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Hello everyone and welcome to this week’s lesson on film genre.
Aside from this lecture, there is also an assigned reading due for this week from
the Bordwell and Thompson book (on which this lecture is based), and one
documentary on the horror film.
After you have reviewed these materials, you are asked to take a quiz. The quiz is
based on the reading, the documentary, and this short lecture.
And don’t forget, we have a paper assignment due this week; and this is the film
genre paper.
Well, let’s start talking about film genre.
If you have completed the assigned reading, you would know that the word
“genre” means — type or kind of, or a classification of something
Based on the info sheet and questionnaire you filled out for me, it is pretty clear
that many of you are fans of specific types of films or film genres. Take a moment
to think about the different kinds of film genres that appeal to you … (pause)
In fact, some of us even tend of identify ourselves based on these film
classifications. We say things like: “My life is like a romantic comedy” or “that job
interview felt like a scene from a horror film.”
Indeed, these categories are familiar to us, and meaningful in many ways.
• Film genres help fulfill certain social functions; for example:
o We group ourselves into certain social categories, based on these
genres, like my friend who said, of course she liked Fantasy and sci-fi,
since she proudly considered herself a nerd.
o We identify ourselves as certain types of characters, like someone
saying that she is head-strong and resilient, like Moana, the Disney
animation’s namesake.
o Film genres also carry social, historical, and cultural information; for
example, Indian cinema is known for devotional and mythological
films. These are films that feature religious figures and saints, or
legends and literary classics.
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o In fact, in your reading, Bordwell and Thompson have said that film
genres “reaffirm our cultural values in a predictable way.”
o They do this through ritualized drama – which means, a pattern or
sequence of behaviors that are familiar to us to be representative of
a specific thing. For instance, let’s look at romantic comedies; they
follow a predictable pattern where both protagonists face big
conflicts before finally being able to be together or declare their love
for each other: many romantic comedies, are based on secrets and
lies that create a discord in the relationship of the protagonists, but
eventually the couple ends up together, and we get our happy
ending. And of course, don’t forget that a little humor is expected.
o Film genres also respond to what Bordwell and Thompson call our
ambivalent social values and attitudes; that is, those values and
attitudes that might lurk in our subconscious, or that might not seem
a big deal to us but are in fact actually a big deal. While we may not
consider things like revenge or retribution as part of our value
system, we may cheer a little bit when we see the evil person or
villain in a film get punished for their actions.
o Finally, film genres reflect those things that are important to a
society or culture at a specific time; in the documentary Nightmares
in Red, White, and Blue you will see how the sub-genre of science
fiction horror, with films like 1955’s The Day The World Ended, 1956’s
Invasion of the Body Snatchers and films about mutant monster ants
and spiders are reflections of the fear of atomic bombs and
communism.
It is important to note that there are many types of film genres and sub-genres,
some that may be very familiar to us, and some that may not.
Sub-genres are distinct categories within the larger and broader category of the
film genre; for instance, vampire and slasher films are a sub-genre of the larger
horror film genre.
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So, we have determined that film genre is about our classification of film into
specific categories, that these classifications are meaningful to us in many ways,
and that there are many types of films genres and sub-genres.
But who gets to determine what gets classified into specific categories? Who gets
to say where those categories start and end, and who gets to break those
classifications?
And this is where things get a little fuzzy. You see, film genres are not fixed
categories. These are categories that we have invented to help us describe and
analyze films. These categories take shape and a reified (which means to make
real), they are reified through the ways we write about them, talk about them and
treat them in our everyday interactions.
Genre categories can change, bend, and shift based on our changing culture and
social values. For instance, in the late 1950s romantic comedies featured
romances between cisgender heterosexual couples, usually of the same race.
More recently romantic comedies are more encompassing when it comes to the
race, gender, and sexuality of their lead protagonists.
Still, genre categories are incredibly useful. We depend on them to get
information about certain types of film and what to expect of those films. Can
you imagine what it would be like if you bought a ticket to watch what you
thought was a musical but ended up watching a horror film instead?
Film genres help us figure out what category a film belongs to – in fact, films are
marketed to us based on these categories. After all, we pick our films to watch
based on the film genres we enjoy. I for one, love a good sci-fi or fantasy film.
Some of us are such huge fans of specific genres that we do all we can to know as
much as possible about that genre.
As students of film as art, however, it is important that we understand film genre
from an analytical standpoint. We analyze and evaluate the film based on how it
fulfills, does not fulfill, or reinterprets the conventions of a particular, or particular
genres.
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In order to achieve this, we look to particular conventions around 3 areas: 1) story
and style, 2) Iconography, and 3) History. I will talk about each of these areas
next, but before I do it is necessary to note that your film genre paper should
focus on one of these categories.
So, let’s take a closer look at these categories. Let’s start by focusing on story and
style
Over the course of the next couple of weeks, we will spend a lot of time on a
film’s narrative structure (also known as the story) and the film’s style (this is all
stylistic devices used in the film, from editing, lighting, sound, acting, costuming,
props, and special effects), but here you will get a quick overview of how the
conventions of film genre implicate both story and style.
Let’s first look at plot patterns. The plot is the sequence of events that move the
story forward. In the plot we learn more about the characters, the setting, the
background, and the different things that drive the characters to do what they do
in the story. The plot is the arrangement of events that make up the story.
So, one way we understand typical conventions used in various film genres is to
look at plot patterns.
• For example: In Adventure films: a common plot pattern is where the hero
finally defeats villain after some setbacks, as in the case of Luke Skywalker
finally blowing up the death-star after overcoming many obstacles, in Star
Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
• Another example can be found in Westerns: a typical plotline is that of an
officer of the law tracking down an outlaw, as in the case of the 2010
remake of True Grit, starring Jeff Bridges, who played Deputy Marshall
Reuben Rooster Cogburn. Cogburn is hired by a 14-year old farm girl to
track down an outlaw who murdered her father.
Our next category is narrative or story themes. Themes are simply ideas or topics
on which the story or part of the story is based.
• For example, a common narrative theme in Horror films is simply the idea
that monsters/demons exist and can be summoned (even by accident) as
we found out in the 1981 film, The Evil Dead.
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• Another example is the theme of “love conquers all” which can be found in
Romance films. The Princess Bride, from 1987 is a romance fairy-tale that
tells us a story about a farmboy-pirate who faces many challenges and even
makes a few friends in his quest to be reunited with his one true love. In
the end, love conquers all.
And finally, let’s talk about style. Remember how I earlier noted that style
includes conventions such as editing, lighting, sound, acting, costuming, props and
special effects, that are used in a film.
• It is pretty easy to see that Horror films tend to have low lighting, lots of
shadows and high contrast, and perhaps even a scary soundtrack. Well, this
is certainly what you will see in films like the 1922 German expressionist
horror classic, Nosferatu, which is said to be an adaptation of Bram Stoker’s
1897 book, Dracula.
• In Comedy, stylistic conventions can include such things like
outfits/clothing, fun soundtrack, and wild/bright colors signaling playful
lightheartedness. The Austin Powers comedy film series certainly includes
these elements in its film style.
So, as you can see, conventions around story and style are one way we can
analyze film genre. Another way to look at film genre would be to analyze the
films iconography.
Iconography is recurring or reappearing symbolic images that carry meaning.
When we watch certain films that belong to a certain genre, we expect to see
visuals that indicate that genre.
• The Western is particularly well known for its iconography – in Westerns we
see big, harsh, somewhat deserted landscapes, wilderness and plains
• We also see guns and gunfights
• We see frontier towns
• We see the everlasting horizon
• Both the landscapes and the gunfights symbolize the untamed wild wild
West, while the frontier towns show us the border where civilization meets
the wilderness, or perhaps even progress now encroaching the Western
landscape. The horizon symbolizes the unknown road ahead, filled with all
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types of possibilities. This is an important symbol of the pioneer spirit, the
people who ventured into the West. And that’s how iconography works.
Finally, we will talk about genre analysis through the lens of history. Well, genre
conventions and categories don’t pop out of thin air. We find that many genre
categories mimic already existing categories found in other media. For instance,
science fiction and western film genres mimics that that we find in early science
fiction and western novels. So, in a sense, film genre borrows or is based on
similar types of genre in other media, such as theatre, music, and literature.
When we study film genre from a historical standpoint, what we are doing is to
look at how elements and expectations within that genre has adapted and
changed over the years. A key factor in these changes is technology. Think about
how synchronized sound impacted films – the new technology of synchronized
sound in the 1920s did not simply mean that actors could now talk, it changed the
way films were produced. Scriptwriters had to be good at writing dialogue, actors
should have good articulation and vocal quality, and we started to see fewer
international characters because “accents” were hard to understand.
Importantly, synchronized sound helped create film genres such as the musical
and certain types of comedy that relied on comedic dialogue. The Jazz Singer
released in 1927, was the first feature length motion picture to be produced in
synchronized sound. The Jazz Singer was a musical.
Finally, it is important to note that film genre does not necessarily follow a
particular path or trajectory, but that their popularity comes and goes at different
points in history – we call this genre cycles.
Since 2008, it seems that the sub-genre of superhero films (also called comic-book
films) have gained much traction. In 2017, seven out of the year’s 11 top-grossing
films were superhero films. Steven Spielberg has said that, like the Western,
which saw its heyday in the silver screen from the 1930s to the 1960s, the superhero film will also eventually lose popularity.
Indeed, the popularity of certain genres come and go, this is what we call genre
cycles. Many scholars have tracked the popularity of certain genres to things
happening in the socio-cultural and political context. These are discussions, for
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instance, that are raised in the documentary you are asked to watch this week,
Nightmares in Red, White, and Blue: The Evolution of the Horror film. And
returning to superhero films, in an article on June 20, 2017, The New York Film
Academy traces the rise of superhero films to the economic crash of 2008, and
current political polarization, when people are looking to escape into worlds
where there is clear distinction between the heroes and the villains, and in the
end, the hero wins.
So, I just talked about the three areas for analysis in film genre, which are: 1) story
and style; 2) iconography, and 3) genre history.
There is one last important element to discuss about film genre. This is: Genre
Mixing. This is simply when the conventions of one genre is mixed with another
in a film. Let’s take the 2015 science-fiction film, The Martian, that incorporates
interesting conventions typically found in The Western, from the use of wide
harsh landscapes that look oddly like the Grand Canyon, and storytelling themes
that suggest a pioneer’s struggle for survival in an unforgiving land. So here we
can make the argument that The Martian is a mix of both, science fiction and
western genres
Now that we have covered the important characteristics and components of film
genre, I’d like to end this presentation by discussing how these areas of analysis
will relate to your first paper, the film genre paper.
So, here is the assignment.
Each of you will be given a specific film genre – I will contact you by email with
your assigned film genre by the date specified in the course schedule, and on
CANVAS.
1) Do BACKGROUND RESEARCH on the allocated film genre. Use
credible/academic sources only.
2) WRITE A SHORT PAPER (2 pages) based on the following:
Paper Part 1/Page 1: Overview of the genre
Discuss in general the characteristics of that genre (that you were
allocated).
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Pick ONE of the following to discuss (based on your background research):
— Typical conventions in story/style
— Iconography (recurring symbolic images)
— History
Paper Part 2/Page 2: Analysis
Watch a film (student’s choice) that belongs to that genre. Do a short
analysis explaining how the film reflects (or partially reflects) the
characteristics of that genre as discussed in part one and also identify
possible subgenres.
Mechanics: Double-spaced, 12 pt Times New Roman font or similar.
Cite all sources using APA/MLA/other style. Please use ONE style consistently, and
do not mix different citation styles. Include a reference/works cited page.
Paper is due by the due date and time as listed in the course schedule and on
CANVAS.
Finally, here is a rough sample outline of a genre paper based on an analysis of
iconography in True Grit – this is to help you get a sense of what the different
parts of the paper would look like. Feel free to hit your pause button to look over
the sample outline.
And that all I have for you. Please let me know if you have any questions or
concerns over the lecture or the paper. If not, I wish you a happy and productive
week!
