powerpoint showing why genre has changed

1. Why do genre’s change over
time?

2. Target Audience
 It is said that target audiences for films have recently become younger. This is
known as ‘juvenilisation’ of cinema and may be why horror films are now
usually aimed at teenage audiences.
 This can be proved by the amount of teenage characters used within these
genres of films. For example the films Slender man is about two teenage girls
stabbing a class mate. The use of teenage actor/actresses helps the audience
to relate and feel more equal to the characters within the film.
 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.

3. 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.

4. Influence of particular texts, stars,
authors and 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.
 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.

5. Changes in technology
 Technology has changed a lot over the years. For example the film industry
now has access to technology such as the Stedicam, which allows to camera
to appear to float, this can enable stalking shots which can be important in
horror films.
 Developments in digital video editing techniques led to fast paced editing and
exact pacing of music with on screen action. The Blair With Project is a good
example of a film influenced by new technology.
 To add to this special effects vastly improved. Technical advances in the field
of animatronics and liquid and foam latex meant that hr human frame could
be distorted to an entirely new dimension, on screen, in realistic close up.