1. As a marketing device – to draw audiences to the theater – if one person enjoyed “Spider Man” then they will most likely want to see “Hulk“, therefore investors are more keen to invest….
2. Reference tool – people understand (implicitly) more or less what is at stake with a particular genre because they have a frame of reference.
3. Category used to define and analyze films. However, not to evaluate as it does not give value – it gives a sense -.
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What tools help us define genre?
What elements can we refer to when we need to differentiate between genres?
1. Subjects and themes
2. Presentation (in the musical for example – musical = signing + dancing)
3. Emotional effect (horror = fear, comedy = laughter)
4. Genre conventions of narrative and style
5. Plot elements
6. Thematic meanings (example: road movies = on the road, searching for something)
7. Film techniques (dark, light somber, mysterious, or happy, colorful)
8. Genres can also be defined through conventional iconography (recurring symbolic images that carry meaning from film to film, ie the cars in the old gangster movies, the space ships in Sci-Fi, the suits in Film Noir. Actors can also work as icons like Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger = action movies)
9. Elements of its form like costumes, music, etc.
What can we say about genres and genre theory?
1. Lacks a scientific precision in its definition
2. They developed in an informal way
3. Everyone (critics, producers, audiences, actors) have contributed to the formation of genres and to the shared sense that some films may relate to others
4. Genres change over time (directors and actors may add a twist to their work (in form or style) that adds to a different viewing of the genre). This constant change makes it difficult to define the boundaries Continue reading What can we say about genres and genre theory?
Assignments for August 12
Read:
Richard Dyer’s essay in Steven Cohan’s, Hollywood Musicals, The Film Reader:
– Richard Dyer, Entertainment and Utopia. (pg 17-30)
Abstract from the second chapter of Steve Neale’s, Genre and Hollywood: Musicals (pg. 104-112)
Watch Lars Von Trier’s, Dancer in the Dark, 2000
1. Write a small piece on the movie we watched in class (Singin´ in the Rain). Use both, Steven Cohan’s Introduction and Richard Dyer’s text as a guideline. Try to address the peculiar aspects of the film, for example; how the narrative unfolds, the relationship between the dance and singing scenes with the story, etc.
2. Write a text comparing Singin’ in the Rain to Dancer in the Dark and both films relation to Utopia (based on Dyer’s text).
Film Genre – Assignments for August 5th
Welcome to Film Genre. Readings for this course can be found here: ftp://ftp.icesi.edu.co/mlcuellar/
Readings for next class are as follows:
David Bordwell & Kristin Thompson´s: Film Genres (pg 93-100 & 105-108)
Introduction (pg. 1-17) to Steven Cohan´s, Hollywood Musicals, The Film Reader.
Assignments for next class:
Before you read Bordwell & Thompson’s chapter on Film Genre, please write a short text that describes how you would define Film Genre. After you do the reading, please write another text in which you describe your new understandings of Film Genre.
You also need to read Steve Cohan’s introduction to his book Hollywood Musicals and write a series of 5 questions. The questions can either address issues that are resolved in the reading or issues that, in your opinion, are left unclear.