Film genres: features, functions, evolution
This Interactive workshop aims at exploring the origin of genres, their functions in cinema and their evolution, with particular emphasis on the latest developments. We first ask why we need genres at all and examine the variety of classification criteria that can be used. Then we focus on the specific features of genre films, analysing their conventions and their narrative structures. We then explore how different agents (from producers to audiences, from critics to film scholars) have used and still use genres, and highlight their economic, sociocultural and communicative functions. Finally, by taking a historical perspective, we explore how genres have evolved in the course of time and how modern cinema extensively use genre mixing and hybridization, thus pointing to the future of this important but complex category of film analysis. Part of the www.cinemafocus.eu research materials.
This Interactive workshop aims at exploring the origin of genres, their functions in cinema and their evolution, with particular emphasis on the latest developments. We first ask why we need genres at all and examine the variety of classification criteria that can be used. Then we focus on the specific features of genre films, analysing their conventions and their narrative structures. We then explore how different agents (from producers to audiences, from critics to film scholars) have used and still use genres, and highlight their economic, sociocultural and communicative functions. Finally, by taking a historical perspective, we explore how genres have evolved in the course of time and how modern cinema extensively use genre mixing and hybridization, thus pointing to the future of this important but complex category of film analysis. Part of the www.cinemafocus.eu research materials.
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
I generi cinematografici: caratteristiche, funzioni, evoluzione
Film genres: features, functions, evolution
cinemafocus.eu
eccezione, ovviamente, per i film
esclusivamente per adulti (ad esempio i film
XXX, che beneficiano di una chiara
visualizzazione della loro valutazione, come
segno di appartenenza a un genere particolare e
ben definito.
Anche il significato del genere varia nel tempo,
e man mano che nuovi generi emergono, le
vecchie etichette svaniscono o, forse anche
peggio, assumono una sorta di connotazioni
peggiorative. La commedia "slapstick" e il
"melodramma" sono stati per lungo tempo
generi pienamente riconosciuti, ma nel corso del
tempo hanno perso questa specificità e ora
descrivere un film come "melodrammatico" è
spesso considerato un giudizio negativo. Questo
dovrebbe renderci consapevoli della variabilità
dei significati del genere nel tempo e
dell'importanza di non perdere di vista la storia e
l'evoluzione di un genere per coglierne il pieno
significato e le sue possibili connotazioni.
Tali brevi considerazioni indicano il fatto
cruciale che i generi cinematografici non hanno
significati "unici" o "universali" condivisi da
tutte le parti interessate ai film (come abbiamo
visto, non solo produttori e consumatori), ma
possono essere descritti in termini diversi da tali
soggetti, secondo le loro finalità ed in relazione
ai contesti in cui i generi stessi vengono
identificati e descritti.
10. Non solo generi...
Usare etichette "generiche", ovvero
pubblicizzare e commercializzare un film
assegnandolo a un genere specifico, non è
sempre la prima scelta dei produttori, anzi,
potrebbe essere il contrario. Se è vero che
pubblicizzare un film come "un film pieno
d'azione" o una "sexy commedia musicale" può
fare molto per descriverne il tema e lo stile al
pubblico, e quindi attivare le aspettative degli
spettatori e, di conseguenza, un certo grado di
fiducia che tali film saranno apprezzati almeno
da un certo pubblico, è anche vero che gli
studios, in particolare nell'era d'oro del "sistema
di Hollywood", avevano diversi altri risorse che
potevano utilizzare per promuovere i loro film e,
soprattutto, per renderli il più diversi possibile
pejorative connotations. "Slapstick" comedy and
"melodrama" were for a long time fully
recognized genres, but in the course of time have
lost this specificity and now describing a film as
"melodramatic" is often considered a negative
judgment. This should make us conscious of the
variance of genre meanings across time, and the
importance of not losing sight of the history and
evolution of a genre to capture its full
significance and its possible connotations.
Such brief considerations point to the crucial fact
that film genres do not have "unique" or
"universal" meanings shared by all the parties
concerned with film (as we have seen, not just
producers and consumers), but can be described
in different terms by such parties, according to
their purposes and in relation to the contexts in
which genres themselves come to be identified
and described.
10. Not just genres ...
Using "generic" labels, i.e. publicizing and
marketing a film by assigning it to a specific
genre, is not always the first choice by producers
- indeed, it may be the opposite. While it it true
that advertising a movie as "an action-packed
film" or a "sexy musical comedy" may go a long
way in describing its theme and style to
audiences, and thus activate viewers'
expectations and, accordingly, a certain degree
of confidence that such films will be appreciated
by at least certain audiences, it is also true that
studios, particularly in the golden era of the
"Hollywood system", had several other assets
that they could use to promote their films, and,
most importantly, to make them as different as
possible from the competition. A studio could
(and, in a way, modern production system still
can) rely on actors under contract, directors,
characters, technical processes ("Technicolor",
"Cinerama") and their own trade names (a
"United Artists" release, a "Paramount"
production ... - watch the video below left). Using
these assets could (and can), on the one hand,
save costs, e.g. for producing completely new
publicity campaigns, and, on the other hand,
provide a continuity with previous films that can
be exploited through the audiences' familiarity.
This is one of the reasons why, rather than put an
34