Assignment 4 : Film Genres

Genre

1.



In film theory, genre refers to the method based on similarities in the narrative elements from which films are constructed. Most theories of film genre are borrowed from literary genre criticism. As with genre in a literary context, there is a great deal of debate over how to define or categorise genres. Besides the basic distinction in genre between fiction and documentary film genres can be categorised in several ways.

Fictional films are usually categorised according to their setting, theme topic, mood, or format The setting is the  environment where the story and action takes place. The theme or topic refers to the issues or concepts that the film revolves around. The mood is the emotional tone of the film. Format refers to the way the film was shot   or the manner of presentation. An additional way of categorising film genres is by the target audience. Some film theorists argue that neither format nor target audience are film genres.

iconography is used within film studies to describe the visual language of cinema, particularly within the field of genre criticism. Iconography is an important aspect of genre. We expect to see certain objects on screen when we see a particular genre, for example, in a western, dusty, lonely roads etc.

 

Sub Genre
Many movies include sub-genres, for example 'horror' might include classic 'monster' movies such as Dracula.

Hybrid Genre

Hybrid  Genre, is when two already famous genres are formed together. An example of 'hybrid genre' is Cowboys VS Aliens; a film that combines the ideas of western cowboys and futuristic aliens. 

2. 300

This film (300), is placed under the genre of Action, but also has a few sub-genres including Fantasy and history.

This movie could be based under the sub-genre of Action Fantasy.

The movie is set in 480 B.C. in Thermopylae.

The iconography includes, Spartan Costumes, Ancient Weaponry and horses.

The mood is very Dark and gritty, at some points the film is very mysterious, because you do not know what is going to happen next.

The Expendables 2

This film is placed under the genre of Action. Like most films, it also contains sub genres.
The Expendables 2 is placed under the sub-genre of Thriller, but also contain a lot of comedy.
The movie is set in a few different modern day places, including a foreign village and an abandoned Russian army facility.

The Iconography contains a wide range of guns (most of which are real) and also a lot of modified vehicles, for example boats and planes.
The mood of the film is light-hearted which hints of dark, sad scenes. For example, through the film there are a lot of jokes about the characters and they make war and violence seem light-hearted. But in some scenes, for example, the scene where a soldier dies in a mission, the film also portrays the dark side of war.

Terminator Salvation

This film is also placed mainly under the genre of action, but also has sub-genres of Drama and Sci-Fi. The film is set in a future world after a Nuclear Holocaust where "Skynet" controls the world. The Iconography of the film contains a lot of futuristic weapons such as laser guns and futuristic transport. There are a lot of 'robot' costumes in the film both human sized and larger.

The general mood of the film is dark, and gritty. The director has used dark lighting for nearly every scene to make it more tense and to keep the mood as serious as possible.