Post 7: Genre

A) Genre

What is genre?
Film Genre is identifiable types, categories, classifications or groups of films that have similar techniques or conventions (what you expect to see/hear) For Example:
- content 
- subject matter
- structures
- themes

- mood 

- period 

- plot 

- settings 

- recurring icons 

- stock characters 

- narrative events 

- situations 

- motifs

- styles 

- props 

- stars 

Conventions and Paradigms

- Conventions:
What you would expect to see or hear in a particular type of genre film/media product.
E.g. Action
Explosions, chases, fight scenes. 

Hero and Villain rivalry. 

Genres function according to sets of rules and conventions. Which govern their capacity and range. They respond to these rules and conventions by developing formulas and patterns (paradigms). Overtime these formulas and patterns may acquire not only typical but even archetypal force, dominating ways of seeing and of representing the World around us.

 I searched the meaning of the key word 'Archetypal' as I was unaware of what it meant.

How are paradigms grouped?

Paradigms can be grouped in to three of the following

1)Iconography: The main signs/symbols that you see and hear.
2) Structure: The way a text is put together and the shape it takes.

3) Theme: The issues and ideas the program deals with. 

Why is Genre important?

To audiences: Audiences are able to chose a particular type of film they wish to watch. It also becomes easier to find certain films through different genres. 

 To industry: It is important to industry so they are able to be aware of a specific target audience in which they aim to please. 

Development of Western Films 
(How Genres have changed over time)

http://thescriptlab.com/screenplay/genre/western

In Western Films, the genre revolves around stories set in the late 19th Century in the American Old West. Most Westerns are set between the American Civil war (1865) and the early 1900s. 

Common Themes Include: 

-Conquest of the Wild West 

-Cultural Seperation (The East and The West)
-Resistance to modern change
-Conflict between Cowboys and Indians
-Treasure and Gold hunting

Examples of a typical Western would be
-Indiana Jones 

-The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Westerns have evolved through time, this can be seen through Science Fiction Western films. This is a genre that incorporates elements of Sci-Fi in a Western film. In some cases future technology is used to transport the characters in to the Wild West. These films tend to be more casual in terms of violence as oppose to typical Western films. 

Examples of Sci-Fi Western Films

-Back to the Future 

-Wild, Wild West

In addition, another example of change in genre would be through the film 'Brokeback Mountain' (2005). This subverts the typical view of a Western Film through the use of homosexuality. This can be evident through the film linking to the contrast in traditional Westerns to the 21st Century Westerns. 

7b) Why do Genres change over time?

Target Audiences can change over time, different generations of people are now choosing to watch different films according to different genres. Audiences may be seen to have changed through age groups, gender and censorship. The target audiences may change leading the genre to shift and the fact it takes more to shock an audience.

 People enjoy seeing particular genres as they like meeting their expectations. A downside of this can be that the conventions may become to predictable which is why the shift is crucial within genres. Younger audiences have matured over time, this can be seen through Jaws changing from a classification of '18' to recently been changed to an age '12' certificate. 

Society also changes over year. It may be linked to feminism that the attitude towards women in Action Adventure films is changing so they are not always in need to be rescued. Society change their opinions on a patriarchal society in the way of superheros and villains so it may be crucial for film genres to ensure that they live up the new expectations in our time era. 

Changes in Technology
Technology advances in the film industry can be seen through the invention of the Steadicam which allows the camera to appear to float and enabled the stalking shots so important in the horror films, development in digital video editing techniques which led to fast paced editing. A good example would be 'The Blair Witch Project' as it influenced new technology - the entire look is the result of the use of cheap digital cameras which did not exist a few years ago.

-James Cameron 3d

-George Lucas

Special effects have vastly improved as what can be represented as real. Technical advances in the field of animatronics and liquid foam latex meant that the human frame could be distorted to be in an entirely new dimension on screen and appear realistic close up. Green screen is usually used within animating.