Intro to Genres

Morgan Paar
September 2005

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If you see visions of your first Indie Film, or you're just having fun with the kids, making movies can be fun. Whether it's a Thriller, a Western, a Comedy or a Romance, they all have one thing in common: they follow a specific Genre.

Genre is not an exact science like chemistry. But what exactly makes a Drama or a Thriller?

The most important step we must take as directors before attempting a genre film is to define what a genre is and then to understand its conventions.

Genre, a French term, derives from the Latin genus, generis, meaning "type," "sort" or "kind." So the short answer, when related to motion pictures is: genre is a type of film. A slightly more thorough definition is a well-known film type with immediately recognizable plots, props, locations, subject matter and/or technique.

We, in America, generally agree on the elements of Westerns, and on the components of a Gangster flick. As filmmakers we need to know these components of genre so we can build the specific look, feeling, and concept of the type of film we are striving for. Whether you embrace these "rules" of genre or reject them, you need to know them and your audiences' understanding of them to correctly communicate your message. We need to break the genre down, understand it, replicate it and (we hope) inject our own artistic flare to make it legit. I'm going to leave the artistic bit to you; here is a breakdown of the conventions that makeup some of the more common genre films.

Locations and props unmistakably mark a Western. The sheriff's jailhouse, saloon/brothel with swinging doors (and large window for throwing cowboys out of), dusty streets and rolling tumbleweed pretty much describe 99 percent of towns in a western. For backdrop add open desert with a distant mountain range, cactus, the large outcrop of rocks (for ambushes) and the occasional Indian village. Don't forget horses, guns, bullet belts, leather (boots, trench coats, rifle holders, etc.) whisky, stagecoaches and trains. The characters are often two-dimensional (the case for many genres): The good guy, the bad guy, the incompetent sheriff, the loyal stay-at-home-with-the-kids woman, the fiery prostitute, and the neighboring Indians. Deep love themes are rare, excessive violence abounds and perhaps most interestingly, Westerns regularly explore issues of morality and loyalty. This genre includes The Great Train Robbery (Edwin S. Porter, 1902), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Sergio Leone, 1966) and Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood, 1992).

Drama constitutes probably the largest genre because it encompasses a wide variety of films with many sub-categories that include Melodramas, Epics, Biographical and Romance films. Dramas are serious films portraying realistic characters, settings, situations and stories. The main plot usually centers on conflict and this conflict can take just about any form including current issues, societal ills and almost any injustice imaginable. Dramas include On the Waterfront (Elia Kazan, 1954), All the President's Men (Alan J. Pakula, 1976), and Traffic (Steven Soderbergh, 2000).

Comedy is easier said than done. In my opinion, there are far more bad Comedies than good ones. Just as a very small handful of your friends have the ability to make you laugh until your stomach hurts, so too with producers, directors and actors of this genre. How do you make a good Comedy? Make it funny (I can't tell you more than that. Ask your friend that makes you laugh until you cry why they are so funny and I think you will get a similar curt answer). Sub-genres include Slapstick, Verbal, Screwball, Black/Dark comedy and the Parody/Spoof. Some of the better Comedies include Some Like it Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959), Airplane! (J. Abrahams, L. Nielsen, J. Hagerty, 1980) and Best in Show (Christopher Guest, 2000). Bear in mind, however, that what I think is a good comedy will not necessarily be funny to you; comedy, as a genre, is very audience-specific.