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Shelby Clark
Instructor: Malcolm Campbell
UWRT 1101
September 9, 2014
Totally Conventional: A genre analysis of the film The Giver

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Science Fiction. Go ahead and admit that the first thing that popped into your head was a
mass invasion of Extra-Terrestrial looking beings with glowing skin and bulging eyes. You
probably imagined some sort of laser beam shooting off in every direction and perhaps even a
space craft sucking up cows and sheep. Why are these images the first things that came to mind
when you read those first two words? Its because they are the most generic and totally
conventional aspects of a science fiction film that just about everyone associates with this genre.
However, there is a lot more to science fiction than you might think. There is a plethora of subgenres included under the science fiction category that offer a variety of conventions specific to
each. Sub-genres like time-travel, space opera, apocalyptic, slipstream, etc. are all classified as
science fiction, yet they dont all attract the same audience or have the same conventions. This
paper will analyze the sub-genre of dystopian, science fiction through examining the recently
produced film, the Giver.
Social and cultural context
In 2014 dystopian science fiction seems to be at the top of its game. Following the very
popular productions of The Hunger Games and Divergent, this genre has held the interest of
audiences for the last couple of years. At this point in time the future is so uncertain. With all of

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the trouble with ISIS and the incomprehensible actions of our president the future is a toss-up.
No one knows what it holds and newscasters are pessimistic. Who doesnt love speculations of
the future and there arent shortages in that department.
Audience & Conventions
The Giver was first written in 1993 as a childrens novel, which was popular at the
time of its release; however, it was mainly circulated amongst school children and avid readers.
As a novel, the audience was limited. Transforming this novel into a movie allowed this story to
reach a much larger audience. This film was released with a PG-13 rating reserving the film for
a slightly older audience.
Movie critics have labeled this film as one of the most popular young-adult films of its
time. Thats because these movies mostly appeal to the pre-teen and young adults of our time
due to the fact that they have a future to anticipate. Old timers arent completely dissatisfied
though. I mean, we are talking about the Star-Trek generation. They are Sci-Fi lovers too, but
the whole idea of a dystopian future doesnt intrigue them like it does young adults. They are
already living in their future and wouldnt be able to do anything about the next generations
future. around to care what happens in the distant years to come.
Now, what about the conventions associated with the sub-genre, Dystopia? Most people
would respond with adjectives like futuristic, government oppression, limited individuality,
uniformity, withheld information, seemingly omnipotent and evil government, constant
surveillance and dehumanized beings. These qualities are the substance of a dystopia.
In a film, dystopias are often paired with alternative soundtracks and dark lighting and
dull colors. Producers make the most of geometrical shapes and structure. Everything is hard and

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cold looking. Many of the actors and actresses sport sharp, blunt haircuts and minimal makeup.
These are the usual visual conventions of a dystopian film.
The Giver is a story about a young man who has just left his childhood and is about to
begin his adulthood. The story begins as the main character, Jonas, is going to be chosen for a
specific job that the government has chosen for him and the rest of his generation. The society
that Jonas lives in is very black and white, literally. Everything is equal. There is no race, no
emotions, no choice. Inevitably, Jonas is chosen for the position of the receiver. His job is to
receive all of the memories that his senior the giver has retained from all the past generations.
Throughout the course of the novel, Jonas comes to the realization that everyone surrounding
him is deprived of these memories, which also deprives them of feelings and emotions. Jonas
endures a series of hardships that ultimately lead to the release of all of the memories,
The Giver holds to many of these conventions. For one thing the government in this
story film is omniscient. They can monitor everyones actions and control their futures. They
have total control over their citizens. All individuality is done away with by the government
through a routine injection that removes feelings, emotions, colors and anything that could make
a citizen stand out from all of the others. The government withholds information from its citizens
by removing all memory preceding the establishment of their state and placing it in the memory
of one individual. No one remembers a different time except for the Giver and the receiver
of course. By doing this the government has semi-control over the thoughts of their citizens.
Allowing citizens only biased knowledge,knowledge; they can have nothing else to base their
thoughts on or to compare their modern society to. They dont have memories of anything else
and imagination is limited. Instead of letting citizens make up their own minds, the government
took the liberty of telling them whats best for them.

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To compare The Giver to another film of this genre, take the Hunger Games as an
example. In the Hunger Games, the government is ruled by a figure head, which has total control
over his people. The Capital citizens are completely immune to death, hunger, starvation, and
pain. Each film has one character that acts out of the status quo, which is interpreted as the hero
of the story by the viewer. As a result, the government tries to restrain the individual and
terminate them because they threaten the system. In the end, the hero of the story has overthrown
the government and saved society; however, the hero is not happy. This genre never has a
completely happy ending. In the Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeens sister dies at the hand of her
best friend/lover and she can never escape the horror of the games. In the Giver, the ending is a
little more ambiguous. Jonas arrives at the borderline and returns all memories to the people;
however we are left only to hope that Jonas was able to save Gabrielle and survive the cold. The
movie ends with a picture of Jonas and Gabe buried in the snow as they look at the small cottage
in the distance. We dont see Jonas reunited with his love interest or family. Sacrifice is a major
component of this genre.
Purpose?
Dystopian stories usually pose as a warning of a possible future if something, usually a
social practice or societal pattern of modern times continues unchanged. In the case of this
movie, the warning is this: Individuality and history are important. If we get rid of these things,
then we take away our humanity, which is portrayed in the act of killing the babies. The idea in
this fictional society is this: If identical twins are born, how incredibly confusing would it be to
have two people look the exact same. Because this society lacks experience with death as a
tragedy and lacks emotions it is easy for them to release a newborn baby to make the situation
less complicated.

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Why make it a movie?
Film is the most popular form of communication that we have today. Films have the
ability to communicate a message to a very large and general audience. Conveying these ideas
through film allows the message to be spread to a more diverse population than the novel
appealed to. Not everyones a reader; therefore, the Giver as a movie is generally more appealing
amongst the population as a whole.
I think the story of the Giver could be conveyed differently if it was presented as a song.
Songs often tell stories, although sometimes they are abstract. This story would have to be sung
as an indie song by someone like Lana Del Ray or Birdie to make sure invoked the right
emotions in this new audience. Euphony and hopelessness intertwined in a very complex song
with a simple surface. Obviously it would have to be shortened and a chorus would have to be
added, but Im sure some talented artist could handle the challenge at hand. The films ideas and
themes could be translated into poetry, which could then be put to a rhythm or tune. The song
would end with a very drawn out and ambiguous note leaving the listener expecting more. This
shift in medium would draw a much different crowd than before. Musical aficionados, or lovers
of music, would be more likely to hear this story through song rather than by film. Songs such as
the one the Giver would be translated into would attract a very specific audience rather than a
large and general one; however, specific audiences are more invested in their interests and can
prove very beneficial.

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In the end.
The Giver poses as a great example of a dystopian science fiction film because it adheres
to the majority of the conventions associated with that genre. Although The Giver is probably
the most successful as a film, it would make for a very interesting and thought provoking song.