Further Research Part 3- My Main Focus Elements

Both of these use similar elements but have a different approach to presenting them, which makes them both that separately unique. The most important elements which I am going to take into consideration towards my drama are the innocence and killing aspects.

Compare & Contrast

---------------------------------------	The Walking Dead	The Road
Innocence By a media standpoint, a media product such as films and tv show’s usually follows certain guide lines which the audience subconsciously adapt from characters and situations. When it comes to a young character, the audience evaluates that character as innocent as they are young, most likely not done anything unjustified such as murder and deceit. It’s very unlikely for a death to occur for a young child as it hits an encouraging emotion in the audience but allows that element of un-expectation for the audience.	The Walking Dead uses and abuses this element throughout. They have young characters which appear weak and with enough character development builds a bond with the audience but then extremely brutalises that element for the audience by having them die and turn into the un-dead which is a pure evil. The creators bring on this element of the un-expected and there really being no innocence within the first five minutes of the first episode, where you witness the first kill from Rick of a young, teddy carrying zombie girl. By the third season the innocence of the child has really been taken away seeing as the only child there, Karl has had to man up and even get involved in killing the un-dead. They have replaced that character’s innocence with a new born child which symbolises a new character in a new world, born of an innocent child. However the creators twist it a bit by bringing the child in by sacrificing another life so the child is born in blood.	The Road, they seem to preserve that element of innocence by the fact the father will do anything to keep the boy safe whilst teaching him how to live like a man in this world.  He sees horrible sides to this new world but encourages him to enjoy what is left such as coke, safety etc. There are moments where you believe that the boy will die considering the actors perform brilliantly, but he survives.  At the end the boy is left alone to fend for himself but luckily finds another group which to be innocent with. Another quirk they use to make clear on the innocence is how both main characters believe in “preserving the fire” which is basically keeping their humanity. They may have to kill to survive and protect the good, but not falling into eating other people which could be one of the most unthinkable things to do. They have a scene which they try to show that the innocence is gone with a mother and child being chased and killed but it doesn’t have that much of an impact as these characters are random and have had no previous screen time.
Killing Now killing is a major survival aspect in a post-apocalyptic world considering that you have to fend for yourself and everyone is a threat. The killing doesn’t necessarily be committed by a single person, it can be caused by his/her actions to not help or willingly allow them to be harmed or even killed to protect themselves and/or the ones they love. In any feature everyone is liable to be killed even those that are considered the main character but usually certain events will hint towards them changing or not of use which makes the audience less disoriented when a main character does die. However the ones that are just unexpected are due to be a massive shocker to the storyline and are memorable to the audience.	This show consists with a lot of killing in it, mainly of the un-dead which in this type of post-apocalyptic world becomes second nature as they are a constant threat .As they are un-dead, an evil spawn doesn’t play too much effect on the characters and audience. It is expected to kill but to keep interesting put the weak characters into drastic situations where they have to kill in horrific ways. When it has come to kill another survivor that poses a threat, they make the decision difficult for everyone including the audience. For example in season two, the group get shot at by some random scavengers and they capture one. They spend a couple episodes to character develop to which everyone has an input in allowing to live or to die. Through this the audience even find it difficult to want this scavenger to die, even though he attacked the main group. He is a young lad and is only doing what he can to survive. Most of the characters have some form of experience killing or using firearms so when they kill someone, even a friend that has turned it doesn’t come off as that distressing but when someone like Karl takes a life it hits the audience on an intense level. Watching him man up, taking his mothers last breath away from her shows true character development and gains pity from the audience.	There isn’t a lot of killing in this film but gains more of a shocking effect when a kill does happen due to that fact the characters have a different shocking impact. For example within the first ten minutes in this post-apocalyptic world we see Man encounter a number of scavengers and has been spotted by one of them and even though he knows he should kill him struggles to do it until they physically threaten Boy. Most of the world has died due to some form of world crisis. Something that is constantly mentioned throughout is the fact they have two bullets spare, one for each of them which they need to use if they are about to captured as it’s the safest thing to do. Otherwise they would be tortured, starved, mutilated then eaten. One of the most depressing deaths is the mother; she has given up on life and simply walks into the night and is never seen again. This death has a great impact as it shows how unstable the world is and even though she is most likely one of the few people that has a husband and child still alive, she would prefer to die now then take any chance of interacting with other life.

Further Research Part 2- The Road

The Road

“The Road” intense realistic drama set in a post-apocalyptic future brought on by some form of world catastrophe. It follows two characters which are father and son who are struggling with just basic survival necessities as well as countering with strangers that may or may not be cannibals. The struggles they endure are very real, very believable and what adds to the element of credibility is the fact the film is a very slow paced. The narrative constantly shows the changes in their lives by showing their present of this “end of times” world and showing their happy simple life before hand. It also shows the struggles they were having when the incident first occurred, what they had to sacrifice wasn’t that drastic compared to what they are facing now, out in the world. 

The novel was written by Cormac McCarthy who has written other intense realistic novels such as “No Country For Old Men” & “All The Pretty Horses”, the novel was adapted to a screenplay by Joe Penhall and was directed by John Hillcoat, most known for directing the drama western “The Proposition”.

The narrative follows the father and son that are on a journey around the dead world, we as an audience member are meant to experience the same as them, and feel what they feel. The father and son appear to be the last innocent people left in the world as they struggle with the idea of killing and/or eating another person’s flesh.  They witness really distressing situations which is meant to completely shock the audience and make them panic over the idea this is actually happening and who would they be in the situation. Saying you would be a good innocent person is easy to say but with the struggles with surviving can really change a person and make them do things they never thought they were capable of.

The main protagonists are basically called “Man” and “Boy” which in my opinion really reflect the characters in an intense way. Every character doesn’t really have a name; they are just a description of what the audience see them as. To me this is meant to reflect how their world is dead and the formalities of the world we all live in now are gone and are basically none existent.  It even shows how distant each of the characters have to be now, by revealing their names to each other gives a hint of trust and bonding with anyone which simply can’t be allowed as you can’t trust anyone in this world and it is safer to be alone. Even the fact Man doesn’t say Boy’s name is necessary, Man knows he isn’t going to be around forever. His son, Boy is going to have to look after himself one day and by discrediting the fact he has a name is basically a boy means he needs to grow up. He has to be prepared for the difficult choices, doing the selfish thing to separate them from the rest of the world.

In my opinion this is a story of fatherhood and coming of age. The father’s main goal is like any other fathers life goals, to teach their child the way to live and survive. Even though the past and present expectations of a father are different but still challenging as a first time father isn’t really sure how to teach their child. The main difference that the father has to teach is child is distance, regularly a father would teach their child to interact with the people, have a enjoyable life, fall in love and settle down. In this world, he has to teach his son to be as distant as possible, everyone is a threat and friendship or pity or trust is a sign of weakness in this world.

This is a very slowed paced film which I believe adds to the authenticity of this dead world. I have heard people complain that it’s too slow, nothing happens but that is how the world would be now in that situation. The world is dead, most of the world’s population either died during the incident or have died from starvation, dehydration, infection, murder, cannibalism, it’s like the world’s worst nightmare has come true.

What I think makes this a truly great drama is the realistic elements which reflect every character in either a positive or negative light. Some aspects are really obvious and what you would expect yourself to deal with such as murder and starvation. A segment I thought really added to the credibility of the film was based around a can of coke. They find a can of coke, something they haven’t had in years and really enjoy it. You see a side which you wouldn’t expect which is a brief moment of peace, believing that at this moment in time there are no worries which is a major concern for everyone in this new world. Above anything you must keep sane for the sake of yourself and those you care for and if you don’t take that brief moment now and again to find something to make you smile then you’re already dead, you’ve lost and given up on the world.

The overall film is brilliantly presented in all aspects; I do have an issue with the ending as I thought it was too much of a cliché to find another group of survivors. The group of survivors also follow the same moral guides as the father and son but I understand that it was a needed ending, giving that last glimpse of hope in both the characters and audience. 

It is difficult for me to choose a scene which is my favourite as it is overall a brilliant film; however this scene I have highlighted has a large impact on the characters and the audience. This is a father ‘s worst nightmare, teaching your son that the safest way in a drastic situation is to kill yourself quickly; it’s that element on showing the difference approach to fatherhood.

Further Research Part 1- The Walking Dead

As part of my research I decided to look into other films and television shows which have a similar theme to mine which is post apocalypse drama. There have been many of these genres but two mainly come to mind for me, the most obvious nowadays would be “The Walking Dead” which is one of my favourite’s shows to date, the second for me would be “The Road”. The following is a short review and my opinion of both of these.

The Walking Dead

“The Walking Dead” horror drama set in America and follows a large range of characters and how the impact has affected their lives. Each character having their own history and issues to deal with whilst trying to live in this unstable world defending themselves from the un-dead (walkers) and other survivors who have given up all morals and do anything to survive.

The television series was adapted from the comic book series “The Walking Dead” which was created by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore & Charlie Adlard. The television series was developed by Frank Darabont who is known for his remarkable writing styles with “ The Shawshank Redemption”, “The Green Mile”,” The Mist” and a lot more.

A great deal of the narrative follows the structure of the comic book but there are changes to the characters to keep the audience engaged. For example, the characters Daryl and Merle Dixon were added to allow an emotional death to occur after a large amount of character development and also it allowed the audience to understand that people in a similar situation wouldn’t necessarily have the same reactions. From what we know Daryl and Merle had a very similar abusing upbringing but both have taken on different roles since the un-dead rising. Merle driven away early on, surviving on his own takes it upon himself to be a killer. Merle sacrifices others as long he gains something out of it, willing to follow order no matter how drastic as long as he survives and gains safety from it. Daryl grows with the group, becoming a key member and showing skills of leadership. With the odd hiccup, he binds with the group and is emotionally attached with each one of them.

The narrative does follow a range of characters but the main attraction is the leader of the main group Rick Grimes, he was a police sheriff before the outbreak and missed the early stages of the outbreak due to being comatose after being shot on the job.  Once he has awoke and realised what has happened due to the help of what seems last survivors in town, Morgan and Duane, he heads out into the “new” world to find his wife and son. Shortly after he finds them along with a large group of survivors, we follow each of them trying to find a safe place which they can live their lives. With every turn comes a new obstacle either that be the walkers, crazed survivors, starvation & winter approaching.  The main concept of this drama in my opinion is simple as an audience member; I am asking myself if I could do what some of these characters have to do. Constantly ask myself what would I sacrifice to ensure the survival of what I love and cherish either it be a friend, family member, the innocence of others or even my morals.

Rick was an honest law abiding citizen that had moral guides in all areas of his life be it work and /or home, he has the typical lifestyle of a sheriff struggling with criminals and having the somewhat casual difficulties with his wife but wishes for nothing more to please her. Awaking and taking lead of the surviving group is constantly being challenged with his morality by making the difficult decisions for the group such as allowing a potential threat to live. The threat is just a young boy. Do you trust your best friend who may have killed an innocent man? Can you allow a child to be born into this world? etc.

Each season follows a basic structured storyline; this is what I interoperated from each season -

• Season 1- Character and story development.  What is in store?
• Season 2- Finding somewhere to survive. Allowing the physiological side of humanity to be tested.
• Season 3- Can anyone be trusted?  Is anywhere really safe? It’s time for everyone to take responsibility.   

What I practically find fascinating about this drama is the fact is that the zombies aren’t the main attraction, yes they help create scenarios and are entertaining but it’s are about the characters and how a drastic situation can change a person’s dynamic completely. If the writers wanted to change the zombies to another drastic situation, the show could still be a well respective drama. Also it covers a massive range of believable character developments throughout; near every episode has a memorable moment which the audience will remember as it has affected the narrative drastically. In my eyes the character Karl, who is Rick’s son is a brilliant realistic one.  People say he is a soft character and has only lately made a decent impact, which is true but the character is believable. He is an innocent kid who has dropped into a world people of age don’t understand and is being forced to take responsibility. First season he was a real character, a scared little boy not truly understanding what is going on around him. Second season, Karl was even more alone now as the only other child of the group was gone and the only way he could amuse himself was by getting more involved with the group as a reliable member of the group. In the third season, time has passed and in my eyes the writers have pushed him a bit quickly but it was so Karl would be more appealing but now he is showing that he is his father’s son. He is getting involved in killing walkers, taking charge, helping the group in any way possible.  My view is that he is the most believable character and is the most interesting at the moment, as he is a young age. I think I can relate to him more by the fact I have never had to take a life, never been a situation where someone’s life was in danger.

It is difficult to say which is my favourite episode or even my favourite moment as it is a great horror drama, and almost every moment has a different impact to everyone. But one of the hardest hitting scenes I would have to highlight is the one below. The girl is the lost daughter and they have been spending the majority of the season looking for her, the group have recently found evidence that she is alive and moving around so this came as a total shock to me.

This is a tribute remake, unable to find proper footage;