A presentation into the theories behind genres in media.

2. GENRE
The Google definition of genre is ‘a style or category of art, music, or
literature’.
Meaning that the genre is a way of categorising art forms (such as films)
into smaller groups, making them easier to decipher their contents.
When deciding to watch a film the audience determines the answer from
judging what mood they are in, and what type of genre would appeal to
them.
This is a follow up post debriefing the mind mad that I created, examining
in depth each side bubble in depth as well as adding on interpretations
and how it will help me with my chosen genre.

3. GENRE BASICS
Genres have different kinds of types; including comedy, horror, thriller,
romantic, actions, drama and many more, they all have different
characteristics which are known to film audiences.
These characteristics are things such as;
• Characters
• Plots, twists, situations, issues & themes
• Locations
• Props
• Music & sounds

4. DANIEL CHANDLERS INTRODUCTION TO GENRE
THEORY.
Conventional definitions of genres are based on the notion
that their contents consist of particular conventions that
are associated with belonging to them.
He stated that embedded within texts (in our case short
films) are assumptions about the ‘ideal reader’ (target
audience). These assumptions are what the creator
believes their attitudes towards subject areas will be.
These assumptions can be based on class, age, gender
as well as ethnicity.

5. HOW GENRE CREATES MOODS
Genre in film is a style or category that can determine the mood of the
piece. These genres include;
• Comedy (lighthearted, energetic, lively and funny)
• Horror (Intense, gory, exhilarating and scary)
• Action (Fast paced, exaggerated)
• Thriller (Intense, exhilarating, scary and dark)
• Romance (cute, emotional, love and hate)
And many more.
Industries create these moods in their pieces to attract certain target
audiences to consume them. These target audiences will be more enticed
to buy the products of the film, such as sequels, merchandise and other by-products
created to make money.

6. GENRE AND AUDIENCE
• Audiences develop an understanding that certain expectations may be
fulfilled and they may find pleasure in predicting what may happen in
the story line next. By labelling your film into a genre the audience will
grow a greater understanding of what to expect during the film, while
also wanting to prevent repetitions that could create boredom within the
same genres.
• For example; within a Romantic comedy we expect the couple to begin by
hating each other, followed by a series of chance meetings, of which are funny,
but also bring them closer together.
• An audience can make/ create certain audiences by their perceived
responses;
• For example; Westerns and musicals have gone out of fashion because they
don’t have an audience in todays industries.
• Horror films have come back, because audiences get a buzz from being
scared.

7. In a survey we created
to discover what our
target audience looks
for within their favorite
genres. For example
within a Thriller genre
they expect suspense
and enigma, and enjoy
jump scares. These
responses have helped
us to understand what
the audience majority
want/ look for in a
short film.
By closely following
these responses we
can produce
something that will
appeal to a great
majority of the
population.

8. INSTITUTIONS AND GENRE
• Producers of narratives depend upon the relationship between the film
and audience, in order to create a certain amount of immediate
communication with the audience. By the term immediate
communication it refers to being able to put out messages that the
audience understands. Because of this institutions aspire to make their
narratives comprehendible, so the average person won’t complain
about the complexity of it.
• By sticking to certain components and conventions of specific genres it
ensures the understanding from the audience, and make it easily
recognisable to potential viewers.
• By producing a variety of genres it widens the maximal possible
audiences to cater for.

9. PROBLEMS WITH GENRE
Defining a genre in itself is extremely problematic. What is the difference
between a horror film and a thriller, they both have suspense and
sometimes enigma associated with them. Genres can have similar
characteristics that are associated with more than one genre.
An example of this would be the film ‘Blitz’ because it has action, suspense
and murder mystery all within this film, leading it to be hard to
categorize into a specific singular genre.

10. CONVENTIONS OF A THRILLER MOVIE
A thriller has certain conventions that the
audience looks for within a film of this
class. The main aim is to create
suspense and excitement for the
audience, based upon mystery, or the
investigation of an enigma filmed from
the point of a main character that is
being eluded from the truth.
The film shutter island is a prime example of the
enigma and suspense needed for a successful
thriller film. Throughout the whole film the hero
is plagued with visions and nightmares; so while
he is conducting an investigation around the
mysterious happenings occurring at the insane
asylum, he also has to figure out enigmas within
his own life.
These mysteries result in shutter island being a
gruesome, hauntingly suspense filled thriller.

11. A key convention that is important within a
thriller film is that there be a large amount
of violence within the film. Sometimes
filmed within/ based around the inner
workings of institutions such as the
police, army and the government. Within
these institutions it allows the writers to
include violence and action pact scenes
(such as shoot outs, car chases and
vengeful scenes).
The film Blitz is about a serial killer that
has targeted cops in a rough urban
London estate. In this film it sees the use
of gun fire, foot chases, drug use and
discrimination within the law enforcement.

12. Within these films there is always a
rational outcome, that can be
comprehended without use of the
supernatural or out of this world
elements. And sometimes the hero
and the villain share some similar
characteristics, which causes the
protagonist to face the hardest
challenge he has ever faced.
In the film ‘The dark knight
rises’ batman faces the
character Bane, of equal
strength and fighting skill,
making this challenge the
hardest he has ever faced. The
similarity of the two characters
is what makes this a heart
racing movie, not knowing how
good will prevail over evil,
making it a strong example of
a thriller.