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POPULAR GENRES M > Z Go to Genres A > L
From Martial Arts to Westerns
(Listed Alphabetically)
MARTIAL ARTS
The popularity of martial arts films grew in the early 70s due to a growing interest in the west in Eastern philosophy, and the star presence of Bruce Lee (Fists of Fury, Way of the Dragon, Enter the Dragon). In recent years the genre has been discovered again through films such as Hero (2002). These films include a series of brilliantly choreographed fights in which the hero is outnumbered by enemies, armed with knives and clubs, and defeats them with bare hands. The plots are usually simple affairs of good versus evil.
What to Watch: The Karate Kid (1984), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Kill Bill Volume One (2003); Forbidden Kingdom (2008)
MELODRAMA
In between the male-oriented war films, Westerns, and action films that Hollywood turned out in the 30s and 40s, there was what was called 'the women's film'. The genre continued with success into the 50s and 60s, with a slightly more feminist slant. It is frequently associated with soap operas. As a genre, melodrama is the closest to the people, issues and events of our times. The central character of more often female; the presence of a distinct social order is a barrier to the central character and indicates the power structure in the city, region, town, or country; the central character transgresses the power structure - this is usually through a relationship with someone from within the power struggle; the conviction of the central character is fuelled by the belief that life must be and can be improved; Idealism, cynicism, sexuality and aggression reflect the attitudes of the character and, more important, support the central characteristic of the melodrama - a story of power and powerlessness set against an inflexible social and political structure.
What to Watch: Dark Victory (1939), Magnificent Obsession (1935), Mildred Pierce (1945), Far From Heaven (2002), Now Voyager (1942).
MOCKUMENTARY
Pretends to be rooted in actuality or memory, behaves like documentary or autobiography, but is utter fiction. It subverts fact-based filmmaking to satirise hypocritical institutions; the Catholic Church in Roma; middle-class mores in Zelig; TV journalism in Man Bites Dog and The Truman Show; politics in Bob Roberts; crass American values in To Die For.
MUSICALS
Born with the coming of sound, the film musical had its base in vaudeville and in opera. With its brazen blending of fantasy and reality, the musical provided audiences with an accessible and immediate escape from the life in the Great Depression, and then beyond. This genre presents a reality in which characters sing and dance their stories.
What to Watch: 42 Street (1933), The Merry Widow (1934), Singin' in the Rain (1952), West Side Story (1961), Cabaret (1972), Oliver! (1968), Evita (1996), Chicago (2002), The Producers (2005), Moulin Rouge (2001), Rent (2005), Happy Feet (2006); Across the Universe (2007)
MUSIC VIDEO
A single, mostly unstructured, intense, emotional journey linked to music.
PROPAGANDA
Produced with the intention of persuading viewers of a particular belief or ideology, propaganda films have been used by governments around the world since the early 20th Century. Though documentary is the most popular form, drama is also used to convey a 'message'.
What to watch: The Triumph of the Will (1935), The Plow that Broke the Plains (1936), Der Fuehrer's Face (1943).
REALITY TV
A relatively new TV genre, combining the elements of game shows and documentaries, placing real people in dangerous, exciting and adventurous constructed realities.
SATIRE
Satire is a special form of genre. The central conflict relates to a crucial social or political issue of the day. The environment, health care, the power of film and television, and nuclear war are all examples. The film has a distinct point of view about the issue. Humour mixes freely with aggression. The central character is a vehicle to promote an issue. Fantasy and unreality are acceptable in this free-form genre. This is a vigorous, energetic genre and is not at all tied to realism, like the melodrama or film noir. The genre succeeds when we see ourselves as victims of the danger and threat of society.
What to watch: The Player (1992), Grand Canyon (1991), Short Cuts (1993), Pleasantville, the series Entourage.
SCIENCE FICTION/ FANTASY
In hypothetical futures that are typically technological imaginary worlds of tyranny and chaos: Blade Runner, Minority Report. In Fantasy the screenwriter plays with time, space, and the physical, bending and mixing the laws of nature and the supernatural. Imaginary worlds and scenarios are constructed - often with the aid of special effects - to enable the improbable to become possible. Themes within these films include alien life forms, space and time travel, and futuristic technology. The science fiction film is to society what the horror film is to the person - a tale of catastrophe, a story of our worst nightmares. The central character is an innocent bystander who is victimised by a technological accident or an unnatural phenomenon or another world; the central character may or may not overcome the challenge of the antagonist; the antagonist may be a scientist or the product of science or nature - the scale of the antagonist is so great (giants ants as an example) that the central character is reminded not only of mortality, but also of humanity; the outcome is often more hopeful; the story line if often plot intensive and presents a specific threat to the natural order - the plot outlines the central character's response to the threat.
What to Watch: Metropolis (1926), The Wizard of Oz (1939), The Time Machine (1960), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Solaris (Russian, 1972), Star Wars (1977), The Matrix (1999), Blade Runner (1982), Minority Report (2002), Time Bandits (1981), Brazil (1985), The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1984), The Terminator (1984), Back to the Future (1985), A.I: Artificial Intelligence (2001), War of the World (2004).
The extra realities of Fantasy attract the Action genres but also welcome others such as the Love Story (Somewhere in Time), Political Drama/ Allegory (Animal Farm), Social Drama (IF…), the Maturation Plot (Alice in Wonderland)
SERIALS
A multi-episode, usually action adventure, film. It is the only obsolete cinematic genre, though some of its features are evident in television soap operas, and mini-series.
What to Watch: The Perils of Pauline (1914) Flash Gordon (1936), The Lone Ranger (1938).
SERIES
Series can be sequels (The Godfather), prequels (the Star Wars Saga, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning), or films with different plots but the same characters (the Harry Potter cycle). The convention of putting numerals after film titles, as in Spider-Man 2 (2004), did not begin until the 70s
What to Watch: Charlie Chan film, Don Camillo films, James Bond films.
SHORT FILMS
Includes educational, instructional and informational films. It deals with short subjects covering a broad array of topics, and ranges from 2 minutes to 70 minutes in length.
SPORTS GENRE
The sports film is a particular sort of adventure film. Sport is a crucible for character change. It is a natural for the Maturation Plot (North Dallas Forty), the Redemption Plot (Somebody up there likes me), the Education Plot (Bull Durham) , the Punitive Plot (Raging Bull), the Testing Plot (Chariots of Fire), the Disillusionment Plot (The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner), Buddy Salvation (White Men Can't Jump), and Social Drama (A League of their Own). It can be real (Champions), cynical (Raging Bull), or fantastic (Field of Dreams). Unlike the adventure film, the focal point can be personal (Bang the Drum Slowly), rather than apocalyptic. The characteristics of the sports film are: the central character is a gifted athlete who tests himself within the parameters of a particular sport; only sports that have a broad appeal to society make a good background for this genre. Boxing, football, and baseball have been the sports of choice. The apparent antagonist - the other team, the manager, or the owner - is not as important as is the interior struggle for the central character; he is his own worst enemy. Relationships, whether they be male-female or male-male, are crucial to the emotional well being of the central character. A mentor )a father, coach, or another professional) plays a key role. Family is an important component in this genre. The ritual - in this case, the big game or the big fight - plays a central role in the sports genre.
What to Watch: Raging Bull (1980), Chariots of Fire (1981), American Flyers (1985), the Rocky series, Hansie (2007)
TEEN FILMS
In the 50s, producers first recognised a market for youth-orientated films, the number of which grew steadily until a dramatic increase in the 80s. Often set in a school, these films invariably show teens trying to attract the opposite sex and attempting to escape adult control.
What to Watch: Rebel Without a Cause (1055), American Grafitti (1973), The Breakfast Club (1985)
THRILLERS
Gripping yarns of suspense, where the tension is created by placing one or more characters in a threatening situation from which they have to escape. The type of film can cross several genres to produce action, science fiction, and even Western thrillers. Alfred Hitchcock, 'The Master of Suspense', perfected one of the fundamental thriller types in North and Northwest (1959). The mystery usually involves spies or terrorists, in which the protagonist is the pursued or the pursuer, attempting to solve a crime or prevent a disaster. Another popular Hitchcockian theme is the 'woman-in-peril' psychological thriller as epitomised in (Psycho (1960). Other potent examples include Gaslight (1940/ 44), Wait Until Dark (1967), and Dead Calm (1989). The conspiracy thriller reappeared in the 90s with Patriot Games (1992), and continued with The Bourne Identity (2002) and The Constant Gardener (2005).
What to Watch: The Third Man (1949), The Silence of the Lambs (1991).
UNDERGROUND
The term originated in the US towards the end of the 50s and applied to US experimental filmmaking, which was rooted in the European Avant-Garde but was strongly connected to the American Beat movement that emerged at that time. Maya Deren's Meshes in the Afternoon (1943) was one of the first independent underground films. The mode of campness was exploited by Andy Warhol films such as Flesh (1968) and Blow Job (1963).
WAR
These films are about transgression and power. How does the individual survive intact, physically and mentally? How are we, the audience, to feel about a particular was or about war in general? Battle scenes and war have been the subject of films since the beginning of cinema, but as a genre, war films came of age during World War I. Often they take an anti-war stance, but equally they can be made to stir up popular support and even serve as propaganda. War is often the setting for another genre, such as the Love Story. It is specifically about combat. In this genre the film you write may be pro-war, or anti war: Platoon, Windtalkers. The war genre could even be blended with the musical genre and result in a film such as Milos Forman's brilliant anti-war drama Hair. The central character has one primary goal: survival - this may mean personal survival, national survival, or the survival of the personal or political values he believes in. The character's values are tested. The polarities of human behaviour (altruism and barbarism) coexist and are as much in combat as are the combatants. Violence plays a central role in this genre. Each film carries a particular political perspective of war. The antagonist is often never seen (Full Metal Jacket)
What to Watch: Paths of Glory (1957), Apocalypse Now (1979), Das Boot (1981), Full metal Jacket (1987), Saving Private Ryan (1998), The Thin Red Line (1998), Three Kings (1999), Flags of Our Fathers (2006).
WESTERN
The western began as morality plays set in the "Old West", a mythical golden age for allegories of good versus evil. In the 70s the genre became dated and stale. In the 80s the Western modulated into quasi-social drama, a corrective to racism and violence in Dances With Wolves, Unforgiven and Posse. In the 90s John Carpenter moulded his Vampyres in the tradition of the Western.
What to Watch: Stagecoach (1939), The Magnificent Seven (1960), The Wild Bunch (1969), Once Upon a Time in the West (1969), Unforgiven (1992), Dances With Wolves (1990), Brokeback Mountain (2005).
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