Section C practice question 2

Discuss some of the similarities and difference between the two films you have studied for this topic with particular reference to narrative and genre features.

One of the main conventions in the lovers on the lamb genre is romance. This sub genre is significant in both Natural Born Killers and Badlands. Badlands is presented in a less passionate way than in Natural Born Killers, in that we see no real romance amongst Kit and Holly. This is a connotation of the immaturity and innocence of the two; however in NBK the romance is very obvious and strong amongst the two.

In both of these films there is also some sort of obstacle which must be defeated so the couple can have their freedom and begin their rampage. In both Badlands and natural born killers this obstacle is the family of the girl in the couple. This links in with the genre convention of the dysfunctional family due to the fact both Mallory and Holly feel very lonely and want to feel loved and get the attention of the right person.  However although both families are killed to help the lovers start there journey on the road the narrative stories are very different. For example in Badlands the use of Holly's voice overs of non diegetic sound show a sense of naivety through the tone of her voice because although Kit has just killed her dad, she does not show any passion or emotion. However, on the other hand, in NBK Micky and Mallory work more of a duo (lovers) to kill the obstacle getting in there way which is her parents, as Mallory actively participates in killing her father and rejoicing when he is dead! This point could be due to the time periods both films were set, for example Badlands was set in the 1950's where women were represented as being very passive, quite and dependent on the man however NBK identifies the change of this idea in the 90's due to the fact women can be just as aggressive as men can, sometimes worse.

The editing in both films are very different which creates a very different narrative structure. In Badlands it is very classical and slow paced from scene to scene which gives a sense of the importance in each killing, however they are very overlooked, which contrasts to the experimental, energetic editing used in NBK. This could have been due to the fact that it reflects the time period in the 1990's and how media can make such a big effect and then suddenly drop a part of the story to sell more copies of the more dramatic story lines.