To what extent are you chosen texts typical of their genre?

To what extent are you chosen texts typical of their genre?

My first text, Sin city, lies within the hybrid genre as it combines both film noir and comic book conventions.

A particular convention used within Sin City that defines it as film noir is the use of the Femme Fatale which helps reflect the time in which this film is supposedly represented. Due to this being set post World War 2, the femme fatale's are used to represent the women of real life society; during the war, the women would have got a sense of what life was like without men, and what it was like to be independent and no longer oppressed. And so, when the men returned from the trenches, after possessing all the power, the women did not want to return to being reliant, instead they wanted to hold onto the independence they had. This is mirrored in 'Sin City' as the women are seen as strong and independent, which can particularly be referenced to Shelley. She is presented to be in control of Jack when he comes home drunk and she refuses to let him in, and belittles him with her language. She calls him a "jerk loser" on more than one occasion and pinpoints that he hits her in order to "feel like a man". She becomes the voice of reason at this time, as domestic violence would have been a regular occurrence, but by standing up for herself she reflects her Femme Fatale characterisation. 

Another particular Film Noir convention is the representation of the cynical protagonist, which is typical to Propp's theory of character roles. With this film being set post World War 2, and in the midst of the cold war, the male protagonists are shown to have little, or no value for their own life. This is proved by Dwight when he tells Shelly to let Jack in, and states "I'll take care of this". Despite the inevitable consequence of Dwight getting hurt, his approach to it is slightly unnerving as he doesn't seem to possess any sort of concern for his own welfare.

Finally, the use of the trench coat is both a convention of the Film Noir genre and the Comic Book genre. The coat is very typical to the stereotypical 'private eye' characterisation that is presented in Film Noir conventions, but equally has connotations of the Comic Book genre as it often acts like a cape. With particular reference to Dwight, he puts the coat of just before he is about to save Shelly from Jack. Highlighting his sense of heroism.