Week 5 - Genre

Now that we have laid out the terminology that makes up film language and have seen how it works towards telling audiences a deeper meaning or message, we can then begin to look at some of the other approaches that categorise or assign meaning in film. The first of these approaches is genre. In the required reading for this topic, Steven Neale (2000, pg. 7) broadly introduces the term genre as “a French word meaning ‘type’ or ‘kind’”, therefore suggesting it focuses on delineating or categorising different films. Genre and genre studies have been important areas in cinema for at least forty years, particularly when discussing Hollywood and mainstream cinemas. As a result, genre is one of the main branches of film studies along with film authorship, which we will look at in a future week.

There are a few different ways we can look at how meaning is generating through genre and how we can better understand film production through genre conventions. That is not to say that all genres, or even the word genre, are easy to define. It can also be a problematic term, especially with contemporary cinema, and the many films that utilise conventions from multiple genres at once. These are some of the issues that we will look out throughout this topic so that by the end you should be able to:

• Understand industrial, critical, audience and textual approaches to film genre

• Understand the problems with defining genres

• Be familiar with some genre history

• Identify genre films through codes and conventions

• Critically reflect on your own practice in relation to genre filmmaking

Let’s begin with a little history on genre and genre studies…

Genre beginnings

Genre films are normally considered in commercial filmmaking terms, particularly in relation to Hollywood film productions. Genre production is not confined to US filmmaking, of course, as we can also identify genres from other countries, such as Hong Kong martial arts film.

Historically, however, genre production formed the basis of the Hollywood studio system beginning in earnest in the 1920s. Each of the Hollywood studios during the Golden Era (1930s-late 1940s) would be known for producing a certain kind of genre film, which would also be considered in relation to production value, budgets and quality. For instance, a studio such as Loew’s MGM (now just MGM — Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer) was known in the industry as the producer of high quality, spectacular musicals. Some genres were considered as being of a higher calibre, which were called ‘A’ pictures and starred the most popular actors that guaranteed box office success. Each of the larger studios also supported their ‘A’ films with a schedule of ‘B’ pictures — genres that were produced cheaply, with little-known stars, low publicity budget allocations, and may have been exhibited second in a double feature bill. Although dependent on budget, ‘A’ genres generally include musicals and epics due to their higher production values and stable of popular stars. ‘B’ genres included the western, science fiction and horror films.

The sequence below is an example of an MGM musical, specifically Ziegfeld Follies (1945), directed by Vincente Minnelli. It starred Fred Astaire, LucilleBall and Cyd Charisse (all in this clip), as well as an abundance of popular stars like Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Kathryn Grayson, and Lena Horne. From a genre perspective, it contains all the conventions we would recognise in a musical — singing, dancing, bright colours and costumes.

Not all studios during this era were producing ‘A’ genres, as they were not all on an equal economic footing. There was a hierarchy in place that was loosely labelled as the “Big 5” who produced most of the ‘A’ genres and some ‘B’ genres; the “Little 3” who made some ‘A’ genres and ‘B’ genres”; and “Poverty Row”, who produced ‘B’ films. There were also independent producers who would normally distribute their films through one of the studios. The hierarchy was:

Big 5

• Loew’s MGM

• Paramount

• Warner Brothers

• 20th Century Fox (Fox Films)

• RKO

Little 3

• Universal Pictures

• United Artists

• Columbia Pictures

Poverty Row

• Monogram Pictures

• Essanay

• Republic Pictures

We will look further at the Hollywood studio system throughout the unit. For now, you can have a look at the link below from The University of Missouri that contains small bullet point summaries on each studios’ main kind of production and history during the Golden Era.

The Studio Era

So far we have only mentioned some of the genres that came into existence in early Hollywood, however, how are these genres distinguished? Next, we begin to look at how genres are categorised in various contexts and through different approaches.

Genre studies

The notion of genre was not an important debate in film studies until around the 1960s, although specific genre styles had been identified and written about. For example, early film critic and theorist, André Bazin (whom we looked at in topic 2) wrote some significant works on the Western genre in the 1950s. Up until the 1960s, genre was only seen as a method for classifying films into particular categories according to the conventions they displayed. However, as we will soon see, genres evolve and change over time, subsequently modifying or extending upon these conventions initially assigned to them. This idea of genres evolving was elaborated on further in the 1970s when film scholar, Christian Metz, argued that genres go through a cycle of changes over time, which he labels as stages. He begins with:

a classic stage, to self-parody of the classics, to a period where films contest the proposition that they are part of the genre, and finally to a critique of the genre itself (Metz, 1975 qtd. in Hayward, 2013, p. 185).

As Hayward (2013) notes, not all genres fit Metz’s stages, however, the Western film seems to have evolved and changed from its earliest examples in Hollywood during the 1930s-1950s, the introduction of the Spaghetti Western in Europe in the 1960s and then the more contemporary Western. This is most evidently seen in how the main protagonist/hero has changed throughout these different cycles.

Let’s consider these two examples:

Rio Bravo (Hawks, 1959) — John Wayne as Sheriff John T. Chance:

Deadwood (Milch, 2004--2006) — Timothy Olyphant as Sheriff Seth Bullock:

Each one contains visual western elements in terms of the locations and other aspects of the mise-en-scène. However, the role of the hero has changed, which can be seen as a result of certain cultural and social changes externally. Rio Bravo’s hero, Sheriff Chance, reaffirms a strong society and community built on American values and belief systems (e.g. Christian) by ensuring that his town and way of life is protected from bandits and other ‘evil outsiders’. He is represented as a paragon of virtue in this scene, standing up to weakness and vice. Meanwhile, in Deadwood, the hero, Seth Bullock, sits down with pub owner, pimp, and murderer Al Swearengen (Ian McShane) and is demonstrates willingness to collaborate with him as a political ally to resist outside interests for the greater good of the community. Both Chance and Bullock seek to do what's best for the community, but in Deadwood right and wrong are less black and white propositions.

I'm sure you also noticed that the language and themes were much more coarse and vulgar in Deadwood than in Rio Bravo. This was a deliberate strategy on behalf of Deadwood's showrunner (executive producer) David Milch to drive home to audiences that the old west of the United States was a lawless, uncivilised placed governed by the exercise of raw power. Sex, violence, and coarse language were able to be frankly depicted in the Western genre on HBO (a premium subscription cable channel) by the early 21st century in a way that they hadn't been able to during the Hays Code years of Hollywood filmmaking (though this changed by the late 60s--70s) or on mass-audience network television.

Hopefully, through this study of the hero in the western, we can begin to see how genres can evolve, go through cycles as Metz would argue, and reflect broader social and cultural concerns. If you would like to read up on the notion of genre evolution and the western further, follow this link to Film Genre Reader IV and Tag Gallagher’s chapter entitled “Shoot-Out at the Genre Corral: Problems in the Evolution of the Western” (chapter 21).

Approaches to identifying genre

More recently, there are a few different ways we can identify and categorise genres, as well as take into consideration industry practices and audience involvement in the production of film genres. In the following four approaches, we will see the different ways that genres are understood and that it is not simply a matter of focusing on the narrative and visual patterns to establish a film within a specific genre. Scholar Jason Mittell (2001) writes that we need to look “beyond the text as the centre of genre [and focus on the] complex interrelations among texts, industries, audiences and historical contexts”. These approaches also tend to overlap and work together in certain ways to recognise genres.

Industry

Film industries such as Hollywood respond to audience demand for certain genres, repeating generic formulas that tend to do well at the box office. One popular genre film will spawn numerous others based on the same formula, what we can call cycles of genres. The Hollywood studio system of the 30s and 40s is based off this model of genre production, as we have seen. It is a very commercial, conservative approach to genre filmmaking, as it suggests guaranteed profit making for the studios due to having a guaranteed audience for these films.

Another aspect of the industrial approach is the relationship between technological development and the evolution of genres. Historically, we could look at a genre like the Hollywood musical and how it focused on the use and development of Technicolour to enhance spectacle and excitement. This was also a way the studios tried to get audiences back to the cinema after the introduction of television. More recently, we could look at the innovation of ‘e-motion’ capture technologies developed in part by James Cameron to make Avatar. Once again, this increases the spectacle for genres like fantasy and science fiction in an attempt to make the unreal more realistic. This is something we’ll look at further in week 12.

Finally, in this approach, we can identify genres through specific actors and stars. This aspect was built into the studio system where stars would be contracted to act in specific genre films. For example, Humphrey Bogart was contracted to make a number of gangster and detective films. These days we can still assign actors to genres and vice versa, even though it is a less formal process. For instance, we may expect someone like Vin Diesel or Jason Statham to be action films or Jack Black and Ben Stiller to star in comedies. This aspect of the industrial approach overlaps with the next approach we’re going to look at — the audience approach. Consider your favourite genre or actor if you have one — is there a similar relationship between them? If yes, this is a purposeful action made on the part of commercial studios to make their genre films familiar and satisfy audience demand.

Audiences

As we’ve just seen, audiences have certain expectations when recognising stars with certain genres. Besides stars though, we also expect a genre to contain elements that are recognisable to us that signal their generic formula. This is because we already have experience with particular genres through having already seen similar films labelled with a genre type. This means that genres are intertextual, meaning they refer to other texts of their own type. This way they are also seen as historical texts, or what Metz would have called “classic” genre texts. From an audience perspective, we are aware (or become aware) of this history and therefore place certain expectations on a genre film in order to understand it as a generic example. We expect lots of explosions, car chases and fight scenes in an action film, for instance, because we are familiar with other actions films we may have seen and those are some of the elements characteristic of that genre.

Speaking of action stars, let’s take a look at the trailer for The Expendables (2010). The trailer and film more broadly play with both the generic conventions of the action film and the inclusion of multiple stars associated with either 1980s or contemporary action movies.

Popular criticism

In this approach, think about where else we come to identify a genre film besides through studios or stars. Where else tells us that a film is of a particular genre?

We may find films classified in popular press, like newspaper, magazine, radio or television movies reviews. Reviewers will normally refer to a film’s genre in their description of it. For example, a review of Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014) on the SBS movie website states:

Sir Ridley Scott turned 77 on 30 November [2014], but you’d never know it from the vim and vigour on display in his new Biblical epic Exodus: Gods and Kings.

This is the opening sentence to the review, clearly describing Scott’s film as by its genre designation; the Biblical epic.

Finally, if anyone is old enough to remember them, video/DVD stores would be another popular place in which genres are designated. The organisation of store shelving was done according to genre, therefore labelling the films placed on those shelves as displaying those generic traits. We can see a contemporary version of this in on streaming sites such as Netflix, which allow for even more granular generic catagorisation.

The final approach we are going to look at is the textual approach. This is probably the most obvious way we try and identify a genre film, which is through the codes and conventions present in a particular film that makes it an example of a specific genre. For this approach let’s use the film noir as a case study example.

Textual

Film noir is sometimes referred to as a style, a mood, or mode of cinema due to its atmospheric aesthetic. For this context, we will be looking at it as a genre, as it contains specific codes and conventions that when placed together produce what is expected to be a noir film. Film noir appeared during World War II in the USA and is reflective of this particular era through its themes and motifs. It draws visual influences from German Expressionism from the 1920s, partly due to some Expressionist filmmakers immigrating to America during the war, as well as establishing a newfound cynicism and realism Hollywood had not yet seen. Films of this era can be considered classic film noir, although we can see its influences in later genre development (science fiction and horror, for example), along with what has been labelled neo-noir or contemporary noir style films. For the purposes of this example, however, we will be concentrating on the post-war noir period, but also look at how these early films have influenced more recent ones.

In terms of genre theory, how we approach film noir textually is through identifying the semantic and syntactic elements. Rick Altman (2012, Pg. 31) defines each of these terms as the following:

• Semantic elements: the common traits, attitudes, characters, shots, locations, sets;

• Syntactic elements: the constitutive relationships between semantic elements and how they are structured

Another way to look at the difference between these two approaches is to consider what conventions or iconography do we expect to see within a particular genre (semantic) and what meanings can be understood from them (syntactic). Let’s look at how these two approach work in the context of film noir.

Semantic elements

Location and setting:

• Normally set at night

• Dark, rain soaked streets that are usually empty

• Urban or city landscapes

Visual style:

• Chiaroscuro lighting (lit for night, low key)

• Creation of heavy shadows, particularly for partially obscuring characters

• Tight or claustrophobic framing and composition

• Use of vertical and tilted compositional lines

• Composition established around the character, rather than the character controlling the space

Character archetypes:

• Anti-hero detective/private investigator

• Femme fatale

Narrative structure:

• Complex, non-linear structure; generally, the film begins with the crime/murder, then flashes back

• Revolves around a crime, normally a murder

• Involves a romantic entanglement

Let’s have a look at some examples from two well-known films noir — The Maltese Falcon (1941) and Double Indemnity (1944).

Visual style and setting — Double Indemnity

Heavy shadows and claustrophobic framing; night setting/murder; chiaroscuro lighting; harsh angles and shadows

The anti-hero — The Maltese Falcon

In this clip, we see private investigator Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) confront the woman he has developed feelings for, Brigid O’Shaughnessy (Mary Astor), with accusations of murder.

The femme fatale — The Big Sleep

Here we see Phyllis Deitrichson (Barbara Stanwyck) suggesting a life insurance scam to insurance salesman Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray). In general, the femme fatale will try to use her sex appeal to gain something like wealth, power or control. Neff initially rejects Dietrichson's veiled proposal out of hand, but finds that he is powerless to resist her wiles.

Syntactic elements

The themes and meanings that are drawn from how the semantic elements are constructed include:

• Feelings of individual hopelessness, loneliness and alienation

• Corruption of authority

• The meaninglessness of social justice

A number of these syntactic readings are also based on the era in which the films were produced. There is a sense of post-war disillusionment in these films evidenced in the kinds of characters and their actions, for example. The anti-hero can be understood as a representation of the WWII veteran who has returned home to find society has changed, as has his role within it. Women are now in the workplace for instance, which is traditionally a male domain. It is also pertinent to note that the femme fatale has been discussed as a representation of women in American society. In this sense, she is normally punished for her actions in some way (i.e. death), which has been understood as eliminating the threat that the modern American woman has posed by her changing social role. There is a general feeling of alienation and no longer belonging in a society that provides an undercurrent to how film noir is constructed.

Paul Schrader, in “Notes on Film Noir” (listed in the references section on this topic), goes into more detail on a number of these elements, themes and history.

Finally, we can see some more recent film examples that utilise a film noir style or include a number of its semantic elements. As you have a look through these, consider whether they also draw on similar syntactic elements as well. Can they be labelled a film noir?

Predestination (2014)

Collateral (2004)

Bound (1996)

Problematising genre

Problem 1: Definitions

So far we have been identifying the ways and attempting to categorise films into certain genres based on our knowledge and previous experiences with particular genres. However, these days it isn’t so easy to define the characteristics of any given genre. It is very rare that there is such a thing as a ‘pure’ genre film in present-day film production. Can you think of any recent examples of films that could be considered a ‘pure’ (i.e. utilising only the conventions of an individual genre established historically)?

Within some genres, we also have subgenres, which can make finding a clear definition or description of a genre difficult. Horror films are the perfect example of this, as it contains many different subgenres including:

• Splatter (Blood Feast, Dawn of the Dead, Cannibal Apocalypse)

• Slasher (Halloween, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm St)

• Supernatural (The Ring, Paranormal Activity, 30 days of night)

• Torture (Hostel, Saw)

• Giallo (Italian horror films — Deep Red, 1975; The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, 1970)

• Monster (Troll-hunter, 2010; Godzilla, 1954)

• Animal (Jaws, 1975; Cujo, 1983)

• Zombie/virus (Night of the Living Dead, 1968; 28 Day Later, 200)

We could go even further into sub-genres of the sub-genres (like ‘redneck’ slashers seen in House of 1000 Corpses or Texas Chainsaw Massacre, 1974), but how far should we go?

This shows that sub-genres can be numerous and, once again, defined in various ways. At the bottom of this table, we can see reference to ‘hybrid’ genres; genres that use conventions from more than one genre, such as the comedy horror film.

Where do the parodies of genre films fit into this model? Films like Scary Movie, Scream, or Spaceballs? Are they their own genre (the parody) or another example of a horror or sci-fi subgenre that includes comedy? You could potentially argue either way due to the conventions and tropes used in the films, which forms the basis of the parody. All of these reasons show how difficult it is to clearly delineate one genre from another; the labelling of a genre isn’t always so easy.

Problem 2: Ideological connections

As we discussed in the last topic with regard to subtext, we can discover our own meanings and ideas for any film we watch influenced by our ideological beliefs (which we will look at in topic 6). These meanings may not necessarily adhere to the syntactic conventions attached to a particular genre. In other words, we could potentially read film texts against these already established meanings.

Problem 3: the ‘Art’ of genre?

As Hollywood is an industry made up of genre production, it has been criticised in terms that reference genericism or formulaic construction seen to impede artistic achievement in filmmaking. In this argument, the repetition of the same codes and conventions leads to, as film critic and filmmaker Paul Rotha (see Ryall reading, 1998, pg. 327) would suggest, a debasement of cinema, inhibiting the development and creation of film art. Rotha argued this in his criticism of 1920s Hollywood genres.

On the other hand, other scholars have praised Hollywood’s genre system, as it provided a useful framework for Hollywood directors to follow, to safeguard studio popularity and profit by providing their mass audiences with the films they want to see and not those that those deemed too indulgent on the part of the filmmaker. As Ryall (1998, pg. 327) also suggests, at the very least, genre has been a productive conceptual tool that assists in classifying films.

References

Cockrell, E. (2014). “Review: Exodus: Gods and Kings”. SBS Movies [online]. Retrieved 5th December, 2014 from http://www.sbs.com.au/movies/movie/exodus-gods-and-kings

Hayward, S. (2013). “Genre/Sub-genre” Cinema studies: the key concepts (4th ed.). London; New York: Routledge. 182–189.

Mittell, J. (2001). “A Cultural Approach to Television Genre Theory”. Cinema Journal. 40(3). 3–24.

Ryall, T. (1998). “Genre and Hollywood”. The Oxford Guide to Film Studies. Ed. John Hill and Patricia Church Gibson. Oxford: Oxford UP. 327–338.

Schrader, P. (1972). “Notes on Film Noir”. Reprinted in Film Genre Reader IV. Ed. Barry Keith Grant (2012). Austin, TX.: University of Texas Press. 265–278.