A film genre is a
motion picture category based on similarities in either the narrative elements
or the emotional response to the film (namely, serious, comic, etc.). Most
theories of film genre are borrowed from literary genre criticism. The basic
genres include fiction and documentary, from which subgenres have emerged, such
as docufiction and docudrama. Other subgenres include the courtroom and
trial-focused drama known as the legal drama. Types of fiction which may seem
unrelated can also be combined to form hybrid subgenres, such as the melding of
horror and comedy in the Evil Dead films. Other popular combinations are the
romantic comedy and the action comedy film.
Films can also be
classified by the setting, theme, topic, mood, format, target audience or
budget. The setting is the environment where the story and action takes place
(e.g., a war film, a Western film or a space opera film). The theme or topic
refers to the issues or concepts that the film revolves around (e.g., science
fiction film, sports film or crime film). The mood is the emotional tone of the
film (e.g., comedy film, horror film or tearjerker film). Format refers to the
way the film was shot (e.g., anamorphic widescreen) or the manner of
presentation (e.g.: 35 mm, 16 mm or 8 mm). Additional ways of categorizing film
genres is by the target audience (e.g., children's film, teen film or women's
film) or by type of production (e.g., B movie, big-budget blockbuster or
low-budget film).
Pure and hybrid genres
American film historian
Janet Staiger states that the genre of a film can be defined in four ways. The
"idealist method" judges films by predetermined standards. The
"empirical method" identifies the genre of a film by comparing it to
a list of films already deemed to fall within a certain genre. The apriori
method uses common generic elements which are identified in advance. The
"social conventions" method of identifying the genre of a film is
based on the accepted cultural consensus within society. Martin Loop contends
that Hollywood films are not pure genres, because most Hollywood movies blend
the love-oriented plot of the romance genre with other genres. Jim Colins
claims that since the 1980s, Hollywood films have been influenced by the trend
towards "ironic hybridization", in which directors combine elements
from different genres, as with the Western/science fiction mix in Back to the
Future Part III.
Many films cross into
multiple genres. Recently, film theorist Robert Stam challenged whether genres
really exist, or whether they are merely made up by critics. Stam has
questioned whether "genres [are] really 'out there' in the world or are
they really the construction of analysts?". As well, he has asked whether there is a
"... finite taxonomy of genres or are they in principle infinite?"
and whether genres are "...timeless essences ephemeral, time-bound
entities? Are genres culture-bound or trans-cultural?" Stam has also asked whether genre analysis
should aim at being descriptive or prescriptive. While some genres are based on
story content (the war film), other are borrowed from literature (comedy,
melodrama) or from other media (the musical). Some are performer-based (Fred
Astaire and Ginger Rogers films) or budget-based (blockbusters), while others
are based on artistic status (the art film), racial identity (Race films),
location (the Western), or sexual orientation (Queer cinema).
Audience expectations
Many genres have
built-in audiences and corresponding publications that support them, such as
magazines and websites. For example, horror films have a well-established
fanbase that reads horror magazines such as Fangoria. Films that are difficult
to categorize into a genre are often less successful. As such, film genres are
also useful in the areas of marketing, film criticism and the analysis of
consumption. Hollywood story consultant John Truby states that "...you
have to know how to transcend the forms [genres] so you can give the audience a
sense of originality and surprise."
Some screenwriters use
genre as a means of determining what kind of plot or content to put into a
screenplay. They may study films of specific genres to find examples. This is a
way that some screenwriters are able to copy elements of successful movies and
pass them off in a new screenplay. It is likely that such screenplays fall
short in originality. As Truby says, "Writers know enough to write a genre
script but they haven’t twisted the story beats of that genre in such a way
that it gives an original face to it".
Grouping vs. genre
There are other methods
of dividing films into groups besides genre. For example, auteur critics group
films according to their auteur-directors. Some groupings may be casually
described as genres although the definition is questionable.vFor example, while
independent films are sometimes discussed as if they are a genre in-and-of
themselves, independent productions can belong to any genre. Similarly, while
art films are referred to as a genre by film scholar David Bordwell, who states
that "art cinema itself is a [film] genre, with its own distinct
conventions", an art film can be in a number of genres (e.g., drama,
experimental film, black comedy, etc.).
Categorization
Because genres are
easier to recognize than to define, academics agree they cannot be identified
in a rigid way. Furthermore, different countries and cultures define genres in
different ways. A typical example are war movies. In US, they are mostly
related to the two World Wars, whereas in other countries, movies related to
wars in other historical periods are considered war movies.
Film genres may appear
to be readily categorizable from the setting of the film. Nevertheless, films
with the same settings can be very different, due to the use of different
themes or moods. For example, while both The Battle of Midway and All Quiet on
the Western Front are set in a wartime context and might be classified as
belonging to the war film genre, the first examines the themes of honor,
sacrifice, and valour, and the second is an anti-war film which emphasizes the
pain and horror of war. While there is an argument that film noir movies could
be deemed to be set in an urban setting, in cheap hotels and underworld bars,
many classic noirs take place mainly in small towns, suburbia, rural areas, or
on the open road.
The editors of
filmsite.org argue that animation, pornographic film, documentary film, silent
film and so on are non-genre-based film categories.
Linda Williams argues
that horror, melodrama, and pornography all fall into the category of
"body genres", since they are each designed to elicit physical
reactions on the part of viewers. Horror is designed to elicit spine-chilling,
white-knuckled, eye-bulging terror; melodramas are designed to make viewers cry
after seeing the misfortunes of the onscreen characters; and pornography is
designed to elicit sexual arousal. This approach can be extended: comedies make
people laugh, tear-jerkers make people cry, feel-good films lift people's
spirits and inspiration films provide hope for viewers.
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