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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

cinemafocus.eu

I più conosciuti "loghi" degli studi

hollywoodiani/Best known logos of Hollywood

studios

I diversi "loghi" della franchise di Star Trek/The

different logos of the Star Trek franchise

Le industrie di Hollywood, così come i più

recenti sistemi di produzione, hanno sempre

cercato di raccogliere i frutti dei loro film, ben

oltre i film stessi: ogni film portava con sé

importanti risorse come il nome dello studio, le

star coinvolte, i personaggi e i titoli dei film -

tutti elementi che possono essere utilizzati più e

più volte, creando così una "catena" di vantaggi

extra che si estende da un film all'altro.

11. Le funzioni dei generi

Hollywood industries, as well as more recent

production systems, have always tried to reap the

full rewards of their films, well beyond the films

themselves: each film carried with it important

assets like, as we said, the studio's name, the

stars involved, the characters and the film titles -

all elements that can be used time and time

again, thereby creating a "chain" of extra

benefits that extends from a film to the next.

11. The functions of genres

Esplorare la natura e il significato dei generi

cinematografici è un compito multiforme che,

pur considerando i film "generici" come testi,

dovrebbe anche discutere le loro funzioni di

potenti elementi dei contesti socio-culturali del

cinema. Ciò implica la loro funzione economica

(cioè il ruolo che svolgono nel modo in cui i

film vengono prodotti seguendo le regole dei

mercati di massa), la loro funzione socioculturale

(cioè come esprimono e mediano tra

diverse visioni del mondo, ideologie e valori) e

la loro funzione comunicativa (cioè come il

pubblico interpreta un film, si relaziona con altri

soggetti coinvolti nel cinema, e quindi

contribuisce a plasmare i significati che i generi

cinematografici alla fine esprimono) (Nota 2).

Exploring the nature and significance of film

genres is a multi-faceted task which, while

considering "generic" films as texts, should also

discuss their functions as powerful elements of

the socio-cultural contexts of cinema. This

implies their economic function (i.e. the role that

they play in how films are produced following the

rules of mass markets), their socio-cultural

function (i.e. how they express and mediate

between different world views, ideologies and

values) and their communicative function (i.e.

how audiences interpret a film, relate to other

subjects involved in cinema, and thus contribute

to shape the meanings that film genres eventually

express) (Note 2).

11.1. The economic function

11.1. La funzione economica

One of the main advantages of establishing

Uno dei principali vantaggi di stabilire generi recognized, accepted and shared genres for the

riconosciuti, accettati e condivisi per l'industria cinema industry is the opportunity it offers to

cinematografica è l'opportunità che offre di standardize production, i.e. to offer audiences

standardizzare la produzione, ovvero di offrire al movies that meet their expectations and can thus

pubblico film che soddisfino le loro aspettative e guarantee a certain level of box-office success -

possano quindi garantire un certo livello di all this, of course, within the limits imposed by

successo al botteghino - tutto questo,

the master principle of "repetition and variation"

ovviamente, nei limiti imposti dal principio (as we saw in Part 1) - a successful film cannot

fondamentale della "ripetizione e variazione" be simply replicated, but should offer elements of

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