1. Week 7 Lecture
Film Genres

2. What is a film genre?
• A film genre is a structure of story that is repeated again and again. They often
have the same settings, character types, conflicts and values
• Genres are the means by which we classify the movies that we watch; they give
order to the many titles that are created
• Genres are usually derived from one of four major components to a film: Setting,
Theme, Mood and Format
– Setting
• Fantasy films
• War film
• Westerns
– Theme
• Science Fiction
• Art films
• Film Noir
– Mood
• Drama
• Comedy
• Horror
• Thriller
• Action and Adventure
– Format
• Documentary
• Animation
• Musical

3. How are film genres developed?
• Genres are initially developed by a film
that is trying to tell a new, original story.
– Film studios, in their efforts to repeat previous
successes, will make movies that have the
same components as previously successful
films
• Repeated success will lead to more films
based on the conventions of the previous
film; studios do so because they want to
be sure that there will be an audience for
a specific film
• A genre will not continue if there is not an
audience for it
– Zombie movies continue to be made because
there is a very specific audience who will go
and see the movies

4. Why are film genres so popular?
• Much in the same way that genre films are created because
filmmakers know that there will be an audience for the film (based
off the previous film’s success), we as audiences go to see movies
based on their genre because we know what to expect
• For example: I like to see heist films, I like the twists that come in the
story, like in Ocean’s 11. Because I expect to like this style of film, I am
likely to go see a new one when it comes out if I feel that it matches the
conventions of the genre
• The Genre acts as a contract with the audience, they will expect that
there will be certain elements in the movie based on its genre, if
those elements are not present, the audience will be displeased with
the movie
• Genres give directors a template to work with when they are
creating a story.

5. What are your favorite Genres?

6. The Cycle of a Genre Movie
• Gianetti (1999) argues that
Genres have 4 major cycles:
• Primitive
• The conventions of the genre are
established through experimentation.
• Classical
• The genre at its peak. It’s conventions are
solidified.
• Revisionist
• The conventions of the genre are
reevaluated. The boundaries of the genre
are expanded.
• Parodic
• The conventions of the genre are satirized
/ made fun of.
Scary Movie -- Parodic
Saw - Revisionist

7. Genre Conventions
• A genre can be identified by the conventions that it shows
• Conventions are character types, objects, themes, or settings that
occur in the movie
• It is very common for films to straddle genres by mixing
those conventions

8. Conventions of the Genre:
Westerns
• Setting: Usually takes place in the American West
between 1865 and 1900
• Characters
• Main character: Loner in Society, rugged individualist; in
early films they would often wear a white hat to signify
their good nature
• Villains: Either outlaws who are bullying the good people
in town or Crooks who are putting on the appearance of
being respectable (i.e. crooked bankers)
• Typical elements (from filmsite.org
• Hostile elements (often Native Americans)
• Guns and gun fights
• Horses, trains
• Bank robberies and holdups
• Runaway stagecoaches
• Shoot-outs and showdowns
• Outlaws and sheriffs

9. Conventions of the Genre: Horror
• Setting: Spooky places; Places
that we are normally afraid of
• Characters:
– Some kind of evil villain who tries to
stalk the main character(s) and kill
them
– There is less focus on the main
character, they are merely a vehicle
by which we are introduced to the
world of the villain
• Conflict: To destroy the evil
element and bring the world back
into order
• Common Elements: Blood and
Gore, stylized special effects

10. Sub-Genre
• Sub-Genres are developed when films are
created to emulate the properties of one
particular genre film, rather than the
conventions of the genre as a whole
• Examples of Sub-Genre
• Spaghetti Westerns: Italian Western films
made by Sergio Leone
• Romantic Comedies: A subset of comedies
that have predictable elements that are
usually aimed towards women
• Zombie Movies: Horror films that focus
specifically on Zombies
• Mockumentaries: Fake documentaries
created after the style first shown in This is
Spinal Tap

11. Sequels and Remakes
• Sequels and Remakes work in
much of the same way that Genre
films do
– The films are made based on the
success of previous efforts
– Audiences will most likely go see the
film because they have certain
expectations about what the film will be
like
– Audiences are more often than not
disappointed in the remake or sequel;
this may be due to the fact that the
original had authentic ideas, and people
are attracted to it because of its
freshness, however, that freshness is
lost when the film is remade