Groundhog Day Codes and Conventions

Opening scene from minutes 0:00-1:50)

Codes:

During the opening title sequence where see the production companies, producers, actors and title of the film, we can hear some rather up beat style music with the main instrument of either a trumpet or a trombone. This is a symbolic code to the genre because a trumpet/trombone is never used in music you will hear on the radio or TV, so it is a rather unusual instrument to hear. Also, the song that is being played using the trumpet/trombone is quite bouncy in rhythm and light hearted therefore it has a fun and happy quality that when combined with such an odd instrument has comical elements. This has suggests to the audience that we will be expecting some humour within this highly fictional and fantasy style film - this could even be the proffered reading for the film because it would just be so obvious to the viewer.

Conventions:

This movie Groundhog day is listed under the genre of 'fantasy' according to IMDB, however, during the opening scene and title sequence, there are mainly elements of humour present, this may be due to the fact that the sub genre of comedy needs to be introduced quite early on in the film so that it does not dive straight into the real plot right at the very start. However, due to the fact that the film is starring Bill Murray, the film just automatically needs some element of comedy in it any way because he as an actor is typically seen as a comical person due to the way he represents his characters in films as well as the roles that he plays in films. This mean that the audience will automatically expect the film to be comical to some extent and that the 'fantasy' genre will pop up later.