Genre

What is genre?

A genre is a style, or category, of (in media terms) film, music or television series. One example we could use for fixed elements in genre would be horror. In a horror film, we conventionally expect to see a group of youths (typically teenagers or young adults as it connects with the target audience) in a dark, creepy environment with something scary on the loose and out to kill them. Another example would be in an action adventure film, where conventionally the protagonist would be on a hunt for a prize e.g. treasure.

The repertoire of the elements in a horror film would be divided into different sub-genres, in which in each we expect the antagonist, or the "thing try to kill the characters" to change, along with the props used and the location setting e.g. in a paranormal film, the supernatural would be located in a house or a building and require no props, where as in a slasher film the antagonist would usually be in an outdoor location with a prop such as a knife or a chainsaw. This has developed from the fixed elements as audiences become more demanding for a wider range of horror themed films. 

Throughout the decades, their tastes changed according to what was considered scary at the time (for example, vampire's and monsters were considered scary in the 1950's, but considered boring in the 80's when audiences thought that crazy psychopaths with chainsaws and knifes were scarier and more realistic). This then created a division between the different film types, leading to different sub-genres which then the film makers would then base film ideas around the sub genre rather than the overall genre.

Genre and audience

Genres are useful for audiences as they develop themes and stereotypes which the audience can recognise and determine whether it matches their personal pleasures and whether they are going to spend their money on that film or not. Genres also set expectations of conventions, using fixed elements, so the audience know what to expect within a certain genre, which is useful as the film can take these expectations and create plot twists and turns which catches the audience off guard and creates a sense of excitement and hype. 

For example, the conventions of a narrative to a romance film would be boy meets girl, fall in love, heart break and then they get back together again. Audiences can use these guidelines so they know what to expect but film makers can take these expectations and creates twists which the film more interesting e.g. female protagonist dies, film ends on heartbreak.

Genre and institutions

In cinematic terms, genre has developed to suit the detailed pleasures and interests of the target audience, creating a sub-genre within a genre. These sub-genres also relate to the audiences pleasures in terms of time period and what pleasured the audiences needs during that time period e.g. horror (sub-genre would be slasher, very popular in late 70's/ early 80's but soon became boring and predictable by the 90's). 

Genre is helpful towards institutions as it sets the codes and conventions for the institutions to follow, allowing them to develop ideas about the film as well as plot twists to shock the target audience. Genres also give institutions an idea about which actors to use for which films, or a "star system". Certain actors are then expected of the target audience to stay within that genre, in which encourages the fan base to stick with the genre and creates a wider audience for that genre.