Andrea Sierra

9-28-22

ENGL 2120

Spy Thriller Genre analysis

Secrets and espionage are two of the main

contributing factors that make up the Spy

genre, whether it is in movies, shows and

anime. As for the Thriller aspect that can be

found within a Spy related media, it is to be

expected to see suspenseful and dark plots that can lead to crazy plot twists and can include

heavy action packed scenes. While the action sequences are what keeps the audience glued in

their seats due to their cinematography and the tension it brings towards characters, the build up

of what is going to happen and if everything will be resolved keeps the audience at the edge of

their seats throughout the whole movie.

Spies in general are people who are highly trained both physically and mentally in order to fulfill

jobs that are dangerous, are secret to the public or consist of getting their hands dirty where no

questions are asked. They are strong people who at times have their morals in a place that is

questionable to a normal day to day person.

This aspect is very important since this tends

to distinguish them from everyone around

them who don’t live the kind of life they do.

Their morals and humanity is tested on the

daily and at times that test ends up being a lover, past friend or family who comes back to haunt

them in this new life they may have. While Spy Thrillers do

tend to be works of fiction, there are times in which they

are based on true historical events and real people who

went through what they character did, such as ex CIA

agents, even at times some events in said movie, or book

was briefly inspired by an event that occur in real life.

While the thriller aspect is what gives the genre a kick of

action filled scenes and makes it more interesting, there are

times in which romance and comedy can make their way

through a movie as serious as one that deals with murder, secrets and spies. Despite the different

life they are living and how they may have different perspectives opposed to normal citizens they

do get to experience some form of fun in their life as well as love.

Love within the Spy Thriller life is very much short lived. It does not last. The person was

simply not made for that and it eventually ends up affecting their work or comes back to haunt

them. All movies who have a romantic interest always ends with them dying or simply

disappearing and never to be seen. Love makes them weak, and it

is something they can have if they want to keep them safe or

keep the kind of job they are doing as well as that it messes with

the morals the organization they work for has set for them. This is

a very common trope found within Spy Thriller films, since you

are living your way of life in secret. That as well as having a

family is not really an option. Most Spies have no family

background to keep them safe, or simply because the organization made sure to choose people

who had no one in order to mold them into an agent of their own liking. This can be seen in

Movies such as Salt, Black Widow, American

Assassin and Atomic blonde. All the characters

in those movies have no family. They were

orphans who were raised with the mindset of

being an intellectual spy with specialized

skills, or they are people who lost their lover and are looking for revenge. It is also very common

to see, for those who do have family or a lover who disappeared to come back and haunt them

and become their enemy. It has also come to a point in which a character was said to be dead and

many years later they end up appearing alive.Sometimes a dead friend who just came back to life

is sometimes the plot twist of the film and the turning point where the character’s values are

challenged. They either go with the plan their

organization was given them or go with their

gut and let their humanity through to fix the

antagonist. In Captain America: The Winter

soldier, Steve Rogers (Captain America) was

driven to fight the antagonist that was known

as The Winter soldier. It isn’t until they are

fighting one on one that Steve realizes that The Winter soldier was none other than his dead

friend from many years ago and has been brainwashed by the bad guys. He is very loyal to his

country and organization and follows with no question, with the mindset of a soldier, and it is
then where he decides to be that same man or change to safe his friend from the hands of the bad

organization.

Revenge is one of the main reasons that is thrown around within Spy films. Whether it is the

main character that is seeking revenge for being done wrong, or it is the antagonist seeking it and

getting back at the protagonist or the world. There have been times where those said enemies are

ex-friends of Bond and even co workers who want revenge for something he had done to them or

their family. Such as the new Bond

movie, No Time To Die, where

Rami Malek’s character Safin

wants revenge for the death of his

family by the organization

Spectre.This anger and revenge led

to Safin into becoming a wanted terrorist who wanted to end the world. Another common trope

of a race against time to try to save the world. What is a spy without trying to save the world

from a dangerous gas that could lead the the end of humanity or a nuclear war. While many of

their missions may consist of simply killing, protecting or hiding a secret there are occasions

where it is up to this one spy to save the whole world. In the Anime Spy x family, Loid is a secret

agent from the intelligence agency WISE, whose current mission is to prevent war between the

two countries of Westalis and Ostania. While both of

those countries do not exist, it is believed that they

are both based of Western Germany and Eastern

Germany. This comes back to the way in which some

Spy Thrillers tend to bring in events of situations that

occurred historically and base their stories off them in a fictionalized way or simply base their

characters in the real life events such as Atomic Blond which is based on the eve of the collapse

of the Berlin Wall.

While facing missions as important as stopping

terrorists and world ending events, Spy Thrillers

bring in the use of Spy gear that does not exist in

real life but do in the genre and are simply very

effective and help out with the most basic things.

Technology tends to be very advanced in these worlds to the point in which the gadgets may

seem very unrealistic to exist in the real world with us. If there is no mention or use of special

weapons then is it really a spy thriller?

When saving the earth conflict will arise with the antagonist and a showdown will occur.

Whether it is with a team facing a lot of

enemies or a one on one fight with the

villain, a fight with heavy action packed

scenes is essential and makes up the

whole movie as it is a battle of good vs

evil.

Overall the Spy Thriller genre, is a very heavy action filled genre that only few medias tend to

get it done well. It requires a lot of planning and a convoluted plot that depicts many perspectives

about what is good and evil and just how far someone would go to get what they want. While

many movies do have these kinds of plots, Spies are rarely seen in other genres that aren't their
own. They tend to navigate through dark themes and violence and at times will talk about real

events that may be triggering to some.

 Citations

“Atomic Blonde.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 31 Aug. 2022,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_Blonde.

“Captain America: The Winter Soldier.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Sept. 2022,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_America:_The_Winter_Soldier.

Guest, Our Special. “How to Write a Spy Thriller without Being a Spy • Career Authors.”

Career Authors, 20 July 2021,

https://careerauthors.com/how-to-write-a-spy-thriller-without-being-a-spy/.

“How to Write a Spy Thriller: 6 Tips - 2022.” MasterClass,

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-write-a-spy-thriller.

“Spy Film Movies and Films - Find Spy Film Movie Recommendations, Casts, Reviews,

and Summaries - Allrovi.” Movies and Films - Find Spy Film Movie Recommendations,

Casts, Reviews, and Summaries - AllRovi,

https://web.archive.org/web/20120117090541/http://www.allrovi.com/movies/genre/spy-fil

m-d515.

“Spy Film.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Sept. 2022,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spy_film#:~:text=The%20spy%20film%2C%20also%20kno

wn,as%20many%20James%20Bond%20films).

“What Is a Thriller?” Celadon Books, 10 May 2021,

https://celadonbooks.com/what-is-a-thriller/.
“World.” Spy x Family Wiki, https://spy-x-family.fandom.com/wiki/World#Westalis.
 Reflection

The overall purpose of this project was to analyze the genre that is Spy thriller and find what

makes it called a spy thriller. By doing so, you can examine a movie, book, anime, game or

drama and determine for yourself if it meets all the criteria to be under said genre. I

accomplished this by looking deep into the plot of movies and anime to see what made them spy

focused. While the obvious would be the fight sequences and if there are any spies in the story,

some plot tropes are commonly only seen in spy thrillers and move the overall plot. The reason

as to why I choose this genre is because I’ve always watched movies within the spy genre due to

its plot. They always tend to bring unexpected twists and plot twists you at times do not see

coming and the unexpectedness is what makes the movie interesting. While I was familiarized

with this genre, the tropes that tend to follow the main character was something that I just

noticed and focused on that. Almost every spy goes through the same trials and tribulations that

determines their morality and challenges them if what they are doing is right or wrong.