- Content
- Subject Matter
- Structures
- themes
- mood
- period
- plot
- settings
- Recurring icons
- stock characters
- narrative events
- situations
- motifs
- styles
- props
- stars
It is often argued that target audiences for films have become younger over the years. This is known as the ‘juvenilisation’ of cinema and may be why horror films are now usually aimed at a mainly teenage audience.
Contemporary audiences are much more sophisticated viewers than those who saw the first moving pictures or television programmes and an audience reading a text from an established genre is likely to be familiar with the codes and conventions of that genre from reading similar texts. So, if you read a romance novel where the leading lady doesn’t end up with her man you’d certainly be surprised and possibly feel cheated. If, while watching a horror film, you see a woman who is alone in a house at night, opening a door, against a background of scary, tense music your heart rate might increase and you’d prepare yourself for the woman to reveal something, or someone, pretty nasty.
Your familiarity with these codes and conventions – the character, the setting, the music - from watching similar horror films or television programmes, all raise your expectations, even if there is nothing on the other side of the door.
Having said this, texts need to strike the right balance of repeating certain codes and conventions while adding something new – a contemporary setting, a final ‘twist’, a moment where a protagonist behaves unexpectedly or perhaps even a self-conscious parody of existing codes and conventions – in order to keep the genre fresh and prevent us from getting bored.
Genres have developed and changed certain codes and conventions, so that films aren't completely similar in style, again creating a shocking outcome with an unexpected twist breaking some of the codes and conventions.
Genre
Neale (2003) points out that generic norms and conventions may be recognized and understood by audiences, readers and viewers. Genre frames audience expectations, whereby viewers bring a set of assumptions with them and anticipate that these will somehow be met in the viewing experience. This brings audience pleasure. The demands of commercial practices necessitate that generic forms must somehow ‘guarantee meaning and pleasure’ in order to locate and retain a sizeable audience to justify a return on substantial investment.
Hybrid Genre's
In creative works, a hybrid genre refers to a combination of two or more stylistic, themed categories. Examples of hybrid genre fiction might include a science fiction horror novel or a romantic suspense novel. A hybrid genre occurs when an author or other creative professional attempts to merge two or more genres. While elements of one genre might be stronger in the work, the professional still abides by the guiding rules of both genres. Science fiction and fantasy are two genres that are often merged by fiction writers.
Sub Genre's
Sub-genres are identifiable sub-classes, almost like a sub-heading that is within a larger film genre. They have their own distinctive subject matter, style, formulas, and iconography.
Some films can fit into the Action Adventure genre such as James Bond: Skyfall, but can also fit into sub genres, these sub genres can be:
- Espionage
- Political thrillers
- Martial arts films
- Race against time
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