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
aiutare. Il film offre ampio spazio al voyeurismo one of its main themes) and a profusion of sex
(che è in realtà uno dei suoi temi principali) e a and violence. Some could say that this is the
una profusione di sesso e violenza. Qualcuno triumph of the so-called "male gaze", i.e. the
potrebbe dire che questo è il trionfo del cosiddetto opportunity for men to watch female bodies at a
"sguardo maschile", cioè l'opportunità per gli safe distance (and at the time of its release the
uomini di guardare i corpi femminili a distanza di movie was actually fiercely attacked by both
sicurezza (e al momento della sua uscita il film è feminists and defenders of moral standards),
stato in realtà attaccato ferocemente sia dalle but on the other hand others were ready to
femministe che dai difensori di standard morali), point out director De Palma's virtuosistic
ma d'altronde altri erano pronti a sottolineare il treatment of the same "gaze" to unmask the
trattamento virtuosistico dello stesso "sguardo" da harsh realities of contemporary society (and in
parte del regista De Palma per smascherare le dure the meantime celebrate cinema's power to do
realtà della società contemporanea (e nel so).
frattempo celebrare il potere del cinema di farlo).
Trailer italiano English trailer
Omicidio a luci rosse/Body double (di/by Brian De Palma, USA 1984)
La tendenza a mescolare i generi per combinare le The tendency of mixing genres in order to both
qualità di successo dei film precedenti e attirare combine the successful qualities of previous
una varietà di pubblico è descritta in vividi films and attract a variety of audiences is
dettagli in I protagonisti (si veda il video qui described in vivid detail in The Player (watch
sotto), dove un produttore (Tim Robbins) deve the video below), where a producer (Tim
esaminare dozzine di sceneggiature che gli Robbins) has to go through dozens of scripts
vengono presentate quotidianamente, e così daily submitted to him, and in doing so tries to
facendo cerca di garantire che il maggior numero ensure that as many genres as possible are
possibile di generi sia soddisfatto in un unico film. catered for in a possible future movie. Thus he
Quindi deve considerare sceneggiature che has to consider scripts which he defines as "a
definisce come "una sorta di thriller politico kind of psychic political thriller comedy with a
psichico con un cuore", o come una combinazione heart", or as a combination of the "comedyromance-thriller
Ghost" with "a tingling
di un "thriller-commedia-romanzo tipo Ghost" con
"uno stuzzicante thriller di paranoia politica", o political paranoia thriller", or as "Out of
come "La mia Africa incontra Pretty woman", o Africa meets Pretty woman", or as a sequel to
come sequel di Il laureato, in cui la signora The graduate, in which Mrs Robinson, now an
Robinson, ora anziana e con un ictus, vive con la aged mother who has had a stroke, lives with
figlia e il genero ...... La brillante ironia di Altman her daughter and son-in-law ...... Director
cattura efficacemente lo sforzo di combinare il Altman's brilliant irony effectively captures the
maggior numero possibile di generi all'interno di effort to combine as many different genres as
un singolo film. Potremmo aggiungere che il film possible within a single movie. We might add
di Altman è di per sé un misto di commedia, that Altman's film is itself a mixture of comedy,
dramma e thriller con una chiara visione satirica drama and thriller with a clear satirical utlook
delle pratiche senza scrupoli di Hollywood... on Hollywood's unscrupulous practices ...
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