Paris-Kai Trowers

How the generic convention death of loved ones is used in action films
Four Brothers (US 2005) and Shank (UK 2010)
In this essay I am going to explore the use generic convention death of loved ones in the
two action films Four Brothers (2005) & Shank (2010). Four Brothers is an American film
and it was produced by Di Bonaventura Pictures, the film has a mass audience target of 1640 year olds. The film displays themes; conflict, revenge, race, family, love and death, the
messages and values of four brothers Love and defend your Family. Moreover Shank is a
British Film which was produced by Gateway Films, it has a mass audience however
primarily focused on urban 15-25 year olds. Themes in Shank is; revenge, conflict, death
and family. Both films represent Todorovs 5 stage theory, including equilibrium,
disequilibrium and new equilibrium, which is very common narrative in the action genre as
the audience expect to see a happy/positive outcome for protagonist(s).
In my textual analysis Ill be concentrating on the key generic convention death of loved
ones of the action genre films. is when someone very close to the protagonists heart
whether it be family, partner or friend dies resulting in the protagonist taking action. Ill be
commenting in this essay, how the various micro-elements are used to give an effect in both
the films.
To begin my essay, Ill begin my analysis on Four Brothers (2005), Ill be specifically
concentrating on two scenes, one where the main protagonists, the Mercer brothers, Bobby
(Mark Wahlberg) Angel (Tyrese Gibson) Jeremiah (Andre Benjamin) & Jack (Garrett
Hedlund) return to their childhood home for the first time in years and the other when Jack
dies. This scene is one of the most important as it shows the effect the death of loved ones
convention has on the protagonists. Although this is common in action films, John Singleton
changes the typical death of loved ones convention as starts with the death of their
mother Evelyn causing the brothers take action by going vigilante and finding those
responsible for their death. This change in the convention causes an effect in the film as it
begins with disequilibrium, filling the story with sorrow and negativity, displaying an
alteration to Todorovs narrative theory leading to a happy/positive ending or outcome. As
singleton has created an alteration, it allows the protagonist to create a new equilibrium for
the target audiences to have a positive view on taking action. In this case the Mercer
brothers hard task of bringing justice and avenging their mother even though their own
lives are endangered.
Micro-elements are used, mise-en-scene such as character positioning, which connotes who
has the most power among the brothers as in this scene Bobby is in the front with Jeremiah
next to him and Jack and Angel at the back, shows that Bobby and Jeremiah have the most
power but Jeremiah is the most hurt and effected by their mothers death and Bobby is
going to take the most action in bringing justice, moreover this almost instantly shows to
the audience, that although Bobby is the leader and most vocal but Jeremiah is the most
intelligent and level headed with a strong sense of justice.It also allows the audience to
understand their relationships before their mothers death as it signifies that Jeremiah and
Bobby was the closest to her and Angel and Jack were more distant. However in the scene
where they crash a party, Angel takes to the front with Bobby, this indicates to the audience
that Angel has more of a role than Jeremiah when physical violence needed, it also connotes
that he has a different view on justice to that of Jeremiahs. The death of loved ones

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convention is being used here, to show how the brothers diversify from one another and
how the death of someone very close to them, changes them individually.In addition to this
the colours of the room show the emotions of the brothers the white walls, the connote,
that every one of the brothers are deeply hurt but put cloaks over their emotions as they
dont want to reveal their true emotions. Furthermore theres no stand out or bright colors
in the scene apart from red, which clearly identifies to the audience that their individual
feelings dont stand out but the sorrow they are feeling as a whole, encapsulates the whole
house but they red indicates that anger is becoming more of a prominent emotion in each
of them, alternatively in addition, the use of red also foreshadows to the audience that
therell be more deaths over the course of the film; which is later confirmed by the deaths
of Jack and the antagonist Victor Sweet.
The Long shot of all the brothers entering the house connotes how weird it is for the
brothers to be return to their childhood home not only because they hadnt returned in so
many years but also because it doesnt feel right without their mother being there. It allows
the audience to understand how much the brothers feel out of place. In conjunction with
this the high angle, minimizes the stature of the brothers, showing that they feel small and
as if they are entering the house for the first time. This enables the audience to see them as
the little kids they once were when Evelyn adopted them and brought them to the house for
the first time. In addition to this, the non-diegetic background sound of a violin indicates the
sense of deja vu the brothers are feelings as they can relate it to the first time they each
step into the house in the same way the high angle does, it also allows the audience to gain
the sense of how eerie and empty it is without their mother being there and induces
sympathy for the brothers from the audience, which is one of the roles of this generic
convention. This is used in conjunction with the synchronous sound of Bobby crying, which
really portrays how hard a toll the death of their mother is taking on them, this gives the
audience an insight on how everyone of the brothers is affected.
The scene where Jack is killed is essential to the narrative and outcome of the film. This
plays a vital role in the film as this reignites the desire for revenge in Bobby and Angel &
converts Jeremiah from being passive to fully involving himself in getting revenge. Jacks
death essentially restarts the narrative.
Using the non-diegetic backing music, puts the emotions and atmosphere on full show, the
long lingering sound of the violin portrays how death seems to be just lingering around the
brothers lives, losing a Mother and a brother in such a short space time really emphasizes
to the audience the utter disbelief and shock they are going through. It also shows the sheer
pressure, the brothers are under to restore justice. The use of makeup, the blood shows the
audience, how gruesome an ordeal Jack has to through and how hard it is for his brothers to
stay positive and optimistic. It emphasizes how close they all are to reaching breaking point;
the convention once again induces more sympathy from the audience for the brothers.
Throughout the film, Jeremiah is the goody two-shoes of the brothers, he was portrayed as
very passive and unwilling to take part in any vigilante acts his brothers were doing as he
believed they should let the police do their damn job however in this scene, when Jack
gets fatally wounded and his brothers are in danger, he acts by killing one of the attacker.
This comes as result of the death of loved ones convention. The convention brings about a
transformation in his character, which is another way the convention is used in the film. The
close-up shot of Jeremiah crying, puts on full display, the toll the deaths of the ones he

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loves, is taking on him. It strongly connotes his emotions to the audience. Moreover Jacks
death indicates that Singleton is rearranging Todorovs theory as he includes two scenarios
where the equilibrium is disrupted; Evelyns death and Jacks death, this effectively makes
the audience question whether a new equilibrium can ever be restored. This is a highly
effective use of the death of loved ones convention. Singleton introduces the convention
through the death of Evelyn Mercer, which results in changes in the brothers and action
being taken by them to avenge her which shows he was successful in portraying the death
of loved ones convention in this film.

In relation to this, in Shank also portrays the death of loved ones convention in the scene
where, co-protagonist Rager, brother of the protagonist Junior dies, He is stabbed multiple
times in his back and Junior runs away in tears, shortly breaking down afterwards. This is an
immediate use of the death of loved ones The use of the diegetic sound of Rager being
stabbed in his back emphasizes the sadness and pain going through both Rager and Junior.
For Rager, the physical pain of being stabbed and psychological pain and sadness of knowing
that he is going to die and can no longer be there to protect Junior. Also for Junior sadness
of not being strong enough to help and watching only helplessly as his brother crumples to
the ground dead. The sound being diegetic is important as it allows the audience to
somewhat experience and feel what Junior is going through; this produces sympathy from
the audience for Junior. This comes as a direct result of the use of death of loved ones
convention.
The lighting is very bleak and dim, this connotes to the audience, that the scene is flooded in
negativity and sorrow, also shows how much of a dark place, the tragic event leaves Junior
in. This enables the audience to see how much it mentally affects Junior and makes them
want to watch on to see what happens as a result of him being left in this state of mind and
again it almost instantly creates a sense of sympathy in the audience for him. For make-up,
the blood used really shows to the audience the horrors Junior had to go through, watching
his brother being stabbed to death and theres nothing he can do to stop it. The blood
enables the audience to feel not only Ragers physical pain but also the mental/emotional
pain Junior is going through, it forces the audience to step into his shoes and feel his
emotions. This is evident use of death of loved ones The colours is the scene are very
dark, this immediately displays that there is going to be a tragic event such as a death in the
scene, this so happens to be Ragers death however it also shows the loneliness Junior is
about to feel, the death of his brother who is essentially a father figure to him, leaves him
without someone to guide him on the right path, again this induces sympathy from the
audience for Junior. The generic convention death of loved ones is clearly on display as it
brings about major changes in the protagonist, Ragers death, changes Junior from a
vulnerable, dependent boy to a determined, vengeful adolescent who is dead set on
revenge even if it means killing.
In this essay, Ive explored how the generic convention death of loved ones is used in
action films, Four Brothers (US 2005) and Shank (UK 2010) From this analysis it is clear that
the generic convention deaths of loved ones is used in the films. The death of Evelyn brings
about change in the brothers and consequently leads to them taking action to restore

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justice and avenge her. Whilst from my analysis of Shank, the death of Rager, leads to
Junior taking revenge against his brothers killers.
Screenshots:
Four Brothers
Scene: Bobby, Angel & Jack
crash a party

Four Brothers
Scene: Brothers return to
childhood home

Four Brothers
Scene: Jacks death

Four Brothers
Scene: Jacks death

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Four Brothers
Scene: Jeremiah killing a hitman

Shank
Scene: Ragers death

Shank
Scene: Ragers death

Shank
Scene: Junior running home
Word Count: 1,957 words