Category: Week 10 (10/27 + 10/39) • Genre

I always thought the idea of genre and sub genres is interesting in movies. Humans have an innate desire to categorize things (Genre of music, type of food, species of animal). Film is no exception. Although films just stem from an idea in a single human’s brain, we feel the need to categorize it into something boiled down. Chapter 9 discusses how to recognize those categories, and gives a few examples of its’ own.The chapter describes genre as a a category of films that share conventions such as plot structures, character types, setting, themes, etc. We learn to recognize genres by associating specific elements with larger groups. For example, the idea of revenge is often associated with Westerns, the theme of loyalty is associated with martial arts fils, and even specific symbols like a Tommy Gun is associated with gangster films.

The chapter also discusses the concept of life cycles within genre, which I found to be very interesting. The idea is that there seems to be a clear arc when it comes to some genres: An emergence of the genre, a rise, a peak, and a decline. Such examples include the introduction and eventual over saturation of disaster movies, large scale fantasy movies, and dystopias. I think that some genres have definitely proved to withstand the test of time, but I find it interesting that film genres are as much of a trend as fashion or food. Film makers learn from one another, leading to certain trends and eventual ends of trends.

The chapter also gives us a case study on four genres: The Western, the horror film, musicals, and sports movies. The chapter discusses how Westerns, for example are derived large in part from reality, and displays common themes of order vs. lawlessness. Westerns are also widely recognized from their iconography: Railroads, spurs, horses, wagons, etc. Horror films are less recognizable by iconography, and more definable by emotions. Specifically, horror films evoke feelings of disgust and fear. Musicals, on the other hand, are an example of technological development. As we saw in Singin’ in the Rain (Kelly, 1952), the implementation of music and dialogue in film was revolutionary, and the concept of the Musical was defining of that innovation. Lastly, sports films are largely categorized by their use of a ‘Big Game’, a win or lose moment between the ‘good guys and bad guys’. They often feature underdogs, and end in joyful, unexpected success. These are just some ways that films can be categorized, and how we recognize them.

This week’s reading takes us away from the harder, technical knowledge of the class of editing, cinematography, and mise-en-scene, and towards more big-picture aspects of film: the film genre. This reading covered some history and logistics behind genres, as well as four of the main genres in American film: the Western, Horror, Musical, and Sports. I thought this was an interesting list–I figured rom-coms would be featured, but I figured wrong. This list was still very interesting to read, and covered in-depth descriptions of each genre type. Here’s a brief re-telling of the genres:

The Western movie is a classic, born at the beginning of the 20th century, not so much later than the birth of film itself. I really liked the beginning of this description, the Western film displays the “conflict between civilized order and the lawless frontier.” Whenever I think about a Western, I consider the rebellious aspect of it a lot. Also, the standoffish nature of it all, with duels and the whole “this town ain’t big enough for the two of us” deal.

Horror movies, as well as the Horror genre, are characterized very distinctly by their subjects, themes, and iconography. Iconography, especially, is prevalent in this genre. The Horror genre immediately elicits images of Jason’s mask from Halloween or the doll from Annabelle. All of these are very iconic examples of iconography.

As a theatre kid, I’m very familiar with the musical genre–both onstage and onscreen. There are two types of musical films: the “backstage musical” and the “straight musical.” The backstage musical contains actors that perform for an audience in their story world, while a straight musical follows a typical narrative, just with singing and dancing throughout as a storytelling mechanism. A good example of a straight musical is Singin’ in the Rain!

The last genre on the list is the sports movie. I haven’t seen many, but the first that comes to mind is a classic from my childhood, The Sandlot. This genre is characterized by not only sports-playing, but by competitions and tournaments and typically containing the big game at the story’s climax. Additionally, this is where the popular underdog narrative often takes place.