Generic Thriller - Educational Value

"Generic Thriller" is an independent feature with another side to it: educational value. It was shot entirely on the campus of San Jose State University using an all-student crew under the supervision of experienced professionals. The San Jose State University Dept. of TV, Radio, Film and Theatre has found it effective in teaching film production to make actual feature films within the university setting - feature film productions that give our students the opportunity to learn new skills from top professionals and to form relationships that will have enormous value after graduation.

"Generic Thriller" is a feature-length cinematic exploration of the choices writers make in constructing dramatic narratives and, as such, is not mere entertainment. Though the tone is broadly comic, satirical, and full of sophisticated genre parody, under it's light and playful surface the film explores the complex interrelationship between the writer and the culture that consumes the narratives he creates.

Although the average person spends literally hours a day consuming narratives, there is very little understanding of how dramatic narratives work and the choices a writer makes. "Generic Thriller" is designed to explain the principles of dramatic construction by demonstrating, declaring and deconstructing them, so it is not just art, it is art about the making of art. The hero is struggling to write a play and can't decide what kind of play it should be. He wants it to adhere to the conventions of a thriller, but the characters want it to be a character study. What was going to be a conventional thriller therefore evolves into an exploration of the nature of film and theatre - a lively, dramatized "debate" regarding the rules and principles of dramatic writing. The film therefore functions not just as "entertainment," but as a formal experiment in dramatic narrative and, simultaneously, a discussion of dramatic narrative. The characters constantly dispute not only what kind of narrative it is, but also what shape the plot "should" take and why. Then we see the results of their decisions played out. No feature film has explored the matrix of issues explored in "Generic Thriller" in the way "Generic Thriller" explores them. Given that the initial context in which this film will be viewed will be film festivals, "Generic Thriller" will certainly serve to provoke thought and discussion in the independent film community regarding its issues: genre convention versus organic construction, character versus plot, entertainment versus edification, and the relationship between literal truth (life) and the demands of narrative (art).

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