Genres

September 7, 2012

Genres -

categories or stylistic forms of different kinds of media
it’s kind of like demographics in reverse - demographics are about the audience, whereas genres are about the stuff they watch
the way that an audience knows one genre from another is by sets of rules, expectations, stylistic markers and components that we “know” belong in one genre over another
eg an action movie has specific rules and patterns that we all recognize without discussing

Horror Movies - what are some of the ways that allow you to know you are watching a horror movie? Find 10 and jot them down.

Dramatic Irony - the audience knows stuff that the characters don’t - “DON’T OPEN THE DOOR!”
Music is very specific - eerie, freaky and sometimes disturbing - designed for psychological effects
Objects of a certain type that tell us what is up - child’s toy, deserted road, butcher’s knife, mask, etc - there are lots of objects that tell us murder and fear and paranormal events are ahead
Unbelievably bad decision making by main characters - “I’m going to go out there by myself and see what that noise was. You guys stay here in a group.”
Lighting patterns are exaggerated - they are more “expressionistic” and less realistic - expressionistic lighting is more about evoking mood and less about looking like a real place
Exaggerated camera work - obvious weirdness in the placement of the camera and the angles used
Sudden scares - things jumping out is a classic horror movie “trope” (a thing that we see again and again)
The Breaking of the Moral Code - THE SIN - often it’s lust, or laziness or some kind of behaviour that is unacceptable.
POV shots - handheld point of view shots - Jason’s view in Friday the 13th
The False Ending - you think he’s dead, but HE’S NOT!

Other kinds of movies, music, books, TV shows and so on will have similar elements that identify the genre

You should be able to find these things in other genres and point them out.