The document discusses how and why genres like horror change over time. It identifies several factors that influence genre evolution, including changes in target audiences as they become younger, evolving audience expectations as familiarity with codes and conventions increases, and shifting societal values and representations as audiences become desensitized to graphic content. New technologies also impact genres by enabling different filming and editing techniques and more realistic special effects. Individual influential texts, directors, and stars can further drive genre changes or renew popularity.

1. WHY DO GENRES CHANGE
OVER TIME?
SPECIFIC CHANGES WITHIN
THE HORROR GENRE

2. TARGET AUDIENCE
It is often said that target audiences
for films have become younger over the
years. This is known as the
‘juvenilisation’ of cinema and may be
why horror films are now usually aimed
at a mainly teenage audience.

3. AUDIENCE EXPECTATIONS
 An audience reading a text from an established genre
is likely to be familiar with the codes and conventions
of that genre from reading similar texts. Your familiarity
with these codes and conventions – the character, the
setting, the music, etc – from watching similar horror
films all raise your expectations. Perhaps surprisingly,
much of the enjoyment that comes from watching, or
reading generic texts is delivered precisely from
knowing what to expect from them.

4. CHANGES IN SOCIETY, IDEOLOGIES,
VALUES & REPRESENTAION
 The effect that the media has on audiences is always
a subject for debate. Is it that audiences’ tastes and
values influence the media or vice-versa? Wherever
you stand in this argument, it is clear that
contemporary audiences are harder to shock and
more accustomed to representation of graphic
violence, sexual images and ‘bad’ language as well as
more spectacular special effects than ever before.

5. CHANGES IN SOCIETY, IDEOLOGIES,
VALUES & REPRESENTAION
 In order to explain how and why a genre
changes over time you should be able to show
how different texts reflect the value and
concerns of society around them. The
changing position of women, national and
international conflicts, disease, immigration &
emigration, attitudes to sex & violence are just
some of the issues that will influence
representation and trends in the media.

6. CENSORSHIP AND CODES OF
CONDUCT
 If you look at the codes ethics applied to films
in 1960 which banned nudity, swearing
(including ‘Damn’, ‘God’ and ‘Hell’) and
excessive lustful kissing you can see how far
what is considered acceptable, or tasteful by
audiences and the film industry has moved on.
Modern audiences are used to much more
graphic sex and violence and the boundaries
of what is considered to be ‘tasteful’ in film are
stretched more and more each year.

7. INFLUENCE OF PARTICULAR TEXTS,
STARS, AUTORS & DIRECTORS
 Genres can be heavily influenced and
suddenly rekindle their popularity or change
direction because of the impact of individual
texts which come to seen as genre defining.
Although texts which are successful at their
release will be imitated in media owners’
attempts to cash in on what made them
popular, the most influential or critically
acclaimed texts are not always those that are
the most popular.

8. INFLUENCE OF PARTICULAR TEXTS,
STARS, AUTORS & DIRECTORS
As well as the influence of particular
texts it is also important to recognize the
impact of particular directors and stars.
For example, the influence of Hitchcock,
often described as the master of
suspense, continues to be seen in
contemporary thrillers e.g. A Perfect
Murder.

9. CHANGES IN TECHNOLOGY
 Examples of technological advances in the film
industry include the invention of the Steadicam
which allowed the camera to appear to float
and enabled the stalking shots so important in
horror films, developments in digital video
editing techniques which led to fast paced
editing and exact pacing of music with on
screen action. The Blair Witch Project is a
good example of a film influenced by new
technology – its entire look is the result of the
use of cheap digital cameras which did not
exists a few years ago.

10. CHANGES IN TECHNOLOGY
To add to this special effects vastly
improved what can be represented as
real. Technical advances in the field of
animatronics and liquid and foam latex
meant that the human frame could be
distorted to an entirely new dimension,
on screen, in realistic close up.