The document discusses different elements that contribute to film genres, including iconography, style, setting, narrative, characters, themes, and audience response. Iconography refers to common visual or sound images within a genre, like machine guns in gangster films. Style is how elements are presented, such as the muted tones in Ken Loach films. Setting and characters are also defining elements, like the Old West setting in westerns or gangster bosses in gangster films. Genres often explore universal themes that interest wide audiences, such as opposing values in westerns. Audiences also group films based on the immediate emotional responses and sensations they provide.

1. The repertoire of elements
By James Ayres
Source: Film genres - an introduction - published by bfi education (2001)

2. Iconography
Iconography derives from art history and refers to a
classification of paintings based on common images or
icons.
Films contain both visual images and ‘sound images’.
A central iconic image in the classic Hollywood
gangster film was the machine gun, fired by men in
suits from the back of cars, making a staccato noise.
Iconography can refer to objects or sounds.

3. Style
Distinguishing between style and iconography can be
challenging.
Is a dark room filled with shadows an icon of horror
or part of the style of the film? Style is how elements
such as those are presented.
An example of style would be how, in a Ken Loach film
the muted, realist tones suggest a social realist drama.

4. Setting
Some genres have specific locations such as the
westerns being set in the old west of America

5. Narrative
A narrative refers to both the story that a film uses and
the narrative devices or elements used within it (such
as chases and gun-fights).
Narrative has also been detailed in several posts on my
blog.

6. Characters
Narrative is usually developed through characters; the
antagonist causes the narrative problem that the
protagonist must resolve.
Genres sometimes have specific heroes linked to them
such as the ‘gangster boss’ and ‘federal agents’ in
gangster films.

7. Themes
An attraction of genre films is that they often include
themes that interest a wide range of people.
For example Jim Kitses in his book ‘horizons west’ (1969)
uses the work of Claude Lèvi Strauss to create a list of
opposing values and ideas within westerns such as;
East vs. West
Garden vs. Wilderness
Industrialism vs. Agrarianism

8. Audience response
As said before, some genres are identified through very
specific elements (settings, locations etc.)
however, there is a much more immediate way in which
audiences group films. Audiences often go to the
cinema in search of sensations, immediate emotional
responses.