Codes and Conventions

Taken
The film take is an action/drama film; the setting is in Paris. The films follows the story of a girl who
has been kidnaped and her father, an ex-CIA agent, is in a race against time to find his daughter.

The narrative of the film is in a linear formation. It follows a chronological timeline from start to
finish. However, small flashbacks are seen at a few points in the film. The film has a closed narrative,
this means that the end of the film all the questions raised during the story have been answered and
the film has closed.

The film has no Multi-stranded or dual narratives as there is only one story happening throughout
the film. The film follows the perspectives of one character and his experiences, there are no other
main perspectives in the film.

At the start of the film and during the climax of the story there are a number of action codes, the
main action code is where the daughter is kidnaped and her father is determined to find her and
take down anyone who is in his way. In other action films, such as ‘Die Hard’ there are enigma codes
are used to explain to the audience why events are happening.

In the exposition of the film, there is the introduction of the characters; tension in the film is low.
The MacGuffin in the film occurs in the Rising action and leads into the climax of the film. For
example, when the antagonist takes his daughter, the father (the protagonist and the hero) is
motivated to find his daughter before he runs out of time; this gives the viewer a supplement of
what is happening in the film. The falling action in the film sees the antagonist being overruled by
the protagonist and the daughter being recovered. The film finishes with a closed narrative; there is
a secure ending to the film.