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.
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I generi cinematografici: caratteristiche, funzioni, evoluzione
Film genres: features, functions, evolution
dalla concorrenza. Uno studio potrebbe (e, in un
certo senso, il moderno sistema di produzione
può ancora) fare affidamento su attori sotto
contratto, registi, personaggi, processi tecnici
("Technicolor", "Cinerama") e sui propri nomi
commerciali (un a distribuzione "United
Artists", una produzione "Paramount" ... - si
veda il video in basso a sinistra). L'utilizzo di
queste risorse potrebbe (e può), da un lato, far
risparmiare sui costi, ad es. evitando di produrre
campagne pubblicitarie completamente nuove,
e, dall'altro, fornire una continuità con i film
precedenti che può essere sfruttata attraverso la
familiarità del pubblico. Questo è uno dei motivi
per cui, piuttosto che porre l'accento sul genere
di un film (i generi, per definizione, non
possono essere protetti da copyright), i
produttori preferiscono molto spesso creare
serie, cicli, sequel, remake, ecc. Utilizzare
personaggi protetti da copyright come Indiana
Jones, Rambo, Conan e la vasta gamma di
"supereroi", da Batman e Superman in poi, si è
rivelato estremamente redditizio, così come i
nomi ricorrenti nei titoli, come Die Hard, Lethal
Weapon, Star Trek, Predator, ecc. (si veda il
video in basso a destra). Indiana Jones fu
presentato al pubblico per la prima volta come
"il nuovo eroe dai creatori di JAWS e STAR
WARS", sottolineando così il marchio dei
produttori (i "creatori"). E lo stesso accade
quando si promuove un film mettendo in risalto
gli attori, i registi e gli sceneggiatori di
precedenti film di successo. Negli ultimi
decenni, inoltre, questo processo è diventato
ancora più sofisticato, in quanto il film stesso è
solo una sorta di "prodotto-base" al centro di
miriadi di prodotti aggiuntivi o collaterali, dai
CD e DVD ai dischi karaoke, dai videogiochi e
giocattoli ai vestiti e persino al cibo e alle
bevande - tutti recanti il marchio di base del
franchising.
emphasis on the genre of a film (genres, by
definition, cannot be copyrighted), producers
very often prefer to establish series, cycles,
sequels, remakes, etc. Using copyrighted
characters like Indiana Jones, Rambo, Conan,
and the wide range of "superheroes", from
Batman and Superman onwards, has proved
extremely profitable, as have been recurring
names in titles, like Die Hard, Lethal Weapon,
Star Trek, Predator, etc. (watch the video below
right). Indiana Jones was first introduced to the
audiences as "the new hero from the creators of
JAWS and STAR WARS", thus stressing the
brand name of the producers (the "creators").
And the same happens when a movie is promoted
by highlighting the actors, the directors and the
screenwriters of previous successful films. In the
last few decades, moreover, this process has
become even more sophisticated, as the movie
itself is only a sort of "core product" at the centre
of myriads of additional or side products, from
CDs and DVDs to karaoke discs, from
videogames and toys to clothes and even food
and beverages - all bearing the basic trade mark
of the "franchise".
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