Genres #1

Genres - Blog Post #1

Many films are categorised in genres, genres are identifiable types, categories classifications or groups of films that have similar techniques or paradigms (conventions). The paradigms are grouped into three sectors; Iconography, Structure and Theme. Initially Genres came from books and were later inflicted into movies.

There are many types of films with different genres, some typical genres which you would expect from common films are listed below:

• Action 
• Adventure
• Drama
• Science Fiction
• Horror

Different genres appeal to different audiences, some audiences prefer sticking to one genre, for example I usually stick to horror when i watch movies because I like the eerie and mysterious feel to it which undoubtedly makes me more engaged to a movie, however others like to watch a variety of genres.

Theatrical Poster from
James Cameron's Avatar

Avatar for example falls into the Science Fiction (sci-fi) Genre, a key convention from a science fiction movie such as Avatar is extraterrestrial life form rather than a human being. Just by looking at the poster you can see a blue extraterrestrial life 'creature' like human which instantly connotes that it fits into the sci fi genre, stereotypically speaking most science fiction movies contain futuristic settings, parallel universe and paranormal abilities.

 Terminator starring
Arnold Schwarzenegger

Other films such as Terminator fall into the Action Genre, once again by looking at the poster we can connote that it is an action film because there is a gun in the picture, weapons such as a gun are one of the main key conventions within an action film, the colour such as red also suggest blood and gore which can be linked to blood, furthermore linking into the action genre.

Some films do not specifically have one genre because there are no boundaries, some films have multiple genres. For example the genre rom-com can be sub-categorized with romance and comedy, films that are about romance yet have that comedy element have been very successful with films in the past having big hits such as The Proposal, Friends with Benefits and Love Actually.

In conclusion, there are many genres in the film industry and are not necessarily restricted to one as there are no boundaries, different genres engage different audiences, for example a person may love science fiction movies but may not like Dramas, this can be seen as a good thing because that person could specifically look under the science fiction genre if they wish to see a film with that specific genre. Each individual genre has a unique convention, for example action and use of weaponry, horror and a haunted house and science fiction and extraterrestrial life all go together. Many film choices today are down to personal preference which is why there are so many different choices today.