Film genre essay

1. GENRE ONE: COMEDY.
StylisticConventions,
For years, comedyhasbeenone of the most recognisable genresof filmsincethe veryfirstcomedy
film- asilentFrenchfilmbackin1885. The comedygenre allowsaratherwide spectrumof
techniquesandideas aswell asa large opportunitytoanalyse the codesandconventionsof the
genre.Thinkingof Steve Neale’stheoryof repetitionanddifference infilms,whatusuallyhappensis
that directorsandproducerssee whatit isthat people enjoysomuchaboutthe differentgenresand
try theirbestto recreate those ideasintheirownfilms.If youpayattentiontodetailsinmost
comedies, there are quite alotof the same conventionsused. Theseconventionsincludecolourfor
example- because naturally,comediesare seenashappysoof course there will be brightand
highkey lightingused. The twofilmsIhave decidedtolookatfor the comedygenre are Superbad
(2007) and 10 ThingsI Hate AboutYou (1999).
Teencomediesare mostlikelytobe setina bright and social place,forexample aHighSchool,a
Small town,or at a Party.This createsa realisticplace forthe audience.A lotof shotsare usedin
these typesof filmssuchasmid-shots,shot-reverse-shotandclose ups,these shotsestablishthe
characters andwho theyare,nevershowingthatanyone issuperiorormore importantthanany of
the othercharacters. The shot-reverse-shotisusedalotin Superbad, mostlyforconversations
betweenthe characters,mostlythe two maincharacters,SethandEvan.
Ref.1
One of the mosticonicand well knownscenesinthe filmiswhereFogell showshisnewlybough
Fake ID to Sethan Evan. In thisscene,the lightingis all natural.Theyare walkingaroundoutside and
there isquite a brightsettingwhichindicatesthatitisin fact a happymovie ratherthananything
else.The scene alsoshowsthe ideaof the differentcharactertypes, e.g. the idiotsandthe regulars.
Fogell wouldbe the ‘idiot’inthisscene andSethandEvan the ‘regulars’,thisisclearbecause Fogell
buysa fake ID and changeshisname to McLovin as well ashavinghisage as 25 insteadof the legal
US age 21. The other twocharacters are the Regularsbecause theyare criticizingFogellonhisIDas
well asmakingsarcasticcomments- thishelpstobuildacharacter forthe two. The clothesthat the

2. characters are wearinginthisscene showswhatpeople would wearduringthe 2000-2010 era, and
evenstill now.
The soundsusedincomediesare mostlynon-diegetic,forexamplemusichasbeenadded tothe
edits.The musicisnatural upbeatand excitingtoseta happytone forthe film.If theywere touse
sinisterand eerie musicinthisfilmhowever,itwouldnotsetthe scene verywell.Soundsaswell as
punchesandgunshotsare non-diegetictoo,theyare made byFoleyartists.
As forthe camera movementsandangle shots,the cameraistrackingthe characters inthisscene-
followingwhere theyare going.A shotreverse shotisusedtoshow the conversationbetweenthe
three charactersas well as a full shotwhenEvanand Sethare walkinganditshowsthemfrom head
to toe.A mediumshotisusedduringthe shotreverse shottooas itshowsfromtheirheadto waist.
The editingisverysmoothsoyou don’tpayattentiontoall the differentcuts.
The fake ID in thisscene seemstobe an essential prop,itestablishesthatFogellisn’tnecessarily
your ideal rule followingteenagerandboughtthe ID so he can ‘legally’buyalcohol,whenhavinga
fake ID isillegal itself ashe isonlyeighteenandnottwenty-fiveashisdate of birthstates.
Ref.2
In thisscene,the lightingisn’tasbrightas itis inthe rest of the film, probablybecauseitissupposed
to be the middle of the nightbutalso,arguably,because thisscene ismore serious.Itshowsthe two
maincharacters havinga heartto heart andit onlyfocusesonthemandnot anythingelse inthe
room.Againhowever,we cansee thatthe settingiswhere youwouldsee Comedyfilmstobe set- in
a home or in the basementof a home,whichiswhere theyare.
The soundusedis non-diegeticasitis musicaddedoverinthe final edits.The musicstopshalfway
throughthe scene and the onlynoise isthe twocharacters talkingtoeach other.SethandEvan are
sayinghowtheylove eachotherand thisestablisheshow strongtheirfriendshipiswithinthe scene,

3. thisistheirfirsttime actuallysayingit to one anotherandthe silence showshow seriousitisto
them.
In Gil Junger’s ’10 ThingsI hate aboutYou’,the openingsceneshowsusthe settingof the film, a
small towninSeattle,italsoconsistsof fourteenage girlsinacar, dancingand beingexcitedfor
school to start. However,the maincharacterpullsupnexttothe girlswithJoanJett’s‘Bad
Reputation’blastingfromhercarradio.This technique isusedbythe directortoimmediately
establishtothe audience whattype of characterKat isand it givesusan ideaof whatwe can expect
fromher,for example,we canexpectthat shehas a bad reputation.
The scene continueswith thatsongplayingoverthe topexceptthistime she iswalkingintoschool
and rippingaposterabout a dance downfrom the wall,again,thisgivesthe audience anideaof
whather personalityislike. Inthisscene,Katiswearingthe coloursblackandblue.Blackcould
symbolise mysteryandpowerwhere blue couldbe symbolicof confidence andemotional depth.
Thistechnique isusedinfilmandtelevisiontosubtlyunderline the wayanaudience shouldthink
aboutthings,or inthiscase, thinkaboutthe character. The coloursand clothingKatiswearing
contrastswithwhat the girlsfromthe car were wearingastheywere wearingbright,summer-y
dresses.
Many differentlightingtechniquesare usedin thisfilm,suchasPractical lightingwhichisthe use of
thingslike candlesandlamps. Anexample of where Practical LightingisusedisatBogey
Lowenstein’spartywhenall the lampsare onaroundthe house. Alsoused withinthe film isBounce,
Natural and AmbientLighting.The scenesinthisfilmare quite brightsowe know thatitis setduring
the day mostof the time and the brightnessalsolinkswiththe genre andhow itis supposedly an
upliftingromantic-comedy.Evenwithoutwatchingthe film, justfromthe lighting,apersoncan
guesswhatgenre itis.
A wide range of shotsare usedevenjustinthe firstcouple of scenes,forexampleanestablishing
shotin the openingscene,shotreverseshotwhenCameronandMs.Perkyare talkinginher office,
TrackingShots are also usedtofollowthe characterswhentheyare walkingaround,Close up’s,Mid-
shots,and more.

4. Ref.3 and4
GENRE TWO: HORROR.
StylisticConventions,
Alongside Comedy,Horrorhasalsobeenone of the mostrecognisable filmgenres,if not themost
recognisable.Forthisgenre,Idecidedtowatchthe 1990 filmadaptationof StephenKing’siconic
novel,‘IT’andI alsowatched‘Summerof 84’. These twohorrors have the maingenre as Horror, but
alsohave the same sub-genres,those being thriller, mysteryanddrama.
Some frequentlyusedconventionsinhorrorfilms are thatthe filmall takesplace inone location,for
example,ITissetinDerry,Maine and Summerof 84 issetis Cape May, Oregon.Another example of
a convention isthatcharacters forgetall aboutwhatis happening intheirtown.People seemto
convenientlyforgetabout all thathappensintheirtown- andnobodyseemstocare about whatis
happeningotherthanthe kids- inbothfilms!One otherconventionisthe sound thatisused.
Usually,non-diegeticsoundisaddedoverthe topof scenesandit isnormally musicwhich ismostly
alwaysslowpaced,eerie andcreepytosuggestthatsomethingbadisgoingtohappen.Forexample:
creepymusicisadded to the openingscene of IT,where pennywiseisfirstintroduced.There isalso
an echoedvoiceoverof childrenlaughingwhichmakesitseemevenscarierthanitwouldbe
without.
LightinginHorror filmsistypicallydarkand underexposedwhichhelpstogive the audience an
unsettlingfeelingandkeepthemonedge.Usedin‘IT’in particular,ismore natural and ambient
lightingwhichgoesagainstconventionsasitgivesthe audience afalse sense of security,we knowit
isa horror filmbutthe brightlightingmakesusthinkthatmaybe it isn’tas scary as we thinkafterall.
In Summerof 84 however,the lightingis mostlyalwaysdarkandaround85% of the filmissetat
night.Bothfilmsare similarinthe waythat theyare bothbasedaroundyoungteenagersand
althoughIT showsthe lives of the adults,italsoshowsflashbacksof the kidsandhow theycame to
getrid of ‘it’.Both filmsalsohave anantagonist,IT has the clown,andSummerof 84 has the police
officer- Pennywise takeschildrenandOfficerMackie killsthem.

5. Ref.5
In thisscene,adultRichie isconfrontedwithPennywise whohe forgotaboutfor overtwentyyears.
The soundaddedin thisscene isnon-diegetic,musicwasaddedaswell tomake itseemmore
chilling. The musicusediswhatyouwouldhearat the circus andthat you would linkwithclowns
whichcouldbe used to throwthe audience off ina way. Now,we know that he isessentiallya
shapeshifterthateatschildren,butthe circusmusiccouldargue that he is infact justa clown.
Anotherreasonyouwouldthinkthatperhapshe is justa clownis because of whathe wears. The
clown outfit could be used as a way to play on people’s fear of clowns. You wouldn’texpecta
shapeshiftertohave bighairand a brightred nose wouldyou?Movingonto the lightinginthis
scene,itisn’tdarkbut it isn’t verybrighteitherasyoucan see.Youwouldsay thatit isambient
because of all the lightsall aroundthe library,highlightingthe shadowsthatyoucan see fromall the
objectsandall the people inthere. The ambientlightingalsogoesagainstcodesandconventionsas
youwouldnotexpecta horror filmtouse such high-keylightingastypically,itisdark.
Some conventionsthatpeopleoftenassociate withthe horrorgenre are thingslike Mise-En-Scene,
thingssuchas locationsandprops,for example youwouldexpectahorror filmtobe setina small
townor someplace like ahauntedhouse,andthe propsyouwouldexpecttosee are thingslike bats
and knives andmaybe gunsdependingonwhenthe filmissetandwhatitis about.
Narrative Theory:
In the simplestway,Narrative isbasically‘the wayastoryistold’.There are particularguidelines
followedbyfilmcreators.The mostpopularone followedislinearnarrative,the easiesttofollow,
where the filmtellsthe storyfromstartto finish withnoflashbacks,noflash-forwards,andnotime
jumpsbetween.Some filmshowever,goagainstlinearnarrative andinclude all of those things.In
the filmsIhave chosen,all filmsgoalongwithlinearnarrative,exceptIT,whichshowsthe audience

6. flashbacksof whatthe adultswere like aschildrenandhow theycame to know pennywise- how he
terrorizedthem.Thiswouldbe knownasanon-linearnarrative.
Claude Levi-Straussarguedthat‘BinaryOppositions’addameaningtothe filmsandfurther
narrative.These oppositionsare veryindependent.Examplesof these some oppositionsare:
Man vsWoman, Humanvs Alien,Youngvs Old,Herovs VillainandScience vsNature.
VladimirProppisaRussiancriticand literarytheoristwhocame upwiththe ideathat itis possibleto
classifycharactersandtheiractionsintodefinedroles suchas:
- The Hero – (the one who seekssomething)
- The Villain –(the character who opposesthe hero)
- The Donor – (theylendhelp the herobyprovidingsomething)
- The Dispatcher– (the characterwho sendsthe heroon hisway)
- The False Hero – (thischaracter is falselyassumingthe role of the hero)
- The Helper– (thischaracter givesthe herosupport)
- The Princess – (theyare seenas a ‘reward’forthe hero,but theyalsoneedtobe protected
fromthe villain)
These characterrolesare naturallywhatyouwouldnormallysee inperhapsaSuperheroora Horror
film.InComedyfilmsthough, thereare quite afew characterarchetypeswhich are oftenused too:
- The Anchor – (thischaracter is oftenthe pillarof the group andusessarcasm as a comedic
weapon)
- The Dreamer– (an eternal optimistwithahealthydose of self-deprecatinghumor)
- The Neurotic– (definedbyinsecurityandfilteredthroughintelligence)
- The Rebel – (theirdisdainforlife’srulesdrivesthemtodangeranddeceit)
- The Innocent – (sweetandloveable,nonegativequalitiesandcanbe naive)
- The Eccentric – (unique,farfrom spacey,hyper-connectedtothe world)
- The Buffoon – (notdumb butjudgmental andgenerallyinaccurate)
- The Cynic – (oftennegative butwonderful friends,strongalliesandinvestedinlife)
- The Narcissist– (theylove themselvesandthings,inthatorder)
- The Player– (fun,bold,nostringsattachedwithanyone butgenerallylacksubstance)
In Superbad,‘The Anchor’wouldbe Sethand‘The Dreamer’wouldbe Evan.We couldsee Fogell as
being‘The Buffoon’andalsothe twopolice officerswhowe firstmeet inthe scene setatthe liquor
store.In 10 thingsIhate aboutyou,‘The Anchor’woulddefinitelybe Katand‘The Rebel’,Patrick.
Cameronand Biancawouldbe ‘The Innocent’as well andMichael,‘The Dreamer’,andJoey,‘The
Narcissist.’
Summerof 84 includesalmostall of Vladmir’stheory,The Herowouldbe Davey,The Villain,Officer
Mackie,The Donorand The Helpwouldbe Tommy,Woodyand Farraday,The Princesswouldbe
Nikki aswhenshe,DaveyandWoodycatch Mackie out,she and Davey eventually gettogether,kind
of.AlthoughinIT,The Herowouldbe all of the characters: Bill,Beverly,Ben,Richie,Eddie,Stanley
and Mike as theyall helpdefeatThe Villain,Pennywise.
TzvetanTorodovhad the ideathat a narrative hasfive differentstages,thosestagesgoingfrom1.
the beginning(state of equilibrium),to2. disruption,to3.the middle (state of disequilibrium),to4.

7. resolution,andfinallyto5.the end(state of restoredequilibrium,ornew equilibrium.) Itcanbe
arguedthat mostfilmsdo in fact followthisidea, Superbaddoes,10thingsI hate about youdoes,
Summerof 84 does,howeverITdoesnot.IT beginswithpennywise immediatelytakingachild from
herhome.Disequilibriumisimmediatelyintroducedintothe storyline.