The plot is the outline or how the story is told. More discussion about those will be given in Chapter Three. The story has a beginning, middle, and end. The story is the situation that the characters are in and try to get out of, accomplish, conquer, or overcome. Keep in mind with movie genre, it is the characters that make the movie, and this term is obvious enough that no explanation is needed. I will give a hypothetical example of each so you will begin to see how different genres are formed. We will begin to discuss the different genres, and even the sub-genres, for certain genre types. People may like Westerns because they wish they lived in the 19th century because it was considered a simpler time. They like characters within this particular type of story because of the amount of action or the time period setting. People may like to watch crime movies or Westerns. How many people do you know who like to go to the mall, plaza, or beach and state that they like to people watch? How many people are nosey neighbors because they like to watch what is going on with the people around them? People love a movie because they like to watch characters/people. What people are actually referring to is that they enjoyed the characters, the problems/conflict the characters got into, and how the characters got out of the problems and conflict. People will state that a particular movie had a good plot or an intriguing story. Many people like a specific genre or two and will only watch movies in those genres. Having a movie labeled in a genre assists people to find a particular movie that they may be interested in watching. Being labeled in a genre is not a negative action. Some people will say that genres are labels that are given to stock movies, stating that these movies are routine. You have to be very specific in the discussion of movie terminology, sticking within the particular definition of the terms. Likewise, musicals and animation are not considered genres but rather “treatments” as to how a particular movie genre is told, even though people, over generations, refer to these types of movies as genres. These labels reflect or accentuate the movie genre rather than defining the genre. They are considered director’s style because their characteristics include cinematography and editing, which are not among the four elements that make up a genre. Film noir, thrillers, and action movies are not actually genres but a director’s style, which will be discussed in a later chapter. Other movie labels cannot be considered genres. Movies often have genres that overlap, such as adventure in a spy movie, or crime in a science fiction movie. The shaping determines the plot and best setting to use. If the movie elements are serious and cannot fit into a more limited genre, then it can be considered a drama.Ĭategorizing a movie indirectly assists in shaping the characters and the story of the movie. This is why this chapter is longer than the others because of the discussion of these variations.ĭrama can be considered a genre, even though some critics do not consider it a genre because it is too general. Other genres are crime, war, Westerns, spy, adventure, science fiction, horror, fantasy, biography, and mystery. The sub-genres of comedy differ from one another based on the fluctuations of the characters and the story. Some genres may be as general as comedy but do not have sub-genres like comedy. These elements are discussed regarding how their variations create a different category of movie. The above elements of story, plot, setting, and character equal a specific category of movie. An equation for remembering the genre is: Story ( Action) + Plot + Character + Setting = Genre. This becomes an easy way to remember the elements of a genre. Genre consists of four elements or parts: character, story, plot and setting. Putting a movie into a particular genre or category does not diminish the quality of the movie by assuming that if it can be put into a genre, the movie is ordinary and lacks originality and creativity. Categorizing movies makes it easier for the viewer to discover what he or she likes and will want to see. In other words, genre categorizes movies. Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language defines genre as “a category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content.” 5
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |