What is a genre, and how are films linked into different types?
Film Genres are almost like a category. So say if you wanted to see a bit of blood and gore, you'd look in the genre named 'Horror'. Maybe you're feeling sad and lonely and need cheering up, look no further than the 'RomCom' genre.
Genres help audiences find exactly what they are looking for in a film. If it wasn’t for genres, then finding the ideal film for you, whatever mood you’re in, it would be chaos (which you’d find in the action genre)!
Genres are also useful for producers. Producers will be able to structure their film based on the type of genre it will fit into whether it be blowing people to smithereens, a dramatic love tail of long lost partners, a wacky comedy where donkeys can talk or even just a twisted psychopath murderer, violently unleashing hell and terror onto their victims.
As you will read further down the page, I will be talking
about 'The Terminator' and how it fits into its three genres. Genre
specification is very important for films, but sometimes it can get confusing
of to what genre the movie is actually in! There are Sub-Genres within a genre.
This means if a horror movie has zombies included, it will be turned into a
Sub-Genre, Zombie Horror.
The Terminator
Plot:
"A robotic assassin from a post-apocalyptic future
travels back in time to eliminate a waitress, whose son will grow up and lead
humanity in a war against machines." (IMDb)
'The Terminator' is the first film in the successful
mechanical franchise. The film itself is split into three genres:
1. Sci-Fi
- A Sci-Fi film would include objects and characters such as, robots,
technology, advanced weapon technology, aliens, spacecraft’s etc.
2. Horror
- A Horror movie would include iconography such as, knifes, masks, blood, crime
scenes, darkness, evil etc.
3. Action
- Iconography in an action film would include such things as Guns, explosions,
war, gun fights, fisty cuffs, car chases etc.
It is split into three genres because the movie has a variety of different structures and iconography. This is because 'The Terminator' has a mixture of iconography from different types of genres, this would include, cyborgs (robots), fisty cuffs, car chases, technology.
As I watched this film, I took note of the different conventions within the film. In 'The Terminator' I found all the typical conventions of the three genres, Action, Horror and Sci-Fi.
When making a film, if you have the typical styles and conventions such as guns and explosions, it will fall into the action genre. This is good for amateur producers because they will be able to find exactly what genre their film fits into just by looking at the iconography and structure of the film.
In some movies, including this one, conventions are subverted. For example, in 'The Terminator' Arny gets into a police car, making the villain look like a hero.
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