Our first online lesson was a discussion and analysis of genre. Genres are various forms of identifiable classifications, or categories, which refer to repeating patterns and conventions. In other words, they are a specific type of music, film, literature or art. Genres are mostly heard of in films and books, where recognisable motifs and themes are included. These are called conventions, and they also have their own categories within media:

 

Conventional settings – the surroundings used in a story. For horror, we usually see dark, ominous places like a spooky forest or abandoned castle. A graveyard, or cabin in the woods with bloodstains on the wall. Sci-fi has set a lot of stories in outer space or in the future, where we see lasers, technologically advanced planets and spaceships. War films or books always have battlefields and tanks, a variety of things people used to fight each other including guns and bombs.

 

Conventional characters – the individuals within a story. In comedy, we see very stereotypical characters, like the jock and the nerd or the ’emo’ characters who are portrayed in an exaggerated way for comedic purposes. The genre of crime has fugitives and criminals, and quite often the police or a detective, or some other figure of authority who the audience usually sides with. Horror stories include zombies, ghosts and serial killers, as well as psychopaths and other paranormal beings. In sci-fi, there are robots, aliens and superheroes, whilst fantasy films explore an array of fantastical and magical creatures.

 

Conventional narrative/theme – certain recurring storylines classic to the genre. In action, things like the chase sequence, extended violence or fight scene on a train are often used. Those aiming for comedy like to include witty dialogue, embarrassing social situations and a lot of hyperbole to inflate otherwise generic day to day occurrences. In musicals, everyone expects the singing and dancing, which creates that atmosphere of a show being put on. And of course, romance stories almost always have the stages of falling in love, perhaps a proposal and then some sort of rift in the relationship causing a breakup, which would eventually end in the couple being closer than they were before.

 

Conventional formats – the techniques used in films, specifically. Camera angles like high and low, lighting whether it be high or low key or different colours, style of editing, including the length of edits, cuts and transitions and a colour palette or scheme, make-up, costume and VFX.

 

All of these things are used extensively and repeatedly, to classify stories in a genre. We have genres for several reasons. Firstly, they are a way for film-makers to produce, cast and structure their narratives within a framework. They’re like a starting point, a theme to work the story off of and build on top of. Secondly, it is the way to speak the ‘common language’ as is said. The story, having included the recognisable patterns of others within its genre, share those conventions and therefore share the category. Thirdly, it offers studios a way to easily make marketable products, by giving the audience expected choices and satisfying results. Fourthly, genres help define a movie and make it easier for someone to seek movies similar to the ones they like. In order to sell movies the best they can, films producers will market films to the demographics that they believe will like their movie the most. Lastly, they provide a method of comparison, by allowing the audience to critically analyze the themes and characteristics that typically come up in a genre.

So, it is made possible to recognise the overall aesthetic/atmosphere of a genre when we combine all of these conventions. I wanted to display the feel of the fantasy genre, so I looked at popular films which included fantasy elements, often hybrids and not entirely of this one genre, the films usually had one or more distinctive magical or whimsical features, like interesting settings, advanced props/tools or magic, a beautiful colour scheme or make-believe characters.

 

 

 

“Genres are instances of repetition and difference” (Neale 1980)​

 

Part of our study included Steve Neale’s theory of genre, in which he explains that a story, in any format, must have genre conventions in order to be identified within a genre. Conforming to these repetitions is essential for audience gratification and marketing, however, the story must also be different in some way, or it risks making the audience disinterested and annoyed with the lack of relevance and overly used cliches. Without this distinction, a genre cannot evolve and will slowly die out. As a way of providing evidence, I collaborated on a task with some students in my group to show how a certain film genre has evolved over time. Our aim was to present the similarities and differences between two similar movies and provide concrete affirmation that the genre has evolved.  We decided on fantasy, which has become increasingly more popular in the last century. The Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings franchises seemed the best choice, being some of the most successful and well-known film series of their time, each with unique aspects and yet similar in quite a few ways.

 

 

 

In my opinion, Neale is absolutely correct. Whilst there is more to them, genres are essentially repeats and differences. If a new film were to come out, and it did not use any conventions that society has come to recognise, it would feel confusing and alien. The audience would not be able to make sense of what was happening if there were no concrete themes or motifs from other genres. These conventions are what make up a genre – how would we recognise an action film if there wasn’t anything in it associated with action? If there were no fight scenes, no high-speed car chases or modern storage facilities of a huge variety of high tech weaponry, essentially, what is left? The audience could not possibly enjoy the movie if it was supposed to be classified as action and failed in meeting those expectations. On the other hand, if that same film came out, but it was brimming with patterns and templates used everywhere throughout that genre, the audience would be incredibly bored and annoyed! There isn’t any reason to watch a film that is just a copy of other films, with the exceptions that this is used craftily as a parody of the genre. Neale is saying that there has to be a balance. These days, with cinema as a core part of society, people have become more critical and have come to expect the new and innovative, but that doesn’t mean that conventions should be abandoned altogether – they have to be incorporated in a subtle but fulfilling manner. All of my personal favourites are films that have understood this and executed it near enough perfectly, with a satisfying equilibrium between the identifiable and non-conformity, and for these reasons, I can confidently agree with Neale’s theory of genre.