Genre definitions

Definitions of Genre : 

Definitions of Genre A French word meaning ‘type’ or ‘kind’ Suggests a simplistic cataloguing of films into easily defined groups and sub-groups However, films are rarely generically ‘pure’ and it is reductive to attempt to define genre through lists of essential elements

Concept of Genre : 

Concept of Genre However, the concept does not just refer to a film’s internal qualities. The institutional discourses of production and marketing It also refers to the spectators’ expectations and hypotheses about the films they watch

Structure of Genre : 

Structure of Genre Iconography Character Roles Narrative Structures Visual Style Values and Themes

Tom Ryall : 

Tom Ryall “The master image for genre criticism is the triangle composed of artist/film/audience. Genre may be defined as patterns/forms/styles/structures which transcend individual films and which supervise both their construction by the filmmaker, and their reading by an audience”

Dudley Andrew : 

Dudley Andrew Genre as blueprint, as a formula that precedes, programmes and patterns industry production Genre as structure, as the formal framework on which individual films are founded Genre as label, as the name of a category central to the decisions and communications of distributors and exhibitors Genre as contract, as the viewing position required by each genre film of its audience

Genre as ‘contract’ : 

Genre as ‘contract’ Central to the institutional practices of Hollywood is the construction of a narrative image for each individual film (John Ellis) Audiences carry this narrative image with them to consume the text. It is a combination of : General generic knowledge and understanding + Specific foreknowledge of the film

Narrative Image : 

Narrative Image Narrative images consist of a number of structured generic expectations The process of watching a film consists of testing these expectations against what is actually happening on screen In this process, generally our expectations will either be fulfilled (by the use of generic convention) or disrupted (by the use of generic innovation)

Generic Expectations : 

Generic Expectations Remember that genre films can create pleasure through the use of both familiar and unfamiliar elements Roland Barthes has provided a useful distinction between these two types of pleasure: Plaisir – mundane, everyday pleasure Jouissance – more challenging, intense pleasure