Genre Paper #4

A film genre is a type or category of story. Some typical genres are sci-fi, horror, western, crime, war, romantic comedy, historical epic, etc. It should be pretty easy to find various lists online.

You will select a specific film genre and do a background paper on its origins, development, conventions, and its current status. The paper will be 3-4 pages. You may pick an area you are familiar with or explore a genre that is relatively new to you. Here is what your paper should cover.

Origins – Is there a storytelling tradition where this particular genre has its origins? Space operas such as “Star Wars” come from, among other things, a background of early comic strips, pulp magazines and movie chapter plays.

Development – Cinema has been around for over 100 years and most genres were there from the beginning. Thomas Edison’s “Frankenstein” is a silent film made in 1910 and is one of the first horror movies. The story has been remade many times, including the 1931 version we saw a scene from.

Conventions – Every genre has certain themes and motifs that consistently show up in the stories and the way they are presented. These elements do not have to be in every film of a particular genre, but they are ideas that an audience is prepared to accept as normal and without questions. A gunfight in the dusty street is something that is seen in many westerns. The couple who starts off disliking each other, but ends up in love is typical in a romantic comedy. Not every western has a showdown and not every romantic comedy starts with adversaries who become lovers, but it happens often enough for us to call it a convention.

Current Status – How popular and relevant is the genre in today’s market? Racy and rude comedy is thriving. Biblical epics are rarely made. There are a lot of slasher movies and much fewer westerns. Most of these categories seem to shift with public taste, political realities, economic conditions and any number of other social factors. Film Noir was much more popular with the Post War audience of the 1940s than the type of musical comedies that had dominated just a decade before.

You will also pick a clip from a representative film and post it on the blog site, or bring it into class and share it on the big screen.

This paper and the film clips will be due on Monday, March 15th, the first class session following Spring Break. I am always available during class hours on Fridays for one-on-one sessions to discuss this paper or anything related to anything.