The word genre originates from a French word for kind or sort. In film, genre can be defined as the class or group to which a particular film belongs to (Grant, 2003 p.5). The basis of classification of films into the various genres is diverse. Among the various aspects of a film that can be exploited to classify the film into a particular genre are the film’s characterization, the plot and structure of the film, the theme or societal concern that is presented in the film, and the style with which the film was acted (Chandler, 2015 p.1). The concept of genre is important in film and theater studies. This paper examines the importance of the concept of genre in understanding film texts with special reference to horror films and romantic comedy films.
There are many distinct film genres. Broadly, films can be said to belong to action, adventure, comedy, crime and gangster, drama, epic and historical, horror, musical, science fiction, war or western film classes (Grant, 2003 p.52). Many of these film classes have sub-classes within them. For instance, some films that belong to the comedy class can be said to be romantic comedy films.
Film genres are more than just a way of classification; they influence everything about films including the way that the film is acted, the setting of the film, the reaction of the audience, and even marketing dynamics of the film. The genre of the film is key in the process of script writing and definitely in the latter understanding of the film. It is in the process of scriptwriting that key aspects of a film like the costumes that are worn by the characters and the setting of the film are chosen. These aspects of a film in return greatly influence the way the target audience and critics understand and interpret the film.
For instance, by categorizing a film to the horror category, scriptwriters will look to have a gothic, dark or any other otherwise scary setting. An aspect of loneliness is also an important aspect of the setting in horror films. Piranha, a 2010 American film is a typical horror film whose first scene is that of Matt Boyd fishing alone in a small boat. The time of the day is not clear in this scene but it is dark. Even more scarily, an earthquake occurs and allows a man-eating fish species that was previously thought to be extinct to emerge: The fish devour the fisherman. As evidenced by this fact, just by being able to categorize a film, a scriptwriter can choose a setting that develops their desired theme right from the first scene.
Likewise, by being able to classify a film as romantic comedy, the scriptwriter can choose a setting that epitomizes their desired theme. Romantic comedy films are usually set in situations of difficulty where hope is paramount. For example, the setting of the first few scenes of ‘The Seven Year Itch’ is in Ewell’s place of residence where Marilyn Monroe has also rented an apartment. The setting presents a difficult situation for Ewell whose wife is away and is now accessible to a beautiful woman that he keeps fantasizing about. However, the frequent calls from his wife serve as the flicker of hope that aids in the buildup to a typical ending to the movie. Again, just by knowledge of the genre of the film, the scriptwriter uses typical setting to develop their theme right from the first scene.
This, therefore, implies that having the slightest idea of the genre to which a film belongs to can help a viewer to understand the film better. The ability to categorize a film into a particular genre can help a viewer to understand what the author or the scriptwriter meant with the settings and the soundtracks. Thus, the ability to categorize a film can help one to understand it better.
Demystifying the genre to which a film belongs is equivalent to being halfway on the route to understanding the film completely. After classifying a film, it is easy to interpret and understand it by looking at the classical features of the genres of that particular class. Analyzing a film with a basic plot and a basic thematic understanding can make the job much easier for many viewers. As such, the knowledge or the ability to classify a film into a particular genre is an important part of fully understanding the film.
Moreover, the genre to which a film belongs to has a bearing on the theme of the film (Grant, 2003 p.53). An understanding of the genre can therefore, aid in understanding the theme that the author intended to advance in their work. Most horror films look to expose the most hidden fears of man. The Piranha film is a perfect example in this case. The film exposes the fear of man that some extinct species that are thought to have had the ability to devour man could be hiding somewhere waiting for an opportunity for a formidable return to their man-eating habits. Moreover, horror films act as warnings to the viewers on certain situations; the Piranha is like a warning against lone fishing in deep waters and disobedience to one’s elders. The knowledge that a film belongs to the horror genre can aid an individual in understanding the aforementioned thematic aspects of the film.
Likewise, most romantic comedy films advance a theme that love is powerful and can prevail over anything. In the film ‘The Seven Year Itch’, the love between Ewell and his wife Evelyn Keyes finally prevails over Ewell’s illusions and negligence of his wife and son. Again, like many other, romantic comedy films, the film overemphasizes on the concept of true love and its strength. Knowledge of the genre to which a film belongs can aid a viewer in understanding the film as they will refer to the prototypical themes of that particular film genre.
In addition to having a bearing on the theme of the film, it is obvious that the expectations of a viewer are heavily dependent on the perceived genre of the film that they are watching. There are various characteristics that viewers will expect from a certain genre. For instance, a viewer will expect a horror film to feature acts of extreme evil, scenes where the evil nature of the seemingly ordinary will be revealed, scenes where the monstrous will intrude on the life of the ordinary, a mighty chase between the evil and a heroic ordinary individual, scary sounds, and a disastrous ending in most cases. Piranha is again a classic example here; Jake who is initially the villain turns the ordinary hero who strives to deal with the evil fishes and save other people, the evil fishes attack ordinary and unsuspecting humans, and the film ends with a tragic moment as an adult Piranha emerges from the water and eats Novak. These typical unfolding of scenes that is consistent with the viewer’s expectations helps the viewer in understanding the film better and faster.
‘The Seven Year Itch’ also has a typical plot that can be expected by the viewer. In the film, an initially good relationship between Tom Ewell and Evelyn is disrupted by the villain acts of an infatuated Tom. However, the Evelyn does not give up and keeps trying to communicate with Tom. Eventually, Tom gets his sense back and decides to go back to his wife and son. This typical plot makes it easy for a viewer who understands the genre to understand the film. Even when the plot varies from the typical one slightly, like in Shakespeare in love: Roman holiday, following it is not difficult for a person who knows what to expect. Moreover, an understanding of the basic plot of a particular genre can help a viewer to identify modifications quickly and appreciate their thematic significance.
Despite its perceived usefulness in film interpretation, the concept of genre is in itself a flawed concept. The flaws in the concept itself limit its usefulness in interpreting films. It can, therefore, be argued that the concept of genre is not important in understanding a film. First, there are no clear boundaries between the main film genres that have been identified. There is constant overlap between the main genres of film. In fact, Stam suggested that film genres were just constructions of analysts (Chandler, 2015 p.1). Most films contain the feature of more than one film. The Piranha film, for example, is majorly a horror film but greatly overlaps with tragedy films. In tragedy films, the basic plot consists of an unsuspecting human who goes on a usual expedition but meets unusual, unpleasant, and frequently catastrophic circumstances, which they might or might not survive. With Piranha, unsuspecting teenagers are having a beach party at a seemingly perfect beach partying place on the lake when they are attacked and devoured by man-eating fish. The things, which happen to Matt Boyd and Novak, are also tragic hence the film can be categorized as a tragedy film. Furthermore, there are aspects of romance in the film; in the face of danger, Jake dares to go ahead and save his crush, Kelly Driscoll. Jake and Kelly had just reunited over the holiday and thus this turn of events in the film is typical of a romantic film. These presents a challenge to the viewer. In attempting to interpret the film primarily as a horror film, the viewer can miss the thematic elements of the tragic and romantic plots of the same film.
Furthermore, as evidenced by the American film, Piranha, choosing a correct and perfect genre for a film can be the toughest part. Even though this film is generally thought to be a horror film, one can argue that is a romantic or tragedy film. It is more technical for one to settle on one genre type whose features are epitomized by the film than it is for one to identify the thematic concerns that are raised in the film (Chandler, 2015 p.7). As such, it shows that the concept of genre is of little value in the interpretation of the film; one can understand the themes and styles that are brought up by the film without knowing one genre to which it belongs.
From this, we can conclude that for one to understand a film, they must not first categorize the film in a particular genre correctly. In fact, viewing a film in the light of the typical features of a particular genre limits the viewer and causes them to miss important aspects that the authors of the film wanted to bring out. The fact that the whole concept of genre is flawed means that its use in interpretation of films is also greatly flawed. Most films incorporate plots of several typical film genres. Categorizing a film in one genre is thus limiting and disadvantageous to the viewer. Interpreting a film with an open mind set on the other hand allows the viewer to notice various plot variations of the film thus allowing them to know the various themes that are brought put in the film.
Secondly, especially in current times, many films are taking up atypical plots (Grant, 2003 p.94). The film ‘Shakespeare in love: Roman holiday’ is a typical example of such. Broadly, the film has a romantic plot and can be considered a romantic comedy film. However, the movie ends with the two lovers parting ways which is unlike the typical ending of a romantic comedy film. This atypical end can create problems for a viewer with a fixed mind on what a romantic comedy film should end. This confusion in the genre will definitely lead to confusion on the thematic implications and the general understanding of the film. From this, we realize that identification of the genre is not important in the interpretation of a film.
From the discussion above, we can conclude that the concept of genre is not important in understanding a film. Even though the knowledge the genre to which a film belongs to can help a person a great deal in understanding a film, it has the potential to limit their understanding of the film more. As shown in the discussion above, the concept of genre of films is itself flawed; the mega flaws in it means that it is not a concept on which one can base their interpretation of a film. The concept of genre is more important in the marketing of films that it is important in the understanding of the films.
Bibliography
Chandler, D. (2015). An introduction to the genre theory. Available at: http://visual-memory.co.uk/daniel/Documents/intgenre/chandler_genre_theory.pdf (Accessed: 6 March 2017).
Grant, B. K. (2003). Film genre reader III. Austin, Tex, Univ. of Texas Press.
