Genre: Defining Genre Flashcards
What area of cinema are film genres mostly associated with?
Most associated with Hollywood cinema and Classical Hollywood cinema, however, Hollywood and classical cinema are not bound by genre
What makes up a genre film?
The narrative and stylistic features
Genre films are linked to the systematized Hollywood era that had what goal?
To put out a lot of films frequently, similar in nature to keep audiences interested and intrigued at the same time
In classical Hollywood cinema this played a large role, as part of defining genre?
The studio system
Define genre
A genre is a grouping of films that possess some common form of characteristics (and a deep structure)
Genre exists as a sort of tacit ______?
Contract between film makers and audience. (Thomas Schatz)
What types of conventions define a particular genre?
Visual, aural, and technical (costuming, soundtrack, lighting — look, sound, feel); Narrative (three-act structure, characters); Thematic (experiences, social systems, beliefs)
Define “genre of determinate space”
A genre film that takes place in a specific arena both geographically and symbolically; a term coined by Thomas Schatz
Define “genre of indeterminate space”
A genre film that takes place in a context that “depends less on a heavily coded place than on a highly conventionalized value system”; term coined by Thomas Schatz
What is an example of a genre of determinate space?
The Western, The Gangster film, Screwball comedy
What is an example of a genre of indeterminate space?
The musical
What is the main goal of the screwball comedy genre?
To produce laughter
What are some of the narrative conventions of the screwball comedy?
- Stories that typically feature two protagonists, man/woman, different from each other in some fundamental way
- Difference leads to battle of the sexes both by animus and attraction
- In the end, attraction wins out as the couple enters into a union
What are some thematic conventions of the screwball comedy?
- Social integration
- The association of love with companionability and play
The genre film is ______?
An actual event that honours such a contract. Thomas Schatz
