Steven Fackman

THE CRAZIES,
2010
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2n32fNv1DhM

Does The Crazies follow the

CHN?
Why or why not?
The Crazies does not follow the CHN (Classic Hollywood Narrative) as the
opening scene completely disregards it. A brief opening scene shows the
town of Ogden Marsh, Iowa on fire. This, clearly is not an equilibrium and
therefore means the film cannot follow the structure.
After the brief opening scene, the film essentially does follow the CHN.
There is a brief equilibrium before the event/disruption begins when
David shoots and kills an infected Rory. The new equilibrium is debatable
though, as we know that the same problem has happened again in Cedar
Rapids, Iowa. The characters though who are walking to Cedar Rapids are
unaware. They believe they are heading for a new equilibrium but the
viewer has additional information.

How many of Propps character

types can be identified in the
film?
David: Hero
Judy: Hero/Helper/Princess
Russell: Helper/Donor/Dispatcher/False Hero
Becca: Helper
The Infected: Villains
Seven of the Eight character types are seen in the film. The only
character trait not obviously shown by a main character is the father.

List five examples of binary

opposites in the film and explain
them briefly.
Good/Evil the main characters fighting the infected in order to
escape
Normal/Strange behaviour of humans vs infected
Past/Present majority of the film is a flashback
Known/Unknown nothing is known about The Crazies. They are the
opposite here of the uninfected
Human/Non-Human The Crazies have almost become non-human
since becoming infected.

Identify the three durations and give an

estimate of the time each duration covers.
Screen Duration: Time of the film - 92 minutes
Plot Duration: Time of the plot seen in the - 4 days
Story Duration: Time the story was built on and off screen - 2 years

Give two examples of events that cause

later events in the film but which occur
before the film starts.
The Plane Crash: The ruins are found during the film, but the plane
crashed at least a few days earlier.
People begin to drink the contaminated water. This clearly happens
before the film as Rory is infected in the first flashback scene.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I49EsognbQM

List two events from the 92 minute film that

happen in a different time and space to the
one we are shown.
David finding the truck is not shown in the film. We see David arrive at
the truck stop but then the film follows Judy while David finds and
gets in the truck.
Russell escaping the quarantined area is not seen in the film as at this
point the film is following David and Judy. We know Russell must have
escaped though as we see him taken. He re-joins the film after David
escapes so of course Russell has escaped off-camera.