RESEARCH - What is genre?

What is genre?

Genre means a particular type of film. They are used to categorise different products that share similar features or characteristics. Genres are important because they help quickly establish differences between different media forms. They also help establish codes and conventions that film makers can follow in order to make the product look a certain way (achieve a certain effect and attract a specific audience). They create expectations and familiarity in audiences, as audiences can gather a personal taste around the genre. 

3 stills from my favourite genres:

Romance is one of my favourite genres because they play with your emotions well and make you feel happy or sad about the characters. The still image is from a film called 'About Time' (one of my favourite romantic films). The main genre tropes you can see is that there is a man and woman both smiling wearing wedding clothes. It is also raining which is a convention of romance films. There is bright lighting to express a happy mood, another thing romance films try do a lot. It is easy to identify because of the actress Rachel McAdams, who is known to be apart of a lot of romance films including 'The Notebook'. The smiles and rain also give the genre away.

Comedy is another one of my favourite genres as they are funny and make you laugh which I assume everyone enjoys because they're being amused! The still image is from a film called 'This Is The End'. The main genre tropes are the facial expressions and body language of the characters. As the film is an apocalyptic comedy, the location etc. is unusual for a comedy. Another thing that gives away the genre are the actors. Actors such as Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill are known for being in a lot of comedy films such as 'Superbad'. 

Horror is another genre I enjoy to watch as they give you a thrill like no other by making you scared and making you jump. The still image is taken from famous horror movie 'The Exorcist'. The main genre tropes are the make up of the girl which is seen to be scary as she has a lot of scars and her eyes are white (she does not look normal). Also the lighting is quite dark which signifies that the location isn't a very happy place to be in!