Notes on Genre

Genre means the type of media it is, for example horror, sci-fi, comedy, fantasy or romance.

When you see things expected from any types of film, such as horror you start to see GENERIC CONVENTIONS. Conventions are things you specifically see in different films of the same genre, such as; in the film 'Die Hard' it uses action props (e.g. guns) and the narrative contains fight scenes between hero and villain. You recognize that a film is generic because of the number of times you have seen the conventions in the specific genre.

Generic Conventions (what you are looking for): 

• Typical Micro Elements-colour,costume, font, lighting, props etc.
• Typical Narratives-character types/structure of the story.
• Typical Themes-achieving goals/ crime and punishment/good vs evil etc.

Hybrid:

Some films are not specifically one genre, they could appear to use generic conventions from a number of different genres. These are called HYBRIDS. An example of a hybrid is 'Shaun Of The Dead' which is a romantic zombie comedy. The film 'Red' is an action comedy. 

Challenging and Typical Conventions:

Proving that a film is generic is simple pointing out some of the micro elements from it. However films can sometimes use things that you wouldn't expect of that genre. These are called CHALLENGING CONVENTIONS. Using these types of conventions in films can be good it can help make the film more exciting and stop them from becoming repetitive. 

Audience is highly important as it shows what types of people would like the film based on age/gender/personal preference in society then choices are made accordingly e.g. teen movie 'chick flick' 

It is the producers job to market and publicist films according to genre as they will know which genre fans to reach. They will see that genres have done well at the cinema and try to repeat that success by making films of the same genre. 

Categorizing Films- Bad or Good?

Bad:

• "They're all the same" stereotyping
• Because of the above audiences got bored and stopped watching

Good: 

• Genre provides structure which can build the creativity (especially when a genuine reworking of generic conventions comes along) 
• Genre provides key elements for an audience to recognize keeping them fully involved and enjoying the film. 
• Genre allows for expectations to be met, resulting in a more fulfilled audience.