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
sostituendo le reali cause sociali di questa
condizione umana con cause psicologiche, tanto
che la tragica figura del gangster viene spesso
presentata come una personalità psicotica (come
in Nemico pubblico - si veda il trailer in basso a
destra).
psychotic personality (as in The public enemy -
watch the trailer below right).
L'inferno di cristallo/The towering inferno (di/by
John Guillermin, Irwin Allen, USA 1974)
Nemico pubblico/The public enemy (di/by
William A. Wellman, USA 1931)
Tuttavia, questa visione "negativa" della However, this "negative" view of the social
funzione sociale dei generi cinematografici è function of film genres is counterbalanced by
controbilanciata da altri approcci, che tendono a other approaches, which tend to present them as
presentarli come espressioni collettive dei collective expressions of the socio-cultural
contesti socio-culturali e dei problemi dei contexts and problems of their respective
rispettivi pubblici - in questo caso, il genere non audiences - in this case, the genre is not seen as a
è visto come una manipolazione degli spettatori, manipulation of the viewers but rather as one
ma piuttosto come un potente modo per powerful way of highlighting tensions and
evidenziare tensioni e conflitti nel tentativo di conflicts in an attempt to express them on the
esprimerli sullo schermo e possibilmente anche screen and possibly even solve them. According
risolverli. Secondo questa visione, quindi, i to this view, then, westerns embody, through their
western incarnano, attraverso le loro storie e stories and characters, some essential cultural
personaggi, alcuni conflitti culturali essenziali conflicts (e.g. the myth of the frontier as the
(ad esempio il mito della frontiera come linea di dividing line between wilderness and
demarcazione tra deserto e civiltà), che già civilization), which already exist as concepts
esistono come concetti appartenenti alla struttura belonging to a society's mental structure. Schatz
mentale di una società. Schatz (Nota 5) (Note 5) suggests that most classical film genres
suggerisce che la maggior parte dei generi express one of two major classes of conflicts
cinematografici classici esprimono una delle due through their narrative structures and their
grandi classi di conflitti attraverso le loro corresponding iconographies: on the one hand,
strutture narrative e le relative iconografie: da un the western, the detective film and the gangster
lato, il western, il poliziesco e il film di gangster film give concrete substance to the already
danno concretezza al già citato conflitto tra il mentioned conflict between the legal and the
legale e l'illegale, il caos e l'ordine, e sono illegal, chaos and order, and are thus quite
quindi piuttosto "fisici" nella loro messa in "physical" in their mise-en-scène which
scena che privilegia gli spazi aperti; il musical, privileges open spaces; on the other hand, the
la commedia "screwball" e il melodramma, musical, the screwball comedy and the
invece, esprimono conflitti psicologici più melodrama express more personal psychological
personali attraverso una messa in scena che conflicts through a mise-e-scène that prefers
predilige gli spazi "chiusi". Naturalmente, "enclosed" spaces. Of course, such a drastic
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