Genre is the classification of of a film made up of lots of different conventions: content, subject matter, themes, mood, plot, setting, style, stars, recurring icons, stock character and narrative events are examples of these. These conventions define what type of film one is.
Below is a diagram of multiple genres and the types of conventions which the contain:
Genre conventions and Paradigms
Paradigms are patterns in genres which audiences easily recognise in films. These can be a plot point or a costume or a stock character.
Grouping of paradigms:
- Iconography(ie the main signs and symbols that you see/hear),
- Structure (the way a text is put together and the shape it takes)
- Theme (the issues and ideas the programme deals with).
Positives and Negatives of Genre
Positives:
Genre provides a structure and form which allows filmmakers to follow a flow of ideas but also add their own challenging of convention. This can lead to the creation of hybrid genres and explore and improve current genres.
Negatives:
Stagnation of a genre through the conforming of paradigms. As this happens, audiences notice repetitive plots and interest in the genre depletes. One of the more obvious of these was the Western Genre, over repeating of conventions lead to staleness in films and the continuous release of these identical films left audiences deflated. The film 'Brokeback Mountain', whilst released as a Drama/Romance, has Western genre conventions, but challenged these to a new level.
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