Genre Research

Genre Research 

What is genre? 

A basic definition of genre is how movies, music, and literature are categorized and organized.  

• For example, some genres of films include drama, action, and thriller and there are many more.  
• In most genres there is a few sub-genres in it. 
• For readers, genres help organize information so that they can more easily make sense of what they are about to read.  

Now we are going to dive deeper into some different types of genres. 

 

 

Drama: 

• Drama is a genre that contains stories with high stakes and usually a lot of conflicts.  
• They are plot-driven: dramas have a clear plot structure and usually portray real life scenarios or extreme situations that have emotionally driven characters.  
• Dramatic themes play a big part in dramas.  
• Conflict is a very important part of drama as it considered the heart of drama.  
• Drama is created and shaped by the elements of drama which, for the Drama ATAR course, are listed as: role, character and relationships, situation, voice, movement, space and time, language and texts, simile and metaphor, mood and atmosphere, audience and dramatic tension.  
• Like I said before there can be multiple sub-genres within a genre. Some sub-genres of genre include historical drama, romantic drama, teen drama, medical drama, and docudrama.  

 

Action: 

• Action film is a genre where the characters are in a series of events that usually include violence, extended fighting, physical feats, rescues, chases, you get the idea.  
• Usually in action films there is also of explosion's, car chases, shootouts, fist fights, basically any form of action can be included in an action film.  
• Action movies are also usually very fast-paced and usually focus on the execution of the pot itself rather than the plot itself.  
• In action there is always a good guy, bad guy, and a victim. Usually, the good guy wants to help or save the victim form the bad guy who wants to prevent that from happening. 
• Sub-genres: Action comedy, Action thriller, Disaster movie, Chase movie and many more.

 

Romance: 

• In a romance film the plot revolves around 2 main protagonists and their love for each other.  
• Usually there the classic plot where they fall for each other, date each other, must face some sort of problem, and end up together.  
• Again, keep in mind that not ALL romance film has a plot like this. 
• What is it that makes them all different from each other? Well, the screenwriter(s) put their own flair to the plot to make it interesting and their own, the director's all help set up visual components that also help make a difference.  
• Sub-genres: Historical Romance, Young Adult, Romance Suspense, Romantic Comedies and as always, a lot more.  

 

Horror: 

• Horror film is a genre that aims to create a sense of fear, panic, alarm, and dread for the audience.  
• These films are often unsettling and rely on scaring the audience through a portrayal of their worst fears and nightmares.  
• Horror films usually center on the arrival of an evil force, person, or event.  
• Some other big parts of horror films are to show the audience instead of always telling them, using suspense and of course who could forget the jump scares.  
• Sub-genres: Comedy Horror, Phycological Horror, Gothic, Paranormal, Serial Killers, I think you get the idea. 

 

Science Fiction (Sci-Fi): 

• Science Fiction is a genre that usually has things that do not excised in the real world within its plot.  
• They can make futuristic or fantastical worlds that are created in cinema through distinctive iconographies, images, and sounds often produced by means of special effects technology.  
• Science fiction spans a wide range of themes that often explore time travel, space travel, are set in the future, and deal with the consequences of technological and scientific advances.  
• There are multiple elements that a science fiction film might include such as time travel, teleportation, parallel universes, aliens, and way more.  
• Sub-genres: Alien Invasion, Alternate History, Alternate/Parallel Universe, Apocalyptic/Post-Apocalyptic, Artificial Intelligence. You should know by now that there are also more sub-genres. 

 

Comedy: 

• A comedy film is a category of film in which the main emphasis is on humor.  
• These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement and most often work by exaggerating characteristics for humorous effect.  
• Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception).  
• The genre humorously exaggerates the situation, the language, action, and characters.  
• Comedies observe the deficiencies, foibles, and frustrations of life, providing merriment and a momentary escape from day-to-day life. 
• They usually have happy endings, although the humor may have a serious or pessimistic side.  
• Sub-genres: Black-Comedy, Horror-Comedy, and Romantic-Comedy. You know there is more though. 

With this information we made presentations in class about a certain genre. When we presented them, we were basically teaching the class all about the genre we had picked. This helped us learn a lot about multiple types of genres in a fun way. Looking back now I probably would not know a lot about the genres and what make them up if we hadn't gone over it. I knew that it took a lot of work to do make films, but I now have learned that there is a whole thought proceed behind it and usually this thought process is different depending on the genre the film will be. I definitely learned a lot during the time we took to do this and am glad we did.