1. Iconography of Psychological
Drama/Thriller
Daniel Fotheringham

2. Psychological Thriller Iconography

3. Low Key Lighting
• In Psychological Thrillers, low key lighting is used mainly to depict a sense of danger
and uncertainty as well as making a setting look unsettling and disturbing for the
audience. As well this, a lot of films can use low level lighting where it only shows one
side of a characters face. This is mainly used not only to make an audience member
disturbed by the character or the setting but also to show that the character may have
a split personality and is very unpredictable. By this, the use of the visual metaphor
indicates that there is more to that certain character than what meets the eye. A film
which uses this in the opening sequence is ‘Sin City’ as we see a girl in red who gets
shot and a man in black. In that sequence they both have low key lighting on their
faces to suggest that there is more to them and that they have a dark past and history
to their lives.
• To see the opening scene of Sin City then please use this link:

4. Knives
• In Thrillers, one of the main iconographies that is used are knives to suggest the idea
of danger, murder and violence towards the audience and are seen as one of the
biggest iconographies in film. Perhaps one of the iconic films which include knives is
Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’ as the shower scene uses knives. This is brought forward
to the audience to suggest the element of violence and danger towards the female
character. The use of the element also suggests to the audience as if we are the victim
and we are being stabbed in the shower which brings in the fear of claustrophobia.
However, whilst this is a big element in thrillers, we might not consider putting
knives in our film because the setting is a virtual world and it is not a chase story
where somebody is out to get a person and kill them.
• To see the Psycho Shower Scene then please use this link:

5. Confined Spaces/Claustrophobia
• In Psychological Thrillers a lot of films use confined spaces to scare the audience and
also to give the idea of insecurity to an audience member which should make them
very uncomfortable when watching the film. This is because any phobia is aimed to
tackle an audience members insecurity and something they dread. (e.g. Heights,
Reptiles, Bats, Claustrophobia etc…). An example of this includes ‘127 Hours’ as
because of the use of cinematography makes the graphic side of claustrophobia more
scary and makes the audience feel like they are part of the action. This s shown
visually in a sequence when the protagonist cuts of his hand to get out of the rock-wall.
The use of this makes not only the visual image distressing and horrible to
watch but also brings in the fear of claustrophobia and makes you feel like you are
part of the action. As a group, we may consider using this iconography as we want the
audience to feel a sense of sympathy and insecurity towards the film.
• To see the sequence then please use this link:

6. Shadows
• Shadows are used a lot in psychological thrillers and whilst they link very closely to
low key lighting, they also can depict a sense of danger and peril to the story. As a
result of this, an audience can feel very scared when they see one as they can try to
anticipate what will happen next. A student film called ‘Hunting Shadows’ uses this
effectively as whilst this film is very short and only one minute long, it anticipates the
idea that something scary and thrilling will happen. As a result of this we see fast
paced cuts and edits to anticipate something that will terrify the audience. This is
shown effectively when the protagonist raises her hand to the wall and we anticipate
something scary to happen then suddenly a man grasps her hand which is shown as a
sense of anticlimax which gives a sigh of relief for the audience. Whilst this is a big
icon in Psychological thrillers, we may decide not to do this because the film does not
fit the plot.
• To see the video then please use this link:

7. Drama Iconography

8. Difference between Drama and
Psychological Thriller Iconography
• In Psychological Thrillers and Dramas, there are massive differences in the
iconography of these genres as Psychological Thrillers are able to base their
iconography on particular objects or props such as knives, blood, shadows and others
whilst drama iconography is based more on the storyline than on props in certain
films such as character development, Rites of Passage, emotional depth of a character
and conflict. As a result of this then these help make the iconography link to the
storyline and make the drama much more effective in the film.
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9. Reality
• In drama’s reality is a big piece of iconography as in this genre, the audience have to
be able to relate to able to the situation or be able to put themselves in that position.
As a result of this, films have to be able to put reality into their films otherwise the
audience won’t relate to the film.
• Examples like this include ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ as it is set in a prison.
Because of this, the filmmakers show the brutality of living in prison through certain
scenes where the protagonist, Andy Dufresne, is bullied and abused by other inmates
at the prison in the film. As a result of this, the audience is able to give sympathy to
the protagonist as they are able to relate to the brutality of what it is like to live in
prison and what the consequences can be if you end up there. As this is a big
iconography, we may decide to use this icon as whilst the film is set in a virtual world,
the game that the teenager plays is a sort of ‘Sims’ game so therefore by having reality
in the film may benefit the film as the audience will be able to realise that the virtual
world is no different than the real world.
• To see the clip from ‘ The Shawshank Redemption then please use this
link:

10. Dramatic Irony
• Dramatic Irony is where the audience knows about a certain thing that the characters
aren’t aware of in the film. In drama films, dramatic irony is a key element of drama
films as it helps give the audience a sense of depth of an understanding about a plot
or a certain character. This can be used for certain techniques such as the
plot/storyline of a film, the development of characters or historical context to the
film. For instance, ‘The Boy in the Striped Pajama's’ uses dramatic irony in the film
to give a sense of depth of understanding as well as a sense of sinister to suggest that
something bad will happen. For instance, at one point in the film, dramatic irony is
used when the protagonists go into the concentration camp and ask the men whether
they are going to have a “shower” when in fact, the use of the dramatic irony suggests
that they will gassed to death. Because this a good icon for drama films, we may
decide to put this in our film as we want the audience not only to understand the film
and where we are going with it but also to feel uneasy about certain things that occur
within the film.
• To see the clip for ‘The Boy in the Striped Pajama’s’ then please use this
link:

11. Rites Of Passage
• In drama films, rites of passage is a massive iconography for this genre as the
audience likes to see a protagonist/character go through several emotions and
challenges that will stop them. As a result of this then the protagonist normally
comes out much more of a man than they originally were at the beginning of the film.
Examples of this iconography include films such as ‘Forrest Gump’ as in the film the
protagonist at the start comes across as a bit of an outsider who cannot fit into society
and goes through certain trials and tribulation such as going through the Vietnam
War and seeing in later life his crush who dies at the end of the film leaving Forrest to
raise their child. The use of these rites of passage help the audience gain sympathy to
that character and therefore helps the audience see the character progress into
becoming more of a person than they originally were. Because of this, we may decide
not to put this into our film because our protagonist isn’t aware that he is going
through a test of manhood and that he is progressing as a man.
• To see the trailer of ‘Forrest Gump’ then please use this link:

12. Development of Characters
• In Drama films, the development of character is a massive part for iconography as it
shows the progression of the character throughout the movie making the protagonist
more likeable and someone who the audience can connect with in the film. For
instance, ‘Lincoln’ uses the development of character in the film as throughout the
film, the protagonist becomes much more of a man than he was originally giving a
sense of likeability and making him more two dimensional as a character than he
originally was at the start of the film. As a result of this, people are able to connect
with Lincoln as a person and understand his reasons on abolishing slavery and
therefore gives the idea of nostalgia as the audience are able to look back in time and
understand why Lincoln wanted to abolish slavery. This is very effective in dramas
and therefore we may decide to put this in the film as we want the audience to gain
sympathy to the protagonist as he has a dead end job and by having his character
develop then the audience will be able to understand why he hates his job.
• To see the trailer of ‘Lincoln’ then please use this link:

13. Emotional
• In dramas, emotional depth of a character is a big iconography for this genre as in
this genre, the audience like to see a character with an emotional depth to them as a
person. This normally may occur in various ways such as dealing with the passing of
a death, coping with a program of abuse or trying to be someone bigger than what
they already are. An example of this includes ‘The Fault In Our Stars’ as the
characters of Augustus and Hazel go through an emotional storyline which gives both
the characters much more depth to them and a liking which therefore ends up getting
the audience on their side at the end of the film. The use of this also gives the
character more sympathy and therefore ends up showing that there are more than
one side to them and they are not as vain as people think they are. Whilst this is a
very good icon for drama, we may decide not to use this icon as because the film is set
in a virtual world, we may decide that our characters are 1 dimensional characters
because they are game characters and not real people.
• To see the clip from ‘The Fault In Our Stars’ then please use this link: