What is a genre?

What is a genre?

Film genre is the categorization of films, based on the elements it contains. There are many types of genres such as Romance, Comedy, Musicals, Sci-Fi, Adventure, Horror, Fantasy, Action, Crime, Epic, Drama, Western and Thriller - (this is the genre of our film).

A romance genre has two characters that develop a 'romantic' relationship, usually their relationship is threatened by another, in the end they manage to resolve their problems.

Comedy genres are humorous, they are aimed to make the audience laugh. Characters exaggerate body language, facial expression and the situation there facing. Comedy films have many sub-genres such as slapstick, parody and screwball.
Slapstick exaggerates movement and physical violence, parodies mock films or certain scenes; they usually intimidate singers, movie stars or characters from other films, and screwball combines an absurd situation with slapstick.

Musical genre films have dance routines and songs sung by the characters, the performances are usually a part of the narrative.

Sci-Fi genre is based on scientific fantasies such as an alternative universe or aliens, the technology is advanced.

Adventure genre films are set in exotic locations they have exciting storylines such as treasure hunting.

The aim of a horror genre is to make the audience afraid, it summons up our worst fear. There are many sub-genres of horror such as teen terror, serial killers or Dracula.

Teen terror is aimed at an audience of teenagers, the film usually has a group of teenagers who are on the run from something supernatural or someone, in the hope that they will survive.

Serial Killers are about killers or a killer who murder people, they usually have a reason for the killing and their reason is not reveal until the end. The last remaining character would either find out who the serial killer is and die with the secret or manage to escape alive.

Early horror movies were based on gothic characters such as Dracula, in this sub-genre Dracula would either be an evil blood sucking character, or misunderstood character who does not feed on blood. Whatever type of character they are, people would try and kill them by piercing a stake through their heart.

Fantasy film genre is based on imagination, the limitations are endless, it has elements of myth, wonder and magic. There are a variety of different storylines such as dragons, princesses, flying carpets or legends which are retold.

Action genre films are faced pace, they have mass destructive weapons, car chases, physical stunts and special effects such as explosions. The protagonist always has victory in the end because they manage beat the antagonist.

Crime genre films are revolved around sinister plots of underworld figures, such as criminals, gangsters, robbers and many more. The criminal always has an illegal masterminded plan (containing money) and the protagonist interferes with the plan and brings the criminal down. E.g a drug dealing film has a drug dealer shipping out drugs, the F.B.I (federal bureau of investigation) sends someone undercover to find out where the drugs are being shipped and to find evidence to prove the drug dealer is behind it.

Epic film genres are films that are set in a certain time period to retell history, or the myths of history. It draws attention to human drama on a elevated scale.

Drama genre focuses on social realism, such as racial prejudice, poverty, addiction to drugs and domestic violence. It is dependant on the characterisation of actors to emphasise the emotional themes.

Western genres are immediately recognised as 'cowboy and Indians', they were popular during the 1950s but as time went by their audiences were lost.

Finally, our film has to be based on the thriller genre, as it is the coursework brief. This genre always maintains suspense until the end, heroes are typically men.