http://www.allmovie.com/characteristic/theme/lovers-on-the-lam-d1472
information about the subgenre:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/25-films-about-lovers-on-the-lam-20130821
This genre consists of different convention such as:
-The car which is an emotional cage for the main characters- this goes with the road movie genre.
-The guns- this goes with the crime genre.
-The obstacle which in the case of these film is main the family- this goes with the crime because the leading man has to get rid of the family in order for him to be with the girl, this then also falls under the romance genre.
- The dysfunctional family- this could suggest why the characters are the way they are, for example in Badlands the Father is a single parent and wants to control Holly and her actions, when she defys him he kills her dog. This is different to Natural Born Killers because the Father rapes Mallory and the Mother doesnt help her, therefore Mickey is her savior.
-The animalistic behaviour- this is shown in Badlands through Kit saying to his friend he will give him a dollar if he eats the dead dog, when he stands on the dead cow, also at the end when the police have found him they have him on a lead suggesting that he is an animal. Also in Badlands there is a sequence where they are living in the woods and there is different shots of the wildlife showing that they are animals.
Some of these conventions can fall under the narrative because of these things lead the couple to carry out certain deeds. For example in Badlands the Father saying no to Kit's request to see his daughter and also threatening to call the police while Kit is in the house, this is Kit's obstacle and he has to get rid of it by shooting him. In Natural born killers Mallory has had enough of the abuse at home and assists Mickey in killing her parents.
Badlands I feel is the better film because it tells the audience things about the real killers in suttle ways and keeps alot of the story the same, it is more serious about a serious matter. It takes in the views of the time it was set. Where as in Natural born killers it is like taking the mick out of it, I understand that this film is a satire but it shouldnt be a joke all the time. But I did find it cleaver how it was presented to the audience through different media texts that everyone would relate to, it was shouting to the audience in a very secret way that media is making these killers, because of all the violence we see on the tv. Everything now has violence it is more accepted.
