When thinking about Genre, we immediately think about specific ones like horror, romantic comedies, action or thrillers. However nowadays, they have branched off into many many other ones, like psychological horrors and zombie comedies. Robert Altman discussed these issues and i will be expressing my own opinions on these as well.
Robert Altman claimed many Genre theories, such as 'Genres are defined by producers and are easily recognised by audiences.' I agree with this statement, as the producers choose what type of genres they will make, and this has to be recognised by audiences, as they want to know what they are going to see. This is usually done by codes and conventions of that specific genre. For example, romantic comedy, you will expect a romance in one way or another, a problem that gets in the way of them and a happy ending; this is the basic codes for a romantic comedy. In our opening sequence, we showed codes for a romantic comedy, like the obvious feelings one of the characters had, and an obstacle in the way. As the producers, we chose the genre and was able to convey the genre using these unique codes and conventions, with a twist.
Another theory of Altman is 'Texts 'belong' clearly to a particular genre in each case'. Certain texts, codes and conventions will belong to a particular genre, as the genres are what we expect from a film. If an audience went to see a drama film, and all there was in the film was blood guts and horror, they wouldn't be pleased, as this wasn't what they wanted to go see. a person will go and see a particular film as they like that genre of film, and know roughly what will happen. in our opening sequence in AS, we did a survey and found that Rom-Com's were popular, so we knew this was what people liked, and we made one.
'Genre develops in predictable ways.' I agree with this to an extent, as the industries have to always be changing, as the audience wants something new. If this didn't happen, all films in their genres would all be the same, and audiences wouldn't want to see them anymore. However, you cannot really say in which way they will develop, as the producers are always doing 'something new' which could lead to another branch of genre. However, in our opening sequence, we explored the issues of homosexuality, and we thought that as this wasn't really done before this would be a big twist; something the audience wouldn't expect. But, in actual fact, we are influenced by many other media sources, for example the television programme "Will and Grace" and a small number of films such as "I Love You Philip Morris". we are largely influenced by the media, as we today find it acceptable to talk about this subject openly, whereas a few years back, even the idea of homosexuality was wrong.
Another theory is 'Texts in a genre share key characteristics'. This is true because filmmakers have to follow set codes and conventions for a film, otherwise the audience will not get what they will be expecting and will leave unsatisfied and confused. This also makes it easier to create a film, as there are set conventions to follow. For example, the scary setting, the chase or a horror/thriller. In our opening sequence, we followed the conventions of a romantic comedy like the main character who goes through internal barrier. However, just like film producers, we had to have a twist, as this gave the audience what they wanted, plus a twist which they wouldn't have seen before.
'Genres are ideological' is another one of Robert Altman's theories, and this is basically meaning that the film is aspiring to something, and follows the codes and conventions of that genre. In our opening sequence, we used the main codes and conventions of a romantic comedy, but used the twist of two guys as the main characters rather than the usual male and female.
'They are not specifically located in history'. I agree with this statement, as thought time, the popularity of certain genress change. For example, western films were popular in the 50's and 60's but now, they are quite rare. This is because the audiences are demanding, and always want something new. sometimes, this can be because of whats happening in the world, and this may affect the popularity of genre.
'Genre critics are distant from the practice of genre, or is working' This statement is saying that the critics are not involved with the making of the film. This can mean that they don't understand the planning and effort they have put into the film but then they themselves are watching the film, as an audience, so they are the ones it is aimed at, and can voice their opinions about the quality of the film.
Thoughts on Genre
When an audience goes to see a film, they go to see that film, as they like that genre, and when we like a genre, we have stereotypes and conventions that we as an audience associate with that particular genre. However, the producers decide how they construct the stereotypes for in the film. As mentioned before, they have to constantly be changing and yet stay in the similar field of that genre, as we as an audience automatically link the conventions to the genre. Many people too today go to see films for many reasons, but most of the time, to escape from life, so they need to satisfy the needs of the audience.
In viewing genre as either a noun or an adjective, I personally think that we should view genre as an adjective. This is because 'Genre' as a word in a noun, which is a thing, however there are different types of genre like horror, comedy or action. These help describe what type of genre it is, which would be an adjective. For example, blood, guts and gore, would be describing the genre of horror.
A Philosophical Question
Where a tube of tomato puree was placed in a supermarket it can have an impact on how the person buying the item views the object. If it was placed by the pasta, they would associate this with a pasta dish, whereas if they placed it by the tomatoes, they will more likely to have a more open minded view as to what dish they would use it in. This can have the same affect on genre, and the way it is shown. For example, if a film was distributed as a romantic comedy, that is what people are going to see it as, and likewise with a horror. However, this is where they can get it wrong, as in 'Shaun of The Dead', this was shown to be a comedy where in actual fact, it was a zom com, which is a romantic comedy with zombies. The item itself wouldn't be any different, but the way the buyer sees the product would change. This can also happen with film and genre. For example, some people see the film James Bond as an action and adventure film, whereas some may view it as a romantic film, concerning his love affairs with other characters. Just like the tomatoe purre, the pakaging of the media text, and what you choose to highlight in the film will be what the audience view as most important about the film.
Also, when talking about genre, rather than focusing on how genre works, but why. "Genre" isn't really needed, but this works by a two-fold cord. the audience need to know what to expect, and the producers need to know what they're heading towards. we need not to think about how it works, rather why it works, as when you think about it, you dont need it and seems unnecessary. Coming back to the 'two-fold-cord' idea, this works because audiences have made it clear which genres they like, and which they dont, so from this information, producers can make films which will be popular for the audience, and ones that they will enjoy; everybody is happy at the end of the day. This has lead to the success of genre, as they have benfited from the demands of the audiene, and can make their money by making films that people will want to watch.
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