Thursday 16 May 2013

Genre theories - A wider view of Genre

Genres are created through a process of repetition and recognition leading to anticipation and expectations - Graham Burton 

By analysing technical conventions (the use of camera, sound, editing, dialogue, language, music) and  genre conventions we can see that films of the same genre have similarities. Films within the same genre are easily comparable yet each one is different. 'The same but different" - Nick Lacey. Once a genre has been established the audiences start to have expectations of that genre and they expect certain convention (Both technical and genre) to be in a text.
However, when film texts become familar they also become boring to an audience and therefore they become post modern because they conform to hybridity, new techniques, different characters and modern society issues.

By analysing past film texts, one can see the similarities and the differences between them; it allows us to see how the genres have evolved and developed over time.

Sin city conforms to many film noir conventions but these are partly diluted because of its hybridity. By looking at past texts such as 'The Maltese Falcon' and 'The big combo', we can see that conventions such as an urban environment, femme fatale and a "hard Boiled" by life protagonist. Sin city can also be compared to the text 'The Spirit' which is also a hybrid of Film noir and Comic book.

This is also true for the sci-fi genre.By looking at films such as 'Invasion of the Bodysnatchers' and Avatar, one can see the obvious use of technology and alien life which is instantly comparable to District 9. A more closely relatable film is 'The Fly" which is actually referenced (inter textual defence and therefore post modern) in District 9, the use of body horror and the consequences of technology are instantly recognisable in the texts.

Social realism film have also developed a massive amount over time mainly because of changing social issues. Issues that were relevant in texts such as 'A taste of honey' and 'Saturday night Sunday morning' ar eno longer applicable in modern society.

No comments:

Post a Comment