Film Studies: Genres

When a film is labeled a Western, a musical or a romantic comedy, audiences already have certain preconceptions and expectations about what genre, or kind, of film it is. Although within each category films differ in many respects, they share comparable, recognizable patterns in terms of theme, period and setting, and plot, and in their use of iconography, or symbols, and the type of characters portrayed.

Genres We tend to understand films through the conventions that they use in telling their story. Conventions can cover such things as characters we expect to see, particular situations, themes. These are governed by the particular genre into which a film fits.

So, a western will have certain kinds of characters and situations that are particular to only that type of film. The same could be said for science fiction. These 'types of film' are normally referred to as genres.

Genres are kinds of movies that have recognizable patterns such as similar Themes Period and setting Plot Iconography, or symbols Characters

Each studio specialized in a particular genre: Universal (horror), Warner Bros. (gangster), MGM (musical), and Paramount (comedy). Some directors became connected with a specific genre: John Ford (Westerns), Cecil B. DeMille (epics), Alfred Hitchcock (thrillers), Vincent Minnelli (musicals), and Douglas Sirk (melodrama). But it was with the stars that the public most associated certain types of pictures: James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson (gangster), Joan Crawford (melodrama), Fred Astaire (musical), John Wayne (Western) and Bela Lugosi (horror).

Genre Student Task How many genres can you name? What do you expect to find in films of each genre?