Genre Conventions: Iconography

Horror Conventions Iconography

Iconography: When visual elements gain symbolic meaning overtime.

Iconography is the visual images that are used to represent something, these images usually come with many connotations. When an audience looks at the image they should be reminded of something else, a thing that it represents. Within the film industry, iconography is used in almost every film, most of all in horrors.

Within horror films it is expected to have some sort of creepy object, in most cases this object does the harm. Much like in The Conjuring, the music box is the haunted item or in Childs play, Chucky the doll comes to life. In our film it is based around a Ouija board and therefore it doesn't come as a surprise that the item in our film which is the creepy item is the Ouija board. These boards have strong connections which the spirit world and many real life stories have proved that these can the cause of evil.
Real life stories of people messing with Ouija boards



The music box from the Conjuring



Chucky the doll from child's play

There are certain items of iconography that match the film, for example in a Western we would see: guns. cowboy hats and horses. These items would not match if it was a horror film. In a horror film we would see teenagers, a 'normal' object turned creepy and the darkness. Most horror films now are set in the dark as this doesn't let the audience see what's happening around the character and makes them more open to jump scares.

As humans we are interested in the ideas and values of everything in films, most people going in to deep analysis after watching the films. The meanings of some objects may seem neutral but they never are.
The denotation of an object is seeing what is there however the connotation of an object is analysing its effects. Most film makers place objects in the films to connote or remind the audience of something and it could help the film in its plot.