As per discussion here are the Genre questions you came up with. As a form of revision / practice I suggest that you have a go at all of them between now and the end of the course.
Post your attempts as comments with your name on them and write the essay question you are doing at the top of the comment. Mr Meade and I will look through as many as possible so check the blog for feedback.
1) To what extent do genres restrict filmmakers and institutions?
2) Explain why certain genres are just as popular today as they were 50 years ago.
3) How has the development of technology changed genre over time?
4) What are the benefits and limitations of genre to audiences and institutions?
5) What role do generic conventions play in audience appeal?
6) How do generic conventions help or hinder the film industry?
7) "Films should not be categorised by genre, but by their directorial style" Discuss in relation to the concept of film genre.
8) "The defining lines of genre are becoming increasingly blurred causing audience expectations to become confused" Discuss this statement with specific reference to the development of genre over time.
9) How do institutions adapt film gneres to target change in their audiences?
10) What are the limitations and benefits of hybrid genres?
20 comments:
Lydia Kinsey
4) What are the benefits and limitations of genre to audiences and institutions?
Genre is very helpful to institutions in marketing their product. Since audiences already have a firm knowledge of what conventions constitute a specific genre, the film industry can simply pitch a film as being a member of that genre and expect audiences to instantly become interested. “The most exciting science fiction movie of the year” for example immediately entices viewers, as the public will know a bit of what to expect from that film. The down side to this however, is that it ostracizes those viewers that do not enjoy films of sci-fi genre and so the institution is potentially losing viewers that it could have drawn in had they used a different method of advertising; for instance selling the film on any big name celebrity cast members.
Genre is also very beneficial to audiences, since it encourages audience expectations. Because we already have an understanding of what will be included in films of a particular genre, we can make an educated assumption as to what we will see in another film of that same genre. When our expectations are met we derive pleasure, because we find a sense of enjoyment in that familiarity. For example, ‘Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ (1998) was a hugely successful British gangster film that began a surge of British gangster films in the early 2000’s. Audiences had been shown what to expect from ‘Lock Stock[…]’ and so went to see the films that followed with an idea of what to look forward to. The films were successful because the audience’s expectations were met and so they enjoyed themselves. This is not always the case however. Sometimes audiences want more than what they expect. They want to be surprised. One of the last British gangster films in this long run was ‘Revolver’ (2005) which was nowhere near as successful as its predecessors, simply because audiences got bored. They had seen so many similar films before it that by the time it came out viewers were so familiar with what to expect that they felt it wasn’t worth seeing.
This then is a challenge to the industry to both provide familiarity and surprises. They must conform to the genre while still maintaining originality.
Lydia,
Just read this and it makes two very valid points, though the first one would benefit from more detailed examples being used in support. Did you do this in timed conditions? Maybe you could have looked up some real taglines that have used genre to sell the films. There are a number of other ways in which genre benefits institutions - creative map, economies of scale, lower risk of investment.
Para 2 - don't think 'encourages audience expectations' is the right phrase. In this paragraph you could introduce some of the expectations audiences would have of recent British Gangster films. In addition, part of the reason for the failure of Revolver was Ritchie's attempt to move beyond the conventions of the genre and introduce some spiritual elements into the narrative.
4) What are the benefits and limitations of genre to audiences and institutions?
Genre can often help benefit institutions, as audiences are already extremely familiar with some of the generic conventions that create a film. Institutions draw on the success that the genre is already having and inturn, meet the expectations of the audiences who go to see their films. However, this is not always effective, as institutions have to keep their audiences enticed by refreshing the genre's or audiences may eventually get bored as they may feel like they have seen it all before.
Within genre, certain concepts and conventions of the films must remain the same as audiences require the familiarity of the what they are seeing. However, films must ensure that they do not appear too similiar. For example, "The Business" was a promenant flop as he tried to jump on the British gangster band-wagon and create his very own gangster film. It was released soon after the two films "Lock stock" (1998) and "Snatch", which were both outstandingly successful and created a brand new Genre. "The business" was very similar to these films, as it similarly hybridised comedy and gangster, which was obviously a popular formula within audiences. However, it had been done before and audiences were not fooled, especially with its lack of big named celebrities.
Institutions often use big names to draw in audiences who may not already be familiar with certain genre's. For example, Sci-Fi films were becoming less popular since the 50's as there was only so much film makers could change about the key conventions. "The Fifth Element" (1998) starred Bruce Willis, and was automatically a box office hit due to the audience recognition of the protagonist celebrity.
In conclusion, institutions stil use Genre as their main form of marketing, and to this day it is stil succesful. However, they are becoming more aware that audiences are constantly looking for something new, and therefore, film makers are beginning to recognise the success of films falling into the hybrid genre. Audiences are always looking to be satisfied, and institutions are still meeting those needs with the success of their films and clever marketing.
Thesis statment and first paragraph (ran out of time)
1) To what extent do genres restrict film makers and institutions?
Conventions of genre can greatly restrict institutions. If film makers are forever using the same techniques and plots, which can appeal to audience expectations and pleasure, but films can become repetative and too predictable. Hybrids are a good way for film makers to break the mould.
Hybrids are a way around repetative genres, they make films less conventional, but more interesting. Film makers still adhere to the conventions but by combining two or more genres, they can appeal to a new and wider audience. Fifth Element (1996) is a perfect exapmle. The film is mainly a sci-fi film but has action and romance elments to it which is why it was such a successful film. Rather than it being soley a sci-fi film, the other conventions and plots from other genres give the film more depth and can also heighten the audience pleasure and expectaions. This is because unanticipated plots and stories can be pleasing for the audience, otherwise a film becames too predicatble and boring. Lock Stock (2000) wa
1) To what extent does genre restrict filmakers and institutions?
By SEXY.sixthformer08
You could look at genre in one of two ways in relation to filmakers and institutions. The first is the concept that genre is a useful template that can be used to inspire filmakers and please target audiences. The second sees genre as an idea that restricts creativity and openmindedness, resulting in an institution producing film after film that uses the same conventions and themes which, after time, audiences will get bored of.
For filmakers, pleasing their target audience is a number one priority to make their films successful. Genre can be a great help in this way because it is a method that can help predict what an audience would like or dislike. A good example of audience loyalty within a genre would be the STAR WARS trilogy.............. (t.b.c.)
Lily
10) What are the limitations and benefits of hybrid genres?
Hybrid genre have are have only recently been made in the film industry. They have both benefits for both the film maker as they will be able to widen their target audience. However hybrid genre has some limitations as audiences will not have many expectations or have as much familiarity with this genre.
Over time film makers have decided to use hybridization. This was not needed before as there has usually been a market for a genre of film. For example in the early 1950's there was a lot of science fiction films made due to stop-motion animation being invented which allowed industries to create special effects. Films such as The War of the Worlds and The Blob were both made in 1953 during this period. This meant that film makers were benefited by the use of hybridization as they could make films that were not predictable and by mixing genres they were able to appeal to a target audience. This is done successfully in The Fifth Element 1998 which uses the conventions of a science fiction film but at the same time involves romance.
Genres provide the audience with familiarity when it comes to watching a film. When a filmmaker decides to hybridize their film they are limited as they do not have a specific target audience to appeal to which could effect the audience pleasures. This also limits the filmmakers in the same way as they do not have certain conventions to conform to.
Tsahai
didnt get time to finish
5) What role do generic conventions play in audience appeal?
Generic conventions are a useful way of categorising films according to their content. As audiences know what types of things to expect from certain genres they may choose to only see films which fall under their preferred genre, thus making audience appeal a major factor in the consumption of film.
Genre can be used as a means of marketing and distribution, which builds on audience pleasure to create effective advertisements which appeal to the target audience. This, however, can have the negative effect of alienating fans of other genres and as a result, lose potential viewers, greatly reducing the film industry's revenue.
Saameyun Bari
5)What role do generic conventions play in audience appeal?
Most films are made according to generic conventions. The film industry has a lot of power over the film creation process but it ultimately needs to listen to and respond to audiences. The institutions are the ones that create meaning and the audiences interpret the film and
process the experiance of film in a number of ways, for example at the cinema,
at home, through the internet, computer games etc.
A film achieves the maximum of success when the target audience are satisfied in what the film offers and derives pleasure in a number of ways such as their expectations being met e.g interplanetry involvement in the sci-fi genre or extreme gun violence in the ganster genre, for example The Godfather (1972). An illustration of interplanetry involvement can be seen in War of the Worlds (original 1930's?) with the martians invading earth.
(fear not, i'm coming back to edit this :) )
Reply to Rosieisbest
Good, detailed opening paragraph which shows real thought towards both sides of the argument.
Your argument in the second paragraph needs to be more formalised to get the top grade. The content is good but it trails off at the end, as if you got bored with it.
The next paragraph is a little confused and the ideas are not worked out. There is no sense of developed/progressive arguement in this paragraph.
Overall, if you use the question to structure your response-benifits/limitations to both parties and do it in a detailed way, then it would be easier for you. Your ideas are fine but you need to show them in a more organised manner.
Reply to Lucy.
Good opening paragraph-be careful not to intrduce new concepts and then leave them hanging atv the end of a paragraph.
The second paragraph is much better and is expressed really well. A little more about the way Hybrids draw in more than one audience would be good but overall this is good work and very well written.
Reply to sexy vixen
Very good opening paragraph that looks at both sides in an intelligent way. But not enough after for me to get an idea of how your ideas would have developed.
Reply to Lily
It would be helpful if you set out the debate before you got into the detail. A few comments on how genre has developed, for example, would be useful and provide the reader with some context.
I do not follow your arguement in the second paragraphi in reference to the Sci-fi of the 50s and how you link this to The Fifth Element.
The final paragraph is good but not detailed enough or developed enough.
Reply to Tsahai
Good, well expressed and focused opening paragraph.Same goes for the second paragraph-you need to speed up. Good work.
Reply to Sam.
Very interesting opening paragraph-but is it focused enough on the question. You must nail your ideas more tightly to the essay question if you are to get top grades. You tend to include too many concepts and not deal with them in an ordered way.
Josh
What are the limitations and benefits of hybrid genres?
The hybridization of genres is quite new recent in films and has benefitted in many ways both to the film industry and audiences. Hybrid genres are two types of genres mixed together in a film for example Hitch (Romantic/Comedy), Men In Black (Sci-Fi/Comedy) etc.
For decades films have been of one genre. A very popular genre in the 1950s through till the were Sci-Fi's. The film industry knew that this appealed to the audience due to the end of World War II and The Cold War and played on the threat of invasions by including endless counts of alien invasions. Films like The Blob and The War of the Worlds were released during this period This appealed to the audience as humanity always prevailed over the invaders. Also, around this time was the introduction of special effects produced by stop-motion animation which amazed the audience. As some genres thrived they became more popular and more films were released.
However, as with anything, too much of one thing becomes boring. Audiences began to get used to the plot lines and conventions that came with certain genres making the film predictable and less enjoyable. The introduction of hybridization would allow the film to appeal to a wider audience as parts of it that wouldn't usually appeal to them would. For the film industry hybridization is likely to bring in more money due to the larger audience appeal.
What role do generic conventions play in audience appeal?
To some extent generic conventions dominate the appeal of the audience to a specific genre. The conventions of a genre are what entice the audience to watch that genre of film. Mainly because of the familiarity of those conventions; which they know they will enjoy will always be apparent in the film. This is a concept that filmmakers and institutions recognise which enables them to reach that same target audience over and over again. However, there are limitations within the convention concept, as people always know what or what not to expect, therefore it removes the idea of originality and suspense for the viewer. Therefore giving the institutions restrictions into who their viewers are, making it difficult to attract an unexpecting audience to that genre. Meaning not a further turnover.
Alternatively, filmmakers sometimes break the generic conventions of a specific genre by introducing twists and remaking films with a different purpose within the film. For example Scarface (1983) which is a typical gangster film that kept the storyline and main idea of the film which when re-made altered the conventions of the gangster genre in order to fit in with contemporary society and bringing a new awareness to this alteration of the gang theme idea.
Olivia Heath
What are the benefits and
limitations of genre to audiences and institutions?
Genre enables films to be recognised and distinguished from others. Advertising plays a very important part in this because if it is successfully marketed at the right target audience then it will potentially be a big release, with many success. The star actor is a major selling point for advertising a film because the actor would be renowed for their unique acting abilities, and also may be known to excel in certain film genres. For example, Al Pacino who has been dubbed as one of the greatest actors in film history, has acted in a vast array of films within the gangster genre, including: The Godfather (
1972), Scarface (1983) and Donnie Brasco (1997). This star quality can make the audience want to watch the film because they enjoy that particular actor.
Additionally, it also benefits the institution, as they can earn profit from advertising around the main star, which then produces a lower risk of investment.
The whole idea of genre, is that the conventions allow the audience to familiarise and differenciate from it. Viewers choose to see a film on the basis that they enjoy that particular genre, and want to experience the element of predictability. This is beneficial for institutions because they can make profit from having a winning formula; they know what the audience want to watch and so play on this because it is successful. However, the audience are now becoming increasingly well-informed and literate, and their tastes are forever changing, therefore, they may demand to see a change in genre, through hybridisation, or introduction of new technologies. An example of this is demonstrated in I, Robot (2004) starring Will Smith, where the use of hybridisation means that many genres are merged into one. This film has elements of Action, Sci-fi, Mystery and Thriller, which ultimately opened up the film to a wider and larger audience, with different demands and expectations. The success of hybridisation can benefit institutions, as they can also gain success and money, through opening up to a wider audience.
5) What role do generic conventions play in audience appeal?
Generic conventions are one of the most important factors used by institutions, when aiming to appeal to audiences. Different genres embody particular conventions, that audiences are positivley receptive as film makers know, due to the success of the films. Audiences have expectations when they go to see a film. For example, if they were going to see a gangster film, they would expect to see plotlines involving family, violence and usually, a hint of romance.
When films are remade, the generic conventions remain the same, as it has to still meet the audiences expectations as it is part of a genre. However, the film can be manipulated to be relevant to our contemporary society. The original "Scarface" (1932) showed the characters to be extremely anti drugs, even the antagonist of the film wouldn't touch them. However, the remake (1983)
What are the benefits and limitations of genre to audiences and institutions.
Genre is one of the most important things for film makers and audience. Knowing what generic conventions to expect in a certain film is vital for most of its audience, so before watching a film the target audience of it usually know what key elements are included in the film, once we see what is expected in the films we gain pleasure and feel satisfied with what we have seen however it can be argued that not everyone likes to go see a film in which they know what’s going to happen. Some people don’t actually want to know what’s going to happen in the film because they might not find it enjoyable.
However there are benefits and restrictions of genre not just for audience but also for institutions. Most film industries know what their target audience’s expectations are, so making a film of a certain genre e.g. the sci fi genre and getting something new every time would be difficult because there is only so much a film maker can change before the genre itself starts changing, so film makers have to be very careful in what they include in the film and what changes they make in the film, the sci fi genre is not as popular today as it used to be because the audience have seen it all before, and because the film makers cant keep up with the constant changing taste of audiences, they start making hybrid genre films such as Star Wars (1977) which is a fantacy/action adventure and I, Robot which is a Action/Adventure and Science Fiction/Fantasy film. This can have positive effects and negative effects. On one hand for the institutions this may be a good thing because it can widen their target audience, on the other hand the target audience will not be too familiar with hybrid genres.
Also institutions and film makers get famous actors to star in their film to draw in their audience because some people tend to go and watch a particular film not because of what genre it is or who the director is, but for the actors and example of this would be Al Pacino who is recognised as one the greatest actor in American film history. His films such as Scarface in the1980’s and The Godfather 1972 were the hits of their time.
SAMIN
Lydia Kinsey
2) Explain why certain genres are just as popular today as they were 50 years ago.
Different genres have thrived for a number of different reasons, including evolving audience expectations and technological advancements. Two contrasting genres that are still as popular today as they were fifty years ago are science fiction and gangster.
As time has progressed so too has technology. This is a key factor in the appeal and success of certain genres. Sci-fi relies heavily on technology as it drives the believability of the plotlines. Although some older sci-fi movies may not look very impressive today, they have always used cutting edge technology and at the time would have amazed audiences. With the invention of the ‘talkies’ in the 1920’s sci-fi could include realistic sound effects to play along side the action of spaceships taking flight or ray guns firing lasers. This was a revolutionary development and the public loved it. Later, audiences were introduced to puppetry and again, this made the cinema experience all the more believable. No longer did the aliens look like women dressed up in cling-film like in “Devil Girl from Mars” (1954), but instead they looked like genuine creatures from another planet. Yoda in “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back” (1980) is a good example of puppetry in action. Today, we have made such progress in computing that when we see aliens on the big screen now they are all CGI. These incredible graphics are more agile than a puppet ever was and so we can believe that there really are aliens in a film without the illusion being broken by an awkward movement that puppetry was often vulnerable to. In the newer episodes of Star Wars for example “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith” (2005) Yoda was in fact computer generated and if you were to compare the animated version with the puppet you would see a vast improvement. As industry and technology have grown so have our ideas of what is impressive and our expectations are greater. Since sci-fi always uses the best and most current technology, it never appears to be dated and so audiences don’t ever feel like it has gone out of fashion. Therefore sci-fi is inherently a genre which evolves.
Some genre films are well known for their ability to highlight and comment on the social state of any time period and films of the sci-fi genre do just that. As social and political conditions change, the public are faced with new fears and realities and what the sci-fi genre does really well is to take these fears and present them to an audience as possible future realities. People enjoy this type of political allegory as they achieve validation from seeing their own concerns played out on the big screen. For example, in the 1930’s after WW1 and during the depression the public were concerned that the future may only bring further disaster and so “Things to Come” (1936) was released. The film predicted a future filled with more wars and suppression and so it was very well received since so many people felt this way already. Equally, in the 1950’s when there was the constant threat of nuclear warfare ‘giant monster movies’ including “Earth vs. the Spider” (1958) and “Attack of the 50 Woman” (1958) were very popular, as people feared that if they ever really were bombed the radiation would have similar effects to those in the films. The ‘monster movies’ also allowed film makers to appeal to audiences on a more personal level, since they could relate to the feelings of unease and threat at the idea of war/communism etc. but wouldn’t have do deal with them realistically. As an audience we enjoy people agreeing with our predictions and expectations and so we enjoy films that reiterate what we already suspect or fear. Since our expectations change over time, so too must plot lines in order to maintain the political allegory.
On the other hand however, the gangster genre has survived the decades by evolving and subverting generic conventions. There are a limited amount of narratives for a gangster film so in order to keep things fresh the traditional formula can be manipulated. We go to the cinema with expectations and sometimes if the film is too predictable we don’t enjoy it, we like to be surprised. This is why “Reservoir Dogs” (1990) was so successful, because it took all the traditional elements of a gangster film, i.e. crime, guns, expensive suits, the male club/gang, a flawed protagonist etc. and added more than the audience anticipated. With its retro soundtrack and non-linear storyline and a ‘twist in the tale’ it stunned audiences and redefined the gangster genre.
We like to be kept on our toes but we don’t like a film to fall short of our expectations. The down side to subverting conventions in order to keep things fresh is that you potentially change too much and audiences don’t recognise or understand what they are watching. There was a string of British gangster films in the early 2000’s and they were hugely successful, such as “Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” (1998) and “Snatch” (2000), but when “Revolver” (2005) came out it didn’t do well at all. This was not only because the public were getting a bit bored of the same type of film over and over, but also because Guy Ritchie tried to give the film a spiritual element and a complicated narrative so as to challenge his audience; which was not what they wanted, suggesting perhaps that the audience of a gangster film likes to be surprised and excited by small changes but does not expect to be challenged otherwise the pleasure in viewing is lost.
Another reason certain genres are just as popular today as they were fifty years ago is that they have bred sub-genres and hybrids. Classic Hollywood gangster films spurred the rise of British gangster films including “Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” (1998) and “Snatch” (2000), with a more witty tone than its American counterpart. Directors like Guy Ritchie and Quentin Tarantino took films like “The Godfather” (1972) and “Scarface” (1983) as a basis for their own films and built upon them, creating films that were still recognisable as members of the gangster genre, but different enough to also be placed in the sub-genre: British gangster. Equally, the sci-fi genre has taken elements from other genres to make hybrids and this is one reason that they are still so popular today. “28 Days Later” (2002) for example, is a mix of sci-fi and horror, which means it appeals to both fans of sci-fi and of horror and so when it was released in cinemas it attracted a larger audience. Similarly “The Fifth Element” (1997) was a combination of sci-fi, action adventure and even comedy and so was hugely successful with viewers, plus casting Bruce Willis in the lead role meant that the film automatically appealed to his already existing fan base, following films such as Die Hard.
The main reason certain genres have maintained such popularity is that they were flexible. Had they not adapted or evolved then we would have watched them and viewed them as old-fashioned and that would subsequently make us not want to see another film of that genre. However, since genres have moved with the times, be it through the use of new technologies or by hybridising, we still see the films as fresh and each one we watch only encourages us to watch another to see what new film technique they will unveil or narrative conventions they will explore.
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