
Evolution of Thriller Genre: From Crime Retribution to Psychological Imbalance
Explore the history and development of the thriller genre from the 17th century to the late 20th century, where crime narratives transitioned from moral and religious matters to entertainment focusing on individual psychological imbalance. Dive into the themes, characters, and plot elements that define the thrilling world of storytelling.
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Presentation Transcript
History of Thriller Genre 17th century until late 18th century: Popular theme of crime stories: punishment of the criminal (Cawelti). Some critics like Cawelti (1976) and Worthington (1988) call this theme as crime retribution. Crime as moral and religious matter. 17-18th Century Early 19th Century: Cawelti (1976) states that in early nineteenth century, crime has changed from moral and religious matter into entertainment. 19th Century
Crime as social problem: Criminal acts were not evil deeds but the result of defective social arrangements and heredity (p. 56). Late 20th Century 1. Detective 2. Criminal Noir Style
Psycho Thriller Psycho thriller narrates crime as an outward manifestation of individual psychological imbalance. The narrative focus is criminal s mind This examination of the psyche becomes the component that generates the narrative in which structured based on principle of suspense. (Simpson, 2010)
Characters The protagonist must prove his/her worth by overcoming a series of obstacles, each one more daunting than the last, thus demonstrating the thriller s indebtedness to tales of heroic romance. The characters must be depicted as the one who has deviant mind with extreme violent and destructive actions as his or her outward manifestation The Criminal The Protagonist (Simpson, 2010) The criminals are often larger than life, imbued with a Gothic brand of pseudo - supernatural cunning and malice.
Plot The plot of a thriller is structured on the basic principle of suspense, or the heightened audience anxiety created when the protagonist is fighting a contest against what looks like overwhelming odds (Simpson 2010). The moral plane of the thriller is usually quite defined, with the individual hero embodying admirable qualities, such as loyalty. Examples of thriller genre: don t breath, silence of the lambs, the invisible man, Alex, Dan Brown s novels (Simpson, 2010)