This document provides an overview of genre theory and film genres. It defines genre as types or categories of cultural works that share common elements. Genre theory examines the conventions across different works that allow them to be grouped together. The document then lists some common film genres like crime, comedy, drama, and thriller. It includes activities where readers identify genres of films from posters and the expectations of different genres. Finally, it discusses auteur theory, noting how some directors like Tim Burton and James Cameron have consistent styles and themes across their works.

1. 1
Genre Theory
Genre is a French word meaning ‘type’ and film genres have existed since the early
days of cinema. However, while the use of genre has a long history in film, it has a far
longer general history which dates back to Ancient Greece, at which time Aristotle
categorised theatre plays by type. Nowadays most cultural production, be it television,
magazines, music, painting or literature, ends up being assigned to one genre or another.
In all cases what makes a genre possible is the existence of common elements or
conventions across a range of productions. In other words, it is the identification of
repetition across a series of productions that results in them being described as a
particular type.
Genre Theorists:
Daniel Chandler: '...Genres...constitute conventions of themes settings, structure and
style that are shared by texts...'
Steve Neale: ‘…genres are instances of repetition and difference…’
ACTIVITY 1: How many different genres can you identify? Give an example of a
film from each genre.
Genre Example of film Genre Example of film
Crime
Comedy
Drama
Thriller
Epics
Horror
Imperium
Ghostbusters
Titanic
Don’t breathe
Gladiator
Conjuring 2
cf
Adventures
Animation
Biography
Fantasy
History
Musical
Romance
Sci-fi
cd
The Legend of Tarzan
Finding nemo
The social network
Warcraft
Hotel Rwanda
Dream girls
Me before you
Avatar

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Sport
Western
Thg Dodgeball War
ACTIVITY 2: Identify the genre of the films shown below. Is there anything on the poster
that helps you decide?
Looking at the poster of this film I can instantly tell that it’s
an action/thriller. The flames in the foreground are used to
resemble devastation and too much explosive scenes. The
colour palette displayed is very dark and angry to try and
emphasis the portrayal of a badass.
Thisfilmposterhasa simple name whichgivesusaclear insight
that the house at the endof the streetwill be amainpart of the
plot.The posterlookslike atypical posterof a horror movie e.g.
blonde girl andoldhouse.The colourscheme isunusual and
doesn’tlooklike acommoncolourpalletyouwouldsee ina
horror filmposter.The coloursonthispostercouldconveya
strange theme inthe filmorsomethingunusual.SoIthinkits
and action thriller.

3. 3
Thisis a teenromance because the mainimage kindagives
away the genre of the film.Andasan audience Iamnow
aware that these twoare the mainprotagonistsinthe film
and the filmnamesgivesusateenspiritvibe because of
the fontand coloursused.The actresshas a wire
connectedtoher nostrilswhichshowsthatthere isgonna
be sadnessinthe film.
Djangois a westernfilmbecauseof the propsand
costumesusede.g.cowboyhatsandthe gunsdisplayed
whichsuggestsviolence andthe coloursare black,white
and a splashof red the blackand white canconnote
mourningandcheerlessoccasionsandredcanalso
connote dangerandviolence andthe wayitssplattered
aroundthe postcan indicate bloodanddeath.
Thisfilmposterlookslike it’sawar/dramabecause of the
shadow of a guyholdingagun and the fourguys inthe military
costumes.Theirface expressionsandcostumessuggestwar
duesto the discomfortandsadnessandthe transparencyof
the image suggeststhe deepmeaningfulemotion.The colour
palette isblackandwhite andblack isa mysterious colour
associatedwithsafety,purityandfaithwhichtellsusabit
more about the filmposter.

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Genre Characteristics
If we take several films from a particular genre we would expect to see similarities in a
number of different areas. We can call these genre conventions. Nick Lacey called
these a ‘repertoire of elements’. These are built upon audience expectations about:
 Visual imagery/iconography
 Style (technical/audio codes)
 Character/ Stars
 Setting
 Narrative development
Léon Montana (Jean Reno) is an Italian hitman (or "cleaner", as he refers to himself) living a solitary life in
New York City's Little Italy. His work comes from a Mafioso named Tony (Danny Aiello). Léon spends his
idle time engaging in calisthenics, nurturing a houseplant, and watching old films.
One day, Léon sees Mathilda Lando (Natalie Portman), a twelve-year-old girl who is smoking a cigarette
and sporting a black eye. Mathilda lives with her dysfunctional family in an apartment down the hall. Her
abusive father and self-absorbed stepmother have not noticed that Mathilda stopped attending class at her
school for troubled girls. Mathilda's father (Michael Badalucco) attracts the ire of corrupt DEA agents, who
have been paying him to stash cocaine in his apartment. After they discover he has been cutting the
cocaine to keep some for himself, DEA agents storm the building, led by sharply dressed drug addict
Lookingat thisposterof GoodfellasIcan tell thatthisa gonna
be a crime/thrillerbecause

5. 5
Norman Stansfield (Gary Oldman). During the raid, Stansfield quickly becomes unhinged and murders
Mathilda's entire family one by one while Mathilda is out shopping. When Mathilda returns, she realizes
what has happened just in time to continue down the hall, where she desperately knocks on her
neighbour's door. A hesitant Léon gives her shelter.
Mathilda quickly discovers that Léon is a hitman. She begs him to take care of her and to teach her his
skills, as she wants to avenge the murder of her four-year-old brother. At first, Léon is unsettled by her
presence. He even almost kills her in her sleep, possibly out of mercy, but can't bring himself to do it. The
next morning, Léon tries to throw Mathilda out, but she claims that, because he saved her life the previous
day, he is now responsible for her, stating that she would be dead by the end of the day if he threw her out
and it would be like he had never opened the door for her. She begs him to train her as a "cleaner,"
demonstrating her willingness to learn by taking Léon's gun and firing randomly onto the street outside his
open window. Reluctantly, Léon trains Mathilda and shows her how to use various weapons. In return, she
runs his errands, cleans his apartment, and teaches him how to read. Mathilda tells Léon she loves him
several times, but he offers no response.
One day after Mathilda has learned how to shoot, she fills a bag with guns from Léon's collection and sets
out to kill Stansfield. She bluffs her way into the DEA office by posing as a delivery girl, only to be
ambushed by Stansfield in a bathroom. Mathilda learns from Stansfield that Léon killed one of the corrupt
DEA agents in Chinatown that morning. Léon, after discovering her plan in a note left for him, rescues
Mathilda, shooting two more of Stansfield's men in the process. A now enraged Stansfield goes to find
Tony, and assaults him in order to find out where Léon is.
When Mathilda returns home from grocery shopping, an NYPD ESU team sent by Stansfield captures her
and attempts to infiltrate Léon's apartment. Léon ambushes the ESU team and grabs Mathilda. Back in his
apartment, Léon creates a quick escape for Mathilda by smashing a hole in an air shaft. He reassures her
and tells her that he loves her and that she has given him "a taste for life", moments before the police come
for him. In the chaos that follows, Léon sneaks out of the building disguised as a wounded ESU officer. He
goes unnoticed save for Stansfield, who recognizes him, follows him downstairs and shoots him in the
back. As he is dying, Léon places an object in Stansfield's hands that he says is "from Mathilda". Opening
his hands, Stansfield discovers that it is the pin from a grenade. He then opens Léon's vest to find a cluster
of active grenades, which detonate moments later, killing them both.
Mathilda heads to see Tony, as Léon had instructed her to do before he died. Tony reveals to Mathilda that
Léon instructed him to give his money to her if anything happened to him. He offers to hold the money and
provide it to her on an allowance basis, on account of her youth. Mathilda asks Tony to give her a job as a
hitman; Tony adamantly refuses to hire a twelve-year-old girl, telling Mathilda to forget about her ordeal
and return to school. Mathilda meets with the school headmistress, who readmits her after Mathilda tells
her what had happened in the past several days and if the headmistress doesn't help her now, Mathilda
would be dead by the end of the day. She then walks into a field near the school to plant Léon's
houseplant, as she had told Léon he should, to give it roots.

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ACTIVITY 3: Look at each of the following genres and list the sorts of expectations
that you would have for each. Think about Lacey’s repertoire of elements:
 Visual imagery/iconography
 Style (technical/audio codes)
 Character/ Stars
 Setting
 Narrative development
Genre Expectations
Gangster They are usually set in large crowded cities to provide a view of the secret world
Of the criminal dark nightclubs or street lurid neon signs, fast cars, piles of cash,
sleazy bars, contraband, seedy living quarters or rooming houses. Exotic locales
For crimes often an element of adventure and wealth. Mostly materialistic, street
Smart, immortal, meglo maniacal and self-destructive. Rivalry with other criminals
In gangster warfare is often a significant plot characteristic. Crime plots also
Include questions such as how the criminal will be apprehended by the police,
private eyes, special agents or lawful authorities, or mysteries such as who
Stole the valued object. They rise to power with a tough cruel façade while showing
an ambitious desire for success and recognition, but underneath they can
Express sensitivity and gentleness.
Horror Small communities or isolated places. Urban environments, dark streets and
Narrow alleyways. Large cities or run down ghost towns. Anything that connotes
isolation or being alone. Hot blonde girls, places with dark history like
Abandoned houses, hotels and insane asylums. pov shots and camerawork is very
expressive and not natural. High and low angle can connote fear and nightmares
Disturbing sounds are very important in a horror movie. Ambient diegetic sounds
Like footsteps and non-diegetic sounds like a heartbeat. Visual style: often dark
colours like red and black(links to evil, blood and danger etc.) iconography of the
monsters help to connote extreme fear, disgust and terror: werewolves, vampire
Mummies, Frankenstein and many others. There’s always a hero a protagonist,
A man or ‘’final girl” of the film, keeping with normal conventions of the genre.
Usually the hero must embark on a mission or quest to kill or solve problems .
The villain, the stupid immoral teenagers that always get killed, creepy children
Police officers that can either be good or bad and many more like ghosts,
Zombies, demons, psychopath, stalker, weirdo, werewolf, cheerleader and etc.

7. 7
Musical
Science fiction Setting in an alternative world
Action Dramatic non digetic sound, clear binary oppositions
Western
Activity 4:
Using the internet and notes research genre theory.
Write a couple of paragraphs explaining what genre theory is, giving examples of genre and
conventions. Add this as an introduction to the work you have already started, describing the
genre and story of Leon.

8. 8
Genre Theory Daniel Chandler: Conventional definitions of genres tend to be based
on the notion that they constitute particular conventions of content (such as themes
or settings) and/or form (including structure and style) which are shared by the texts
which are regarded as belonging to them. Leon the professional is a crime
film/drama directed by luc besson it stars Jean Reno and Gary Oldham and features
the motion picture of debut of Natalie Portman in the film Leon(Reno), a professional
hitman, reluctantly takes in 12-year-old Mathilda(Portman), after her family is
murdered by corrupt (DEA) agent. Leon and Mathilda form an unusual relationship,
as she becomes his protégée and learns the hitman’s trade. The symbols that do
appear in a movie provide me as a viewer information about the inner workings of
Leon and Mathilda for example the main and most obvious symbol in the movie is
Leon’s beloved plant, Leon and Mathilda openly acknowledge that the plant is like
Leon because it has no roots the plant also represents Leon’s dynamic nature when
Mathilda plants it in a field, thereby finally giving it roots and illustrating Leon’s
attachment to another human being. Luc besson interchanges between slow motion
and real time shots when focusing on the characters of Mathilda and Leon. for
example, in the shots of Mathilda, the speed of the film is slowed down which
creates a sense of disorientation this is because she is viewing the murder scene of
her film, so she will feel a certain way for example shocked, sad and distraught she
may also have some sort of out of body experience, so the slow motion could
represent time slowing as she fully takes in the horror of the situation. This is the
opposite of Leon as his shots are played in real time as he watches through the
door, which highlights his distant and emotionless personality as a result of his
career as a hitman. These shots also highlight Mathilda’s childlike innocence and
Leon’s corrupt lifestyle, creating a binary opposite between the characters as a
viewer I get to see ambiguous anti-hero trough the character of Leon and this is
shown trough his costume choice he is wearing a plain white vest and black
suspenders which might represent the internal conflict of doing the right thing, there’s
more white (a color symbolizing purity and hope) and he helps Mathilda. The film is
set in New York.

9. 9
z
Leon and James bond
Spectre isa JamesbondfilmandverysimilartoLeon because ithasthe same genre of actionthriller.The filmfocuses
on a fantasticBritish secretservice agentcreatedin1953 bythe writer IanFleming.The genderrepresentationis
verydifference betweenthese twomovies,the maincharacterinJamesbondissmart andattractive,he drivessport
cars and alsowearsblack suitsandnearlyfitted.Showingthathe caresabout hisappearance andthe way he

10. 10
Mean girls

11. 11
Auteur theory
“The auteurtheoryisa way of readingandappraisingfilmstroughthe imprintof anauteur(author) usuallymeantto
be the director.”
Auteurtheorycan be relatedto the directed byTimburton whoisan Americanfilmdirector,writerandanimator. He
isknownfor hisdark,gothic,quirkyfantasyandmusical filmssuchas Charlie the chocolate factorywhichisan
adaptationof the bookRoald dahl.StarringJohnnyDeppaswillyWonka.Timburton avoidedusingtoomanydigital
effectsbecause he wantedthe youngeractorsto feel asif theywere workinginarealisticenvironmentandhe used
splitscreenphotography.Timburtonisone of the well-knownauteurdirectorhe isanauteur directorbecause his
plotsalwaysconsistof goodand evil (binaryoppositions)and the factthat Tim burton’smovieshave consistent
characteristicssuchas the characterizations,productions,castandcrew,theme,style andgenre whichmakeshis
workiconicand representative of himself.
JamesCameronisanotherauteurtheorywhois a Canadianfilmmaker,director,producer,screenwriter,engineer,
philanthropistanddeepsea explorer.His dramafilms suchastitanicwhichisan epicactionpackedromance film.
StarringLeonardoDiCaprioandKate winslet.because whenwatchingaJamesCameronfilmif youdidn’tknowhe
directedit,youwouldn’tguess.He doesn’texactlyhave the completedirective control onall hisfilms.He doesn’t
stickto the same genre;althoughnomatterwhatgenre hisfilmisthere isalwaysa strongaspectof love anditisn’t
alwaysromance.There ishoweversome similaritieswithinthe filmshe hasdirected