The Importance Of Genre

Genre is an important device in the creation of new films, used by producers to develop upon films of a similar nature, so the audiences are able to, to a certain extent, predict whats to come, and know what to expect. Certain aspects are kept similar throughout films of a similar nature, such as murder and spooky settings in horror films, or love and a problematic situation with humorous consequences in a Rom Com. However, though most aspects of a new film of a specific genre can often be anticipated, producers attempt to introduce new and exciting features, unpredictable within a common genre structure to entice audiences and keep them guessing.

Examples of this include-

Horror
Mass murderer
Damsel in distress
Desolate landscape/ building
Blood and gore
Fast paced cuts and quiet creeping piano music

Sci Fi
Futuristic settings (e.g. space)
Far advanced technology
Aliens and other-worldy creatures
Fast paced action
Battle scenes/ warfare


All these features are instantly recognisable within the audience members mind as aspects of specific genre based films. However, through trailers and poster promotions selling a specific film to an audience, stars and celebrities common to certain roles, be they action heroine or quiet serial killer, can also make a films genre pre-recognisable, and be the deciding factor in whether or not someone decides to view a particular film.

For Example-

Angelina Jolie is renowned
for her active, heroine roles,
where the female takes
control and saves the day,
although has also been known
to perform well in more challenging,
drama roles, such as 'Changeling'.
She challenges many typical
conventions of a female role
in a film, and the individual
may choose to see a particular
film, solely due to her participation.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is another example of an individual commonly seen in specific roles. Known for action packed Hollywood Blockbuster films, he is nearly always the hero, jam packed with guns and machines to complement his muscley physique, and saves the day, rescuing the damsel in distress. Though, similar to Angelina Jolie, a select few of his roles include a softer side to the hard man, such as, "KinderGarten Cop", a comedy where he is a soft and gentle teacher. However, though this is an unusual role to see him in, the incorporation of crime fighting and fight scenes keeps his main role expectancy alive.

Lesson One- Film Trailers and Genre Recognition
We have looked at many different film trailers, to attempt to identify whether or not genre can be easily recognisable from a quick paced serious of clips and plot summary, which we often briefly see in a film trailer.

Kill Bill.








Within this film trailer, it was immediately evident the main genre throughout would be action, due to its fast paced sequencing and iconography, of long bladed knives and martial arts. However, a Western theme from the graphics and the close ups of weaponary and just the eyes is evident, perhaps adding a different twist to a seemingly straightforward search and kill tale. Music is heavily digetic, with the clinking of blades and shouting. Camera shots and angles focus on tracing and mid shots, with the camera constantly moving and changing direction to maintain interest, and add to the fast paced action and immediacy.
I thought overall this film trailer was effective in distinguishing genre , though failed to clearly detail the narrative, or give clues as to whether or not it was chronological, its place of setting, or what the general idea was. Perhaps the director chose to do this, in order to pull audiences in with clues and mystery, making them more inclined to go and see the film.


Kill Bill Vol 2.







In order to distinguish whether or not director Quentin Tarantino often did this with his many successful blockbuster films, we then watched Kill Bill Vol 2, the sequel to the first. The second trailer cohears alongside the first, with its western iconograpy and bloody violence aspects. This time however a clearer picture can be built, due to its revelation of her life before the first film, and reasoning behind her vengeful journey.


Lesson Two- Further understanding of film classification.


Hybrid Films
Where more often than not films tend to consist of one sole genre, for easy recognisability, some times directors choose to combine two or more, to create a hybrid film. This consists of two genres, such as horror and romance, or possibly more, mixed together to add a brand new exciting aspect to a previously predicatble tale. There are many more emerging in todays society, as an expanding audience of all ages grows more and more hungry for new and unexpected twists and turns in hollywood blockbusters. Examples of hybrid films include :

1. Twilight- a horror tale of vampires, with an intergrated fresh young love story, bringing a modern twist to an age old taboo.

2. Harry Potter-  A wizarding spellbinding story of magic and mystery, with many interlinking mini- genre aspects, such as love, action, and horror.

3. White Chicks- This film is generally under the category of comedy, with its humourous antics and unrealistic storyline, though is throughout closely linked with crime and action, as the two central characters battle to unearth lies and fight the bad guys along the way, with a madcap outcome.


Hybrid films are particularly effective in keeping audiences entertained, and curious, as the plots tend to take unexpected routes, and turn what would be an average predicatble storyline into an intriguing enjoyable watch.


Summary- In 250 words, explain why genre is important to both directors and audiences when watching and the production of films.

It is evident that there are many advantages to using to genre to form the foundations of a film. By choosing a specific genre, aspects of narrative can be identified, and thus incorporated into the film, such as blood and gore for horror, to create an effective and easily recognisable genre film. Directors find it essential in development, as without it, there would be little to go by on how to form characters, setting, and general plot. Also, by using genre as a basis, new exciting twists can be incorporated to allow a fresh outlook on an ageing plot. Audiences find genre essential, as their favourite can be identified. Then, the specific aspects of their favourite genre can then be recognised in other new films, and from this, they are more likely to want to go and watch a film of their preferred specification.