My genre off of my last two media lessons.

1. Genre – The theme or category that a
film can be put into.

2. Genre is a system of signs/symbols/themes by
which a particular genre. Can be recognised e.g.
The Western – cowboy hats, guns, horses,
mountains, desert, Indians, cowboys, gunfighter,
“taming the West”

3. There is a “contract” between the film maker and
the audience. The audience build up generic
memory, which causes them to predict certain
things. The film makers can then play on this to
produce unexpected scares which catch the
audience of guard.

4. Genre boundaries can be flexible, with many films
blending two or more genres together. Examples
of these films are:
 Shaun of the dead (Comedy and horror)
 Terminator (Action and Sci-Fi)
 Back to the future III (Sci-Fi, Western, Comedy
and romance)

5. There are many different types of film, such as:
 Comedy
 Western
 Science fiction
 Horror
 War
 Romance
 Musical
 Action adventure
 Thriller
 Police

6. Horror films often have the following features:
 A monster or villain
 A helpless character
 Tense build-ups
 Jump scares
 Music to set the scene
 Darkness

7. A western film have some or all of the following
features:
 Cowboys
 Horses
 Gunfights
 Taverns
 Brawls
 Set in the American west

8. Sci-Fi films often have these features:
 Futuristic weapons/technology
 Dystopian future
 Spatial settings E.g. space, different planets etc.
 Aliens, mutants, androids or humanoid robots
 Paranormal activities (telekinesis etc.)
 Other universes/dimensions