-13 - Genre and Sub Genre

Genre and Sub-Genre

The term genre means category or type and is useful when discussing film because it helps to group or organize different films according to what they are about and what they look like. This helps producers make and market their film to audiences, and it helps audiences make decisions about what films they like and want to see.

A theorist called Altman says that we can talk about film genre in two ways 

Semantic which is the way the film looks

Syntactic which is the stories that film tells. 

The use of similar features in films of the same genre is called codes and conventions. That help us to quickly recognize the type of film we are watching, to have some expectations about what we could see and what might happen and we will often enjoy watching how the film might use of challenge the codes of the genre

However, genres are constantly evolving in order to keep films interesting and new for audiences and so the conventions of each genre cab change over time

 The code and convention of teen films. With these films, common plots and storyline, characters, settings and locations and reference to contemporary popular culture (especially music and fashion) became established as the codes and conventions of the genre.

The main code of teen films is seen to the concept of coming of age in some way. It also includes the following conventions

Adolescent characters

High school, homes and or streets

Peer groups and friends

Teacher and or parents

Popular music

Romantic interest