains constant to ensure that the audience remains interested in the plot (Hutson et al., 2015). Moreover, the producer uses narrative and genre to bring out the tone of the film. In this regard, the tone ranges from fantastic and musical to the realistic one (Magliano and Clinton, 2016). On its part, the film combines the genre of action adventure and the plot as a narrative to portray the motivation for an explosive action (Portelli, 2017). The challenges to the main character re considerable and numerous, which is a more plot-intensive genre. The antagonist character has been imbued with all the superhuman intelligence; strengths are power. The film shows that humor and self-depreciation define the nature of the action-adventure as the primary genre used in the movie.

The biopic genre is also combined with the narrative or the plot of the film to catch the attention of the audience. The film features the person as opposed to the era. The producer if the film interprets the facts as if they were fiction while finding the meaning to the life of the subject, where he casts the main character as a protagonist of the genre of his life (Portelli, 2017). The biopic genre offers the dramatized reflection of the life of a famous figure. Some of the narrative principles governing the conventional biopic include the way in which the protagonist risks all for success, how he endures a period of neglect and the way he achieves success (Hutson et al., 2015). Rama rises to fame as a drug baron. He does everything including breaking the law by trafficking illegal drugs until the time the police raids his apartment.

The main characteristic of the biographical film is that the main character thrives on some form of special talent, while his psychological makeup allows him to overcome the tragedies in life as he succeeds in his business at first sight (Portelli, 2017). However, his non-conformist personality leads to the development of conflict with the conventions of the society (Hutson et al., 2015). The critical moment of the film is the raid, which becomes the turning point in the life of the protagonist. The tragic aspect of the main character has also become the basis for how the narrative is used together with the biopic genre to define suspense in the film.

The genre if comedy is also used in the plot to bring meaning the film. Comedy is used in combination with pain and emotional reactions to enhance the tragedy that the main character faces. In this respect, the behavior of the characters is presented in the form of comedy, which is both ludicrous and absurd with the resultant feature of correction of the behavior of the protagonist (Hutson et al., 2015). This implies that since the protagonist works against the conventions of the society, the result is conflict and tragedy, which are presented comically. The comic devices used in the film are exaggeration and repetition, which help in catching the attention of the audience (Portelli, 2017). The genre of comedy subdivides into different sub-genres, each of which focuses on the comic attack. For instance, crime is portrayed in the life of the protagonist, where it is used as the turning point in his life for the good and evil. His fall comes immediately after the rise as after the raid of his apartment.

The comic scene also drives the film. The producer ensures that the film is choreographed, while he emphasizes precision. The film collects every element of action into comic scenes portrayed by the consistent fighting. The film genre is also seen through the motion pictures that are based on the emotional response to the film. The producer also uses the science fiction genre to create the strange though relatable worlds (Hutson et al., 2015). The war genre recreates a specific period, where it places a group of fictional characters in the context of the war film using tactical language and reference points that are essential in creating the right warfare atmosphere (Portelli, 2017). Different genres and narratives are combined to produce the atmosphere of war in this film, where the producer emphasizes the use of language a primary tool that defines different character traits.

The film features different languages of the national culture, which affect the history of the people interacting with dialects and accents of US soldiers. Different platoons are featured either socially or economically, while the geographically diverse people use different dialects that are dispelled in the form of expositional dialogue.

Film noir is another genre that is used in combination with narrative to depict the crime drama in ”The Raid.” Film noir is subtitled as the genre of betrayal, which spans from the personal to the international form of deception (Portelli, 2017). In the film, the central character is portrayed to be living the edge. The character assumes that his life is at a better, more prosperous and more vital and that the life cannot be found in any other character. There is a highly charged relationship between the central character and his goons (Hutson et al., 2015). The producer shows that in as much as there is a relationship of companionship between the central character and his saviors, a life of betrayal is always underway. The savior can at times become the cause of fall after the rise as seen in the life of the drug lord.

Conclusion

The Raid is a film that uses different types of genre in combination with narratives to portray the true meaning of the film. Different genres have been used in the film to depict the rise and fall of a great drug lord. The best example is where the producer of the film decides to use action adventure in the plot to portray the motivation for explosive action. Action adventure is used in combination with narratives such as crime in scenes such as dramatic chases, shoot-outs and the use of explosives to capture the attention of the viewer.  The central character in this action movie is seen to be thoroughly capable regarding the use of weaponry. The producer uses action to show that there is always a form of betrayal in the course of formation of companionship in situations where crime is the tool for survival. This implies that the savior can at times become the cause of fall after the rise as seen in the life of the drug lord.

Bibliography

Hutson, J., Smith, T., Magliano, J., Heidebrecht, G., Hinkel, T., Tang, J.L., and Loschky, L., 2015. Eye movements while watching the narrative film: a dissociation of eye movements and comprehension. J Vis, 15, p.116.

Magliano, J.P. and Clinton, J.A., 2016. A Vision of the Viewer: Situating Narration in the Fiction Film in the Context of Theories of Narrative Comprehension. Projections, 10(1), pp.3-11.

Portelli, A., 2017. Oral history as the genre. In Narrative and genre(pp. 23-45). Routledge.