Crime fiction that breaks conventions?????? (1 Viewer)

[Homey]

hello, for an ext assessment, we have to look at crime fiction texts which go against the typical conventions (like Stoppard)

Can anyone please suggest to me any texts that they know of?
and by text, i mean ANY FORM, so poetry, film, prose etc...anything

thankyou

 

[frodo]

well i would say that lincoln rhyme is against the normal conventions as he is black, disabled and therefore not your typical detective. so yeah, you can find stuff like that in most of the modern texts as they have changed the conventions set by the older crime fiction texts

 

[McLake]

I like the Dirk Gently books by Douglas Adams

 

[classics_chic]

well you can label all sorts of things as crime fiction. In an assignment I did I looked at "children's crime fiction" and did Harry Potter. It keeps some conventions and breaks others. If you look only at the two traditional schools then Dorothy Sayers (short stories) is good although she's in a sub category (realism or something- if you're desperate pretend you don't know that).

also The Bill more recently- sort of hard boiled but with a touch of soap- what's with that? CSI is forming a new sub-genre but doesn't fit with the traditional two. Also futuristic crime fiction is good- like Minority Report.

 

[classics_chic]

well i would say that lincoln rhyme is against the normal conventions as he is black, disabled and therefore not your typical detective. so yeah, you can find stuff like that in most of the modern texts as they have changed the conventions set by the older crime fiction texts

Lincoln Rhyme is only black in the film. If you look at the Deaver books it never mentions Rhyme's race. Also I think the film fits more into a traditional approach because Rhyme is still the strong detective with the fumbling sidekick (what's his name- the one that likes the woman who's played by Jolie- Sachs in the books). Jolie plays the body of Rhyme and therefore he's a complete detective.

In the book however, it's Thom the assistant instead of Thelma (traditional gender role hitting you hard!), Sachs isn't the highly attractive woman who's necessary in crime fiction plus she has more of her own mind. The weakness of Rhyme is also far more evident in the books.

(sorry it's been awhile since I've seen the film)

 

[classics_chic]

Also for a song (it's short, and it's different) try Walla Walla by The Offspring. You can find the lyrics on the web.

 

[bitchymcbitch]

kill bill... encorporates many mediums.. film noir, anime.. etc

 

[leikWHOA]

I like Ben Elton's "Dead Famous". It subverts some conventions, supports others. It's really good for talking about the values in today's society. If you haven't read it, it's a really easy read and has so many things you can use in a response. It's set in a Big Brother-esque house, so you've got your closed circle of suspects. Then, it subverts typical cosy conventions because it looks into the motives and psychology of the crime. It's got the crime, but you don't find out who it was who was killed until half way through the book. The detective is from the police, and he's a pretty boring male detective, out of touch with today's youth. Then there's the female who's helping him, and she's a lesbian, so you can talk about subversions there, and how society is more open to females and homosexuality. Also, because it's a reality-tv show, you get to talk about the media and reality tv, and the values (or lack thereof) shown by the media. There's tonnes more I can say on this book, but unless anyone intends to use it - I wont bore you

 

[Becky444]

Thanks for that, im stuck for "good" ideas for my crime fiction texts..pfft
If you have anything else, would be great!

 

[Just-Me]

hello, for an ext assessment, we have to look at crime fiction texts which go against the typical conventions (like Stoppard)

Can anyone please suggest to me any texts that they know of?
and by text, i mean ANY FORM, so poetry, film, prose etc...anything

thankyou

hey have you had a look at sophie scholl? its a film about a crime committed by a german during ww2.
it has all the conventions of crime fiction except the motive.
i discussed it with my teacher and we concluded that because her motive was for the 'greater good' as opposed to be malevolent causes question to arise as to whether or not it really is a crime fiction text. but it could be useful for what you want to discuss since it has an investigation and a lead detective. etc. the motive however, although credible is like not? if that makes any sens,
but yeah SOPHIE SCHOLL, <--- hope i helped

 

[stillwaters]

dexter- tv series based upon books from someone lindsay i think, from pov of serial murderer (who kills people who deserve to be killed e.g. paedophiles etc.)
brick- it's film that uses the film noir conventions like archetypes of femme fatale, gumshoe detective, grimy aesthetics but it's set in american high school (miles away from all those teen comedies et.c)
the departed (by martin scorsese) (or the original hk movie, infernal affairs with dreamboats tony leung and andy lau ) might be good too... blurs the line between good and evil, where two moles (one in police and the other in some gang) try to find each other's identity first
i didnt do crime fiction as my elective so not sure if these texts would fit in, but check em out