good morning friends today we are going to
talk about genre theory what are genre i know
most of you would say the genre are categories
ah that a simple way of putting it ah the
definition now lets assume that you go to
a dvd shop and you find dvd shelf and located
in a particular way you often find that there
is a massive range of choice under each section
you have the ah war dvd section you have the
horror you have a romantic comedy science
fiction crime what not so
endless genre endless categories and a what
do these shelfs explain to us ok as as scholars
or as a student of film studies now genre
are created by demands so let us get it lets
get this thing very clear the genre are created
by demand so if there is a particular section
in a dvd shop for horror and science section
that means there is a demand if there is a
section for romantic films or romances or
crime that means there is a demands for these
film of ah for example understand that how
today we have the graphic novel and films
based on these ah type of literature which
are very popular so ah demand creates availability
or supply so genre to get back to ah what
we are doing here so what is the genre genre
is the french term for ah for a kind or ah
ah generally it is denoted ah it denotes a
literary class a literary type so the maj
major classical majorer classical genre are
lets say epic tragedy lyric comedy and satire
along with of course novelant short story
so genre have an distinct set of rules ah
there is a code of shed tools subject matter
and a distinct set of rules conversions and
styles but within the rules there must also
a sense of freedom this is important that
within the rules a film make us should be
able to experiment or if we are talking about
literary genre then writer
should be able to ah ah experience sense of
freedom to experiment genre seek to understand
film as a specific form of commodity and at
more refine level attempts to this disentangle
different instances all that commodity now
lets talk about genre in literature so horror
genre is a very popular genre ah we usually
credit american writer ah the great american
writer edgar allan poe who in eighteen twenty
wrote is popular tale of taddar and after
this this ah wilkie collins published the
moonstone in eighteen sixty eight which can
be regarded as the first two detective stor
detective novel in english in nineteen not
two owen wister publish the virginian a westren
and in nineteen twenty six yugo gunback brought
out amazing stories
the earliest example so of science fictions
so what are you talking about we are talking
about the development to the genes is the
development the growth of various genre now
it is important to an understand that in genres
ah a number of approaches have developed that
address hollywood gondria structure all of
which are under paint by different assumption
about the purpose of genre repeatesizm season
richard dyer ah a film scholar in nineteen
seventy three are you that genres are pleasurable
because they offer escapist fantasies into
fiction world that remove the boredom of reality
he sees these world as you topian that offer
an amend us of energic excitement is fantainfinity
genres are constructed for a ah for ah a known
or guaranteed audience the use
repeated story lines and the stock characters
but again let me tell you this does not mean
that a film maker is not ah free to experiment
because within a genre also there can be various
things happening various changes and various
experiments happening ah people ah also associates
re use of sets props and actors ah which particular
genre now let me focus your attention to genre
fisk ah genre expert says so i read this entitation
from ah john fisk a representation of a car
chase only makes sense in relation to all
the others we have seen after all
we are unlikely to have experienced one in
reality and if we did we would according to
this model makes sense of it by turning it
into another text which we would also understand
inter textually in terms of what we have seen
so often on our screens there is then a cultural
knowledge of the concept car chase that any
one text is a prospectus for and that it used
by the viewer to decode it and by the procedure
to encode it so what we are trying to talk
about ah or explain here is that genres are
tried and tested provide an elements of security
for ah film makers as well as those who invest
in cinema and for audience it is always a
pleasure to watch things that have been tried
and tested ah also budget and financial are
easier to predict were genres are concern
they allow for
clear product and audience differentiation
and market segmentation the film business
use a genre as a mood of labeling and positioning
that products now according to ah deadly and
rules in concepts and film theory ah and he
is a he is another great name associated with
ah genres theory so ah for him genres are
a specific network of formulas which deliver
a certified product to a waiting customer
a so audience become a waiting and a willing
sort of customer for particular genres genre
ensure the production of meaning by regulating
the viewers relation to the images and narratives
constructed for them and genre construct the
proper spectators ah for the consumption there
own consumption rick altman is another name
ah
which is associated to genre theory he he
has written a seminal article semantic synthectic
approach to film genre published in nineteen
eighty four and he ask what is the genre what
is the film genre he goes on to explain the
genre analysis is both inclusive and exclusive
it is inclusive because its includes a long
list of films that can be specifically categorized
genre are exclusive as certain films within
a genre cannanised and are discussed as exemplary
text he also felt that genre theory has ignored
the fact that generic theory and defination
was first introduced by the film industry
one has to consider how genres develop new
tate and rise and fall in popularity alt verse
two approaches to understand genres are semantic
synthetic semantics is the building block
of a genre including costume acting cinema
autography iconography etcetera
ah an syntax concerns the over line structure
and the deeper meaning in film genre which
is the book by recallment based in nineteen
ninety nine ah altman offers ten tendency
of literary genres and genres have a distinct
bordered and can be firmly identified according
to altman genre theories for altman seek to
describe the already existing genres the internal
functioning of genre text is consider entirely
observable an objectively analyzable text
the similar characteristics systematically
generate similar meanings similar ah usage
and similar readings produces readers and
critics all share the same interest in genre
altman also adds that readers expectation
and audience reaction have receive the independent
have receive little ah independent attention
ah he aslo raises the
question auxon history and posits if genre
be or genre can be objectively or scientifically
studied for a altman genres are never neutral
categories and genre theories generally do
not recognize the institutional character
of there own joneric practice from there we
move on to the ah to another ah ah category
that is sub genre so sub genre is categories
with in an overarching genre ah these are
defined by specific characteristics for example
we use the term slasher films for horror films
then we also use post ah for ah apocalyptic
ah for science fiction films film nova is
ah sub genre of gangster cinema and sports
films of drama for example lets consider which
is a sports
drama ok ah and it is the sub genre of a broader
category called drama there is a conflict
there is a hero there is a heros journey and
it is the story of a heroes ah fall and rise
so therefore there is plenty of drama in then
we have a movie we have courtroom dramas again
they are sub genre sub categories of drama
think of a movie such as a few good men twelve
angry men and these are courtroom dramas ah
there are three major thrus of theoretical
development here first the taxonomic view
of genre which attempts to map the boundaries
between generic classes secondly the view
of genre as an economic ah strategy for organizing
film production schedules and third the view
genre as the function of cognition as a contact
between produces and consumers which
rangers film ah intelligible on some level
genrical analysis of cinema of us not only
the possibility of describing the systematic
nature of hollywood as an industry in which
differentiation between individual films occurs
only within an overarching logic of product
standardization but we have to understand
that genres are no longer just hollywood categories
in hindi cinema or in particularly even are
regional cinema we do depend a lot on generic
category think of are own ah um recently released
an instant which is a sub category of a slasher
and horror flake ok broad category is horror
but ah you can also call it label it as sorry
as slasher cinema ok and of course we have
family films and musical
such as hum that cated to another particular
type of audience so called family audience
so ah genres are ah very well known categories
in indian cinema and of course in hollywood
cinema we have to understand that these categories
prompt consideration of different genres in
terms of there collective significance or
deeper meanings in other word exactly the
same value judgment that c is hollywood cinema
as first and for most a cinema genre which
serves to marginalize the standard practices
of hollywood in the hands of critics provided
genre critics with the critical vocabulary
aprot appropriate to the art of those practices
more over it is founded on the problematic
assumption to ah do not only with the genre
templies implies but
and also that genre is some how already out
there as an essentially structure of text
but also to do with the activity of doing
genre studies while the former assumption
rest on the a historical promise that genre
exist in itself and that it inheritably has
essential qualities that can be reveal through
proper analysis the later assumptions tend
to mass the product the productive roll of
predicts and a scholars in the definition
of generic categories and the institutional
frame work within which such practices take
place never the less this find these problems
ah prtoblems which altman are use have had
the effect of narrowing genre theory i was
says aristotle model of genre analysis of
has by turn prov proved remarkably influential
and durable and this is what altman feels
that ah the great
greek thinker and philosopher aristotle who
has given us the concept of drama and its
definition so his model of genre analysis
has been particularly influential and durable
so in the same way that aristotle identifies
the epic comedy tragedy and so far as essential
genres of poetry in so far as they are seen
to exist in themselves as pure category of
literature ah we also have a allen william
who has an identified the principle film genre
as the narrative film experimental avanga
film and the documentary for williams these
category at the conceptual ah or the other
conceptual equivalent of and thus share the
same sense of prominence as those describe
by aristotle on this account the labels we
ordinarily used distinguished between films
of various kinds such as thriller horror science
fiction comedy romance and so on actually
refer to the sub genres of the narrative film
genres evoke the look of the characters physical
environment significant object ah genres identifier
ah identity ah preserves a films integrity
ok they allow for some expectations certain
things can happens and cert certain things
cant ok so ah for example ah lets assume that
ah ah in a traditional traditionally romantic
and family musical dram such as such as a
we cannot certainly expect a noise ah environment
so a particular genre expects certain kinds
of ah environment certain kinds of characters
and there are certain things which can just
cannot happen just cannot occur
in a particular genre ah now lets talk about
iconography and genres iconography is a key
term in the analysis of genre and iconographic
approach to genre analysis involves the identification
description and interpretation of cinematic
objects events figures in order to see how
one type of film was marked off from another
on the ways is of differences in visual conventions
the western was distinguished by setting both
specific and general ah the west the frentia
desserts mountains monumentrally salons etcetera
and costume for example the west skirt gun
belts boots specificity of props and even
actors such as you know dependence on reliance
on actors like gary cooper or john vine and
later on clint eastwood however if an attentions
to iconography worked
well for the western and gangster film in
in hollywood it prove difficult to translate
such a visually specific method a logic to
other kinds of films for instance it is difficult
to isolate distinct ah iconography systems
for crime films or thrillers and most action
films with any clarity guns and wapindia common
to each and unlike the western and gangster
film there is not necessary and historically
specific criteria to regulate aspects of setting
and costume tone is another key element in
understanding genres so tone contributes towards
establishing ah genre the way a film ah is
ah lit or setup ah how a camera is position
can be an indicator of genre for example lets
see the use of ah harmonica in the western
film even guitar in the western film were
we cannot expect the
leading man to break into ah ah very modern
dance lets say disco or a break dance or hip
hop the horror movie is include prince of
ah ah view shots silences etcetera to evoke
the feelings of fear for example lets consider
again ah ah a film like aniston so now ah
where does all these discussion lead to have
you trying to establish that ah genres are
very predictable and unimaginative depending
on the same sense and the same idea over an
again just to lalas into some kind of identification
with genre and comfortable ah the feeling
of ah comfort so is that a question now ah
it is the very difficult question to answer
if genre are getting to predictable genres
try to avoid predictability if they are ah
audiences who will decline an industries will
loose money genre have to adopt to reflect
change is in social and cultural attitudes
values and expectations so ther has to be
some change ok stale genre can be re void
by bringing in less predictable and more imaginative
elements think of the gay teen introduced
in a western like broke back mountain directed
by ang lee and ah what is the role of audience
in genres so genres depend on a set of audience
so this is something we have to recognize
the film industry generally targets an each
group of audiences these are based on general
sexuality race natinality etcetera certain
films are label womens film for example romantic
comedies musicals
love stories an the other hand genres such
as war and gangsters are more like mens films
romantic film such as a yesh chopras or ah
the hollywood movie star in john julia roberts
my best friends wedding is suppose to the
traditionally light alight heated romance
with a feel good factor ok think of karan
johars film like ah you know there has to
be feel good factor here student of the year
so ah audience expect these like hearted romantic
films to be ah ah to have certain element
which make them feel good so audience expects
it to be in a certain way so like wise star
title poster a stars images all these factor
contribute to world a particular genre and
the audiences expectation of
film industry and produces relies on genres
and generic conventions to secure finances
ah so money is at the center of genres genres
make movie easier to market because there
is a core niche audience waiting to consume
the film again there is a scholar steve neale
who in questions of genre suggest that there
are two things that are critical central to
the understanding of the genre very simility
would that is being true to ah ah life and
the question of social and cultural function
the genres perform the neale goes on to explain
how some genre hold very similitude as highly
important where is some some genres can break
away from strict adherence neale states that
something sometime breaking away from generic
traditions may bring unexpected pleasures
for the audiences neale suggests that the
feature of genre studies must consider the
pre history that is the development from other
forms of media ah all films regardless quality
of those films and factors other then content
for ah such as advertising what roles do a
does advertising or a studio policy or a start
images they play in making of genres ah there
is also a concept of genre blending for example
ah the classic hollywood film casablanca starring
humorey bogart and ingrid bergman so hm it
is an example of films ah of a film that lacks
genre definition and slip between various
categories it s a fim film that cross a genres
and ah again we have an example like start
awards which is essentially a science fiction
but it also has element of a western casablanca
coming back to it can be called war
film it set during ah the war period it is
a romance with songs it is an adventure thriller
film and it is also a buddy film so in ah
it is all things into all viewers again ah
ah very contemporary film like the matrix
it can be labeled as the science fiction its
also ah hong kong action flake it can be seen
as a neyo nova and ah hm scholars have also
tried to do a philosophical reading of matrix
film so it is the pop philosophical movie
also so it is the blend of several genres
tarantino jackie brown again ah noughts at
hong kong action film from the seventeens
and seventies and eighties and also at blaxploitation
film of the seventees it is the sub genres
with urban black at protagonist it is also
a highest
film and if also ah ah anord at gulf gang
flicks ah such aah and also the sixties western
now a lets consider something ah like genre
bending a movie that completely throws out
to all the rules out of the window and i would
like talk about of hollywood film called the
hours so ah it is ah the hours is ah ah ah
novel by michael kanigan it is the perfect
example of how difficult it could be to adapt
a work offer literally fiction ah here kaningan
re imagines virginia woolf novel misses dalloway
kaningam in tigress the stories of three women
in three different location sent time periods
all link through woolf book now misses dalloway
is the story of a single day in the life of
an
upper class english women as she plans a party
for her husband richard all her life or memories
to her acceptance of death is in encapsulated
in a single day and michael kanigan wrote
a present day version of misses dalloway in
his bias the taking the title of his book
bias from ah virginia woolf original working
title and it extends the course of a single
day to three women woolf her self who face
is the cries is with her husband richard over
day during the writing of misses dalloway
this is set in nineteen twenty three then
ah house wife name lora brown in nineteen
fifty one los angeles whose life is altered
forever one day at she reads misses dalloway
and the book editor name clarissa worms in
two thousand one contemporary version of the
misses dalloway character so the aas is a
literary novel based on
another literary novel and glorifies reading
and the power of literature it is the genre
bending work by screen play was written by
david hair who himself is an a claimed dramatist
now ah genre theory creates heated debts as
it continues to puzzle and excite is called
as audiences aloe regardless of the theoretical
debts and developments in the debts audiences
and joy genre films and as they provide familiarity
apart from various genre they should also
consider the various distinctions that are
made were cinema is concern for example we
have feature film and short film we also have
ah categories such as documentaries then non
fictional motion pictures recreates some aspects
of reality and then we also have biographical
cinema and ah ah then also we can have ah
great documentaries based on some biographies
or well known events and festivals ah or an
expose a involving interviews with people
so this is what i have to tell you about genre
and here i would like to draw your attentions
to the bibliography so rick altman film genre
keith grant ah ah there is a film genre from
iconography to ideology and barry langford
film genre hollywood and beyond so thank you
very much and we will meet for a next class
