Reading this chapter has changed my prior beliefs about what defines a genre. I thought it would be very clear and specific like comedy, science fiction, horror, and action. But as the book mentioned, it is really hard to categorize hundreds or thousands of film into one single genres. There’s a lot more nuances to it with the creation of subgenres and mixing genres.

I would like to compare the two films that we watched in class that would both fit the genre of romance: Portrait of a Lady on Fire and All That Heaven Allows. Both films talk about love, yet in different ways while eliciting nuanced themes. Portrait of a Lady on Fire talked about memory, sorority, and the way society thinks about love. It is very interesting that I discovered that this sense of non-conformity is also present in All That Heaven Allows as it discussed superficiality and societal expectation of love. The societal norm of heterosexual relationships effect Marianne and Heloise’s relationship, when Heloise’s mother was present at the house. It is similar to how Cary’s friends and family’s view affect her relationship with Ron. While these two films took place in very different setting and plot building, I see the reason why they can be categorized in the same or at least similar genre. Before reading this chapter, I have not noticed such common ideas behind the two films that are categorized under the same genre of romance. Learning about this, I understood how as viewers, knowing what genre particular films are in effect how we approach, and what to expect in a film. We are presented with these prior beliefs, and this has helped me develop deeper understanding to both of these two films, Portrait of a Lady on Fire and All That Heaven Allows.

The book further talks about genre-specific techniques, but I cannot really think of similarities behind those two films. Because of the long-time difference between those two films are produced, cinematography and mise-en-scene techniques have changed. I think this further speaks about the fact that genres are nuanced, and it sometimes only speaks about the most high-level idea of a film to viewers but does not really capture any more information. This actually raised a question for me distinguishing between theme and genre. It seemed to me that themes are more specific than genre, but also satisfies many of the purposes of genre, like reflecting social norms or changes, helping producers decide what to make and advertise, and helping viewers pick films according to their taste. It would be really helpful to address this in class!