WJEC A Level Film

1. Key Film Concept - Genre
Starter:
Why can genre be considered useful to each of
the following:
1. Film producers?
2. Distributors/marketers?
3. Audiences?

2. Producers like genre because:
• They can cash in on popular genres – avoid unpopular
ones (not fool proof – they can get it wrong!).
• Its easier to raise funding for genre films .
• It can be easier/cheaper to write films – many genres
rely on a particular formula or are more driven by fx
than dialogue.
• Film industry can exploit writers of popular books –
writers are often associated with a particular genre e.g.
John Grisham law based thrillers, Stephen King
psychological/supernatural horror.
• It can be easier to choose and market stars who are
known for films in a particular genre.
• It is easier for them to make films in the same genre.
• It helps them predict expenditure & minimise risk

3. Distributors/marketers like genre because:
• They can market the film using stars connected to a genre.
• They can use genre signifiers in trailers and posters.
• It can be easier to predict and target an audience through
genre films
• It can be easier to reach a target audience - cinema trailers
are often similar genres to the one you’re watching

4. Audiences like genre because:
• It helps them choose/categorise
• Prediction, expectation anticipation
• A sense of expectation , pleasure and anticipation also comes from
the repetition of key elements
• Even when genre conventions are broken, the success of this
depends on us knowing the ‘rules’ in the first place. Pleasure from
surprise.
• Often genres have thematic pleasures – issues of law and order will
be debated in a western and (usually) good will triumph over evil.
• Detective films depict crime, but reassuringly lock up the
wrongdoers by the end of the film, and so on – genre films often
play out audiences fears and anxieties in a ‘safe’ way, or allow
audiences to laugh at other’s misfortunes in a comedy for example.
• Audiences want a mix of the familiar and the new in genre films

5. Genre as an academic approach
• Genre is a critical tool, a concept that helps scholars
to study films and filmmaking as well as audiences’
response to film. It has been used since Ancient
Greek times when plays and poetry were arranged
into tragedies or comedies.
• Genre study allows a form of scientific methodology
to be used in studying things, which display
similarities. Comparing films within the same group
and between groups has several benefits.
• So what do the academics say about genre?....

6. Genre is about repetition & difference
• Particular features which are characteristic of a
genre are not normally unique to it; it is their
relative prominence, combination and functions
which are distinctive (Neale, 1980)
• ‘Genres are instances of repetition and
difference‘ (Neale, 1980)
• ‘Difference is absolutely essential to the
economy of genre' (Neale, 1980) - Mere
repetition would not attract an audience.
Now apply this to your own work - What elements
can be seen as repetition of genre conventions and
what can be seen as difference?
Stephen Neale

7. Genre is not clear cut
Christine Gledhill
• There are no 'rigid rules of inclusion and
exclusion‘ (Gledhill, 1985).
• 'Genres... are not discrete systems, consisting
of a fixed number of listable items‘
(Gledhill, 1985).
• It is difficult to make clear-cut distinctions
between one genre and another: genres
overlap, and there are 'mixed genres' such as
comedy-thrillers (Chandler, 2000) .
Daniel Chandler

8. GENRE - Lacey’s Repertoire of Elements
Lacey considers the 'repertoire of elements' that work in
combination to suggest a media text belongs to a particular
genre or mix of genres.
He provides a useful framework to follow when analysing
genre. Lacey breaks a text down into these five areas to
identify the elements in each:
– Setting
– Character
– Narrative
– Iconography
– Style
Remember – Lacey does not see genres as fixed but as
dynamic and changing over time.
Nick Lacey

9. GENRE - Lacey’s repetoire of elements
• Narrative: This refers to the story structure as
well as the specific narrative devices, which
genres employ (car
chases, gunfights, weddings, etc.).
• Characters: Narrative is usually developed
through characters and their functions
(hero, villain etc). Some characters are so closely
associated with a genre that they become generic
types. For example, in horror movies, the ‘final
girl,’ who maintains her personal dignity, usually
defeats the psychopath.
Nick Lacey

10. GENRE - Lacey’s repetoire of elements
• Setting: Some genres have a distinct location but
this can be subject to change, for example horror
films have moved from the gothic to the
suburban. Genres can also be associated with
time periods like the gangster films set during
prohibition in America but successful films have
updated this.
• Iconography: Films contain visual and audio
images, which become instantly recognisable and
associated with the genre. Eg: Gangster films
feature the iconic ‘Tommy’ gun spraying bullets in
the hands of a man in a sharp suit usually
standing on the running board of a car.
Nick Lacey

11. GENRE - Lacey’s repetoire of elements
• Style: Iconography refers to the objects but style
describes the way they are presented. Camera
angles, editing, lighting and the use of colour all
contribute to the style of a film.
Now analyse your production work using Lacey’s
theoretical framework:
• What elements can you identify that establish a
particular genre? (Go through the 5 areas)
• Are there overlapping/mixed genres?
• Is it difficult to categorise your work by genre?
• Do you challenge genre conventions?
Nick Lacey

12. Quick recap on genre…
• Nick Lacey considers the 'repertoire
of elements' in relation to:
– Setting
– Character
– Narrative
– Iconography
– Style
Nick Lacey