Understanding the Basics of Film Genres

What is a Motif?
A motif is something that is repeated or has a pattern. This could be a colour, music or a phrase etc. A film's motif can give you a greater understanding or clue for the development of the film, so when you find one you need to question why it has been used and why is there a pattern. Therefore you need to identify, track and then propose a meaning.

Film Genres
A film genre is a type or category of film.

Film genres were created when people started noticing that certain story lines were more successful than others and so repeated them. These successful story lines were then put into categories.

Throughout time more and more categories have been created, however the main types of genre are:
-Western - Stagecoach, High Noon, Cowboys and Aliens
-Gangster - The Godfather, Pulp Fiction, Bugsy Malone
-Musical - The Wizard of Oz, West Side Story, Mary Poppins
-Romantic-Comedy - Clueless, Pretty Woman, Easy A
-Action/Adventure - Casino Royale, Jurassic Park, Mission Impossible
-Science Fiction - Alien, Blade Runner, Avatar
-Comedy - The Hangover, Dumb and Dumber, Superbad
-Drama - Fight Club, Forrest Gump, The Shawshank Redemption
-Historical - Braveheart, The King's Speech, Gladiator
-Horror - The Exorcist, The Shining, Dracula

Within each genre there are stock characters, where the same stereotypes are repeated within the same genre. For example, in a horror film you would have the dumb blonde, hero, evil character, hysterical character, non-believer etc.

There are several ways to categorise films into their genre. The same themes are repeated in the different genres, for example, in a romantic comedy the couple always seem to go through struggles but then find a way to be together by the end of the film. Icongraphy are repeated images throughout a film in a certain genre, for example, in a Western you will repeatedly see images of guns, the cowboy hat, horses, the bar scene etc. Each genre will have the same overall mood, for example, in a si-fi film there is a fear of the future. The same cinematic style will be used in each gener, meaning how the film is shot. An example of this would be in a Western there is always dramatic scenery, shots showing tumble weed and cacti and most scenes are shot in the day; in contrast to this, a detective film would be shot in low key lighting, with heavy shadows to create tension and there would be dramatic closeup shots and high and low shots.

Stages of Genre - the development of film genre over time.

1. Primitive - This is when the genres are starting to develop and so the audience has nothing to compare is to and therefore no expectations.
2. Classical - This is when the genre is the most popular with the audience and the audience now knows what to expect as the patterns are continued.
3. Parodic - This is when the genre becomes so predictable and stale that the film makers pick fun at the genre, by creating exaggerated characters or focusing on unexpected characters.
4. Revisionist - This is when the film genre's classical mood, themes etc are challenged or questioned within a film.
5. Extension - This is when the film has the same values and themes of the genres but when unexpected things happen, meaning a certain aspect of the film would not fit in with the genre that you thought.

Many modern day films do not fit into one genre. It is very common to have overlaps.


Resources:
http://www.filmsite.org/genres.html
http://www.cod.edu/people/faculty/pruter/film/filmtopics.htm

How to Read a Movie

It can be very overwhelming to analyse and read a movie as a whole as there are so many different aspects of the film to talk about, so it is easier to break it down into different sections so that you can analyse the film section by section and then put it all together. You can break a film down into three parts; Literary aspects, Dramatic aspects and Cinematic aspects. 

The Literary aspects of a film are the aspects that film share in common with written literature. An example of this would be the plot. A film or a book would always have a storyline, meaning they would first give the background to the story and introduce the characters, there would then be a problem that would heighten the action in the film, there would be the climax and then the action would lesson and the problem would be resolved. Another example would be the characters; all stories need characters to move the plot along and add emotion to the film or literature. The characters can either change and develop through the plot or they can stay the same, for example, the evil characters can stay evil or improve throughout the film or book. Some characters in films and literature carry the plot, whereas some are just used to fill or for a comedic aspect. All films and written literature have a setting, meaning they have a time period and a location. They both have themes within the storyline, this could be the message that the author is trying to give to the audience about moral situations, for example. The last literary aspects would be the point of view of the text, meaning if it was written in first, second or third person. 

The Dramatic aspects are the aspects that films shares with live dramas, for example a musical or a play. This is when you look more at the visual side of the film, in comparison to the written aspects. This is when you look more into the actors or actresses that play the certain characters and how they would suit playing certain characters i.e. how/why the actors are cast into the film or live drama. You could also look into the costumes, makeup and hair within the film and how they suit their characters and what they could say about the characters. You could also look into the set design and how well it suits the certain time period or mood of the film. Another thing you could look at is how they speak and their facial expressions and if that suits their character. 

The Cinematic aspects are the aspects that make film its own medium and that can't be done in literature or in live theatre. These would include how the cinematography, i.e. how the movie is filmed, the angles of the camera etc. Another aspects would be how the film is layered with sound and what impact that has on the mood or pace of the film. You could look into how the film has been edited, for example are there loads of short frames to make the mood more panicked and fast paced or are the frames very long and calming. The special effects used in film are getting more and more advanced and this is where you can evaluate what you think of them and if you think they are effective.