Answers.
What are the six elements (sets of conventions) that your reading used to define and
classify genres? - Answer 1. Story formulas
2. themes
3. character types
4. setting
5. presentation
6. stars
Story Formulas - Answer genre
the way a movie is structured-plot
themes - Answer a movie's theme is a unifying idea that the film expresses through
its narrative or imagery.
implicit meaning
character types - Answer genre films are populated by character types
monsters, aliens, humans, animals, etc
setting - Answer where a movie's action is located and how that environment is
portrayed
location, time, etc
presentation - Answer genres feature certain elements of cinematic language that
communicate tone and atmosphere
aesthetics, lighting, the way shots are composed
stars - Answer actors who star in genre movies factor how the genre is classified,
analyzed, and received
gravitate to a specific type of genre, what they did for that genre
what are the six genres? - Answer 1. gangster
2. film noir
3. science fiction
4. horror
5. western
6. musical
gangster films - Answer deeply rooted in the concept of the american dream: anyone
can succeed.
follow the rags-to-riches formula
most gangster protagonists are killers, the first victims are usually portrayed as
deserving.
, protagonist may have a sidekick
antagonists are law enforcement or fellow gangsters
film noir - Answer a style or genre of cinematographic film marked by a mood of
pessimism, fatalism, and menace
defined by the tone and the mood
protagonist is an antihero
distinguished by its visual style
plot structure reinforces the feeling of disorientation
science fiction - Answer not really about science, genres focus on humanity's
relationship with science and the technology it generates
explore dread of technology and change
rooted in folklore that articulates the ongoing battle between humans and anything
other than human
protagonists tend to be very down-to-earth, compassionate and soulful, indomitable
human spirit
movies stress the otherness of an antagonist
horror - Answer born out of a cultural need to confront and vicariously conquer
something frightening that we dont fully understand
the frightening things are often death and insanity
the forces must be given a tangible form
experience the exhilaration of confronting the dead without the devastating
consequences
begins by establishing a normal world that will be threatened by the arrival of an
other
the protagonist is normally the only person who initially recognizes the threat, they
are then targeted by the other
fall into 2 categories: normal world, remote rural areas
western films - Answer inspired by american history, westward expansion
taming the wilderness, human vs the west/nature/natives
it is a form of american mythology
wilderness vs. civilization
setting is in the frontier, rural, dominated by landscape
law vs. outlaw
cowboy mythic hero
musicals - Answer uses characters that express themselves with song and/or dance
musical performances existed before the genre
back-stage used to revolve around a promising performer searching for their big
break