Film - Theory and Genres

The concept of a "genre" is more than just a category on your iPod music menu. When dealing with Film, genre films are sometimes viewed as boring or redundant or even degenerative. However, when dealing with the Theory portion of our class, we have to understand the driving impetus behind the genres that we all know and view and love. Keep in mind your study of Critical Theories and Analyses of Film, and how they can interact and change your own understanding of films you choose to see and those you choose to create.

As we defined Film as movements in the previous class, we can know begin to add conceptual elements to that definition. For Science-Fiction, we see that Film is Educational. For Horror, we see that Film is Emotional. For Fantasy, we see that Film is Mysterious. For Comedy, we see that Film is Truthful. For Film Appreciation, we see that Film is Enjoyable.

Many films that are used as anchor films for each individual Genre of Film unit are free for viewing in the Online Films tab.