Film Genres Introduction to Film Studies

Film Genre Genre – a French word meaning ‘kind’ or ‘class’ A distinctive type or category of films sharing with each other a number of similarities in subject narrative, and style Fiction and non-fiction; silent film and talkie (sound) film; B/W and colour film, etc. (larger categories) The Western, the musical film, the action picture, the horror movie, etc. (smaller categories)

Film Genre Problem 1 To take a genre such as the ‘western’, analyse it, and list its principal characteristics, is to beg the question that we must first isolate the body of films which are ‘westerns’. But they can only be isolated on the basis of the ‘principal characteristics’ which can only be discovered from the films themselves after they have been isolated. A chicken and egg situation

Film Genre Problem 2 The films categorized in a genre often have more differences from each other than similarities to each other. ‘Genres... are not discrete systems, consisting of a fixed number of listable items’

Film Genre Problem 3 Genres overlap There are ‘mixed genres’ ‘romance’ and ‘thriller’ / ‘SF’ and ‘film noir’ Particular features which are characteristics of a genre are not unique to it

However - necessity to study genres Almost all popular or commercial films of most countries rest upon genre filmmaking: following a set of established narrative patterns, taking up certain fixed social subjects, adopting the shared distinctive mood, and imitating predetermined visual styles Commercial consideration – less likelihood of failure at box office when a film is based on genre conventions Conservative tastes of the popular audience

Film Genre Paradox: ‘genres are instances of repetition and difference’ A film repeats what has been done in other films of the same genre, but ‘difference is absolutely essential to the economy of genre, as complete repetition would not attract the audience’ ‘… any instance of a genre will be necessarily different.’ Tzvetan Todorov

Film Genre Differences and alterations made by a filmmaker are values of the film It is where individual creativity is shown and contribution to film is made. To look a film in historical context – development of a genre

Defining a Genre Some genres are more closely connected with their subjects or themes. Gangster film centre on large-scale urban crime and corruption Western film on life in the American ‘frontier’ from Alaska to Mexico

Defining a Genre No common subject and theme in musical film. The genre is defined by manner of presentation: singing, dancing and music Detective film by plot patterns – crime, investigation and solution

Defining a Genre Some film genres are defined by the distinctive emotional effects Amusement in comedy Tension and thrill in thriller

Defining a Genre Some by stronger emotional impact Sorrow and sympathy in melodrama Horror in horror film

Genres and Subgenres A coherent group of films within a genre The backstage musical – which centres on professional staging of an entertainment and drama about the entertainment business: 42nd Street (1933) and Fame (1980, 2009) Fame Fame

Genres and Subgenres Folk musical – in which ordinary people sing or dance their way through the story Vincent Minnelli’s Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), Hair (1979) and Woody Allen’s Everybody Says I Love You (1996) Hair Hair

Genres and Subgenres Comedy has its subgenres such as slapstick comedy (a type made of physical and exaggerated jokes, boisterous actions (e.g. pie in the face) and farce), romantic comedy (with light-hearted and humorous plots and love romance) Night at the opera When Harry Met Sally Night at the opera When Harry Met Sally

Genres and Subgenres Screwball comedy film – unconventional characters (thus, screwball – slang for oddball) involving in courtship, marriage or remarriage in farcial situations with a combination of slapsticks and fast talk.

Mixed Genres Genre mixing common in popular filmmaking Musical Westerns (Roy Roger, a singer and actor, appeared in a number of Westerns in which he played a cowboy and sang) Musical horrors such as Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) timewarp timewarp

Mixed Genres Alien (1979) mixes SF, horror, the war movie, and monster film elements. Blade Runner (1982) SF, detective story and film noir elements. Both directed by Ridley Scott

National Genres Some countries have their own film genres which are unique to it and have developed from their distinctive cultural necessities and social need. Heimatfilm (homeland film) – popular in Germany, Switzerland and Austria between the 1940s and 70s.

National Genres Set in the most Germanic rural locations – the Alps, the Black Forest or Lüneburg Heath Heimatfilme have in common sentimental tone and simple morality, and typically centre on small town life, love, friendship, family, and rural life. Yearning for an old, simple world untouched and unspoiled by war experiences.

National Genres ‘Devotionals’ are Hindi films about the lives of saints and religious figures ‘Mythologicals’ are Hindi films derived from legend and literary classics.

National Genres The Ranchera – light comedy in Mexican rural settings with songs and music The Cabaretera – Mexican melodrama / film noir set in seedy urban settings (mainly in cabaret or music hall) with corrupt women, crime and sexual conflicts

National Genres Kung Fu film – a Chinese subgenre of martial arts film which contains many kung fu actions and have their appeal and entertainment value in plenty of kung fu actions. Their narratives are simple and often absurd. Fists of Fury Fists of Fury

National Genres Chanbara (sward-play or swashbuckler) film – a subgenre of jidaigeki, period drama. Developing from the Kabuki and other theatre, the post-war chanbara films were action-based with darker and violent characters. Their central moment is a well-choreographed sward fight. Zatoichi Zatoichi

National Genre Shomingeki (ordinary folk drama) – relatively realistic film which focus on the lives of common people, simply just surviving their everyday affairs. Yasujiro Ozu, the greatest maker of those. Floating Weeds 1 Floating Weeds 2Floating Weeds 1Floating Weeds 2

National Genres Yakuza film – popular genre in Japanese cinema which focuses on the lives and dealings of yakuza with typical narrative patterns of a small clan fighting a losing battle against a large clan; or an individual or a loner makes a brave battle against a powerful clan.