Genre

1. Genre Sophie Turner

2. Definition • The word genre comes from the French (and originally Latin) word for 'kind' or 'class'. The term is widely used in rhetoric, literary theory, media theory, and more recently linguistics, to refer to a distinctive typeof text.

3. Christian Metz • Christian Metz in his book "Language and Cinema" (1974) explored the development of genre in film and suggested that genre passes through four phases of existence. • 1. Experimental - this is when early films helped to formalise convention • 2. Classic - this is when the phase of films which established the narrative conventions of the genre in its most successful and defining period • 3. Parody - these are films that have mimicked the genre in some comical way • 4. Deconstruction - this is the phase where films which have taken generic elements of a genre and merged them into varifying sub genres Christian Metz’s theory can be found in horror films such as Scream which mimicks genre and have taken generic elements of genre.

4. Repertoire of elements • The main identifying characteristics of a film will inevitably fall into one or more of the following categories, or “repertoire of elements”. · Iconography · Setting · Characters · Narrative · Style · Theme · Audience Response · Genre hybrids • Despite often clearly definable characteristics, however, it is important to remember that genres are not fixed entities, but are instead constantly evolving.

5. Genre hybrids • A cross-genre(hybrid genre) is a genre in fiction that blends themes and elements from two or more different genres. For example rom-com; comedy and romance, or thriller/horror.

6. Auteurism • Auteurism is a theory of authorship which states that it is a problematic idea, unlike theatre or a novel, film is a collaborative process which deserves the status of playwrights. • To qualify as an auteur a director must demonstrate across a body of work- • 1) A consistency of technical excellence • 2) A consistency of style • 3) A consistency of theme

7. Andre Bazin • Bazin wished to raise the status of cinema and position film writers.

8. The high concept film • Movies require a strong concept • A "high concept" script is one whose premise: - is universal; -has a fresh twist; -can be summed up in a 25-word logline that gives a good picture of the entire movie. • High Concept is Cross-Genre -High concept isn't restricted to the formulaic blockbuster. Action films and other big budget blockbusters are high concept, but guns, car chases, and explosions are not obligatory. High concept is at home in every genre: romantic, animation, thrillers, indies, classics, chick flicks and even documentaries.

9. Intertextuality • Where a text alludes to, or references, another text. Every text is a mosaic of references to text and genre. • The assignment of a text to a genre provides the audience with a text with a key intertextual framework. • Each example of a genre utilises conventions which link it to other members of that genre. • Texts provide contexts within which other texts may be created and interpreted.

10. Rick Altman • Rick Altman, in a 1984 article, proposed a semantic /syntactic approach to film genre • Altman pointed out that genre (up until the 1960s) was often
discussed in either ‘inclusive’ or ‘exclusive’ terms • Altman initially proposed an approach which would combine the ‘inclusive’ and ‘exclusive’ via a general semiotic/ structuralist approach. The semantic approach to genre attempts to take abroad definition of a genre repertoire • The syntactic approach looks at the relationships between these elements and how they are structured
in narratives

11. Genre & Audience Pleasures- Richard Dyer • Richard Dyer discusses the importance of stars and the circulation of their image through promotion, publicity and reinvention.

12. Influences on genre from structuralism • Structuralism underlines the importance of genre, i.e., basic rules as to how subjects are approached, about conventions of reading for theme, level of seriousness, significance of language use, and so forth. • "Different genres lead to different expectations of types of situations and action”

13. Mark Reid • Asks the critical question of whether we read genre as noun or adjective. He offers tomato puree as an example, suggesting that we ask a philosophical question : what would happen to this item if it were shelved in another part of the shop? Would the thing itself be any different. How something is categorised is determined by who does it from whom, where and when.