Genre Essay.

Genre Essay. 

Genre is the categorisation of different films into different groups, these are usually based on similar narrative concepts from a wide range of films. This is usually done by regarding three concepts; settings, themes and moods. This is seen as a good thing for films because it allows the production companies to create a specific target audience that they know will watch the films making their films more successful and popular. In this essay I will be analysing my summer teaser trailer against different horror theorist’s ideas surrounding genres relating to horror films.

A media theorist called Graeme Burton created an idea that we can understand horror genres by looking at key concepts of a horror, He recognises “types, recognisable and familiar characteristics” All of these elements are a part of the “genre formula”. For example one concept of this would be the icons used throughout a horror. These could be weapons used by the antagonist e.g. axe or knife, on the other hand they could be things like props used, a common one is a mask to hide the antagonists identity.  Applying Graeme Burton’s idea to my summer trailer I believe it shows reoccurring signs of it being a slasher horror. For instance the icons in our trailer were a mask to hide the antagonist’s identity creating enigma and a knife as the main weapon used against the protagonists. Using a weapon like a knife is also seen as a phallic object so instead of stabbing the dumb blonde, the antagonist is seen as penetrating the dumb blonde sexually, this gives the action more of a deeper subtext behind what you can just view on the screen. A connection between Burtons work and my summer trailer may also be background/settings of the trailer. A lot of it was situated in an isolated park late at night. This is a very secluded area and therefore sets the tone of the trailer.

A second media theorist called Steve Neal believed that pleasure has been given to the audience by constant repetition of conventions of horror. By looking at the conventions of a horror, it gives us pleasure to watch it. This is agreed by a man called Warren Buckland who stated “Genres create expectations that condition our responses. It sets up hope and promises that it will bring us pleasure if they are fulfilled.” To continue this pleasure, Neal believes that we have to change how the conventions in a horror genre happens as if they weren’t changed regularly then the target audience will come away from the film disappointed because they have become decentralized to the stereotypical times horror conventions occur, for instance there is regularly a jump scared when the music of a horror hits a climax, instead of putting in a jump scare there they do it a minute or so later when the audience becomes more relaxed and less likely to expect it. They do this so the audience are still on the edge of their seats when watching a typical horror movie in the cinema and therefore come out of the cinema satisfied. Neal also states that horror film fans are now enjoying hybrid genres of a film. A hybrid genre is a mixture of two genres to create a film, for instance in the film Warm Bodies romance and horror has started to become a mix sending horror films down a different path and making them more unique again. This has been done because people were running out of ideas on what type of storyline to do without repeating themselves because everything had already been done.  Regarding my summer work I struggle to create a connection between Neal’s work and my own. My summer trailer is full of the conventions of a horror that audiences have now become decentralized to. It is also only considered as a slasher in the horror sub-genre and therefore is not in a hybrid genre.  Due to this it continues to go down the same route other stereotypical horrors have. Due to this I believe my horror trailer could be possibly less effective than it would have been if it had a connection with Neal’s theory, on the other hand it still has many conventions of a horror film and is still effective in its genre.

Another theorist that analysed horror genres is a man name Christian Metz, he believed in the four different stages of creating a film in a genre. The first stage was the experimental stage, in this stage there are no rules and therefore the genre would have no name, this is where the production companies are testing out all sorts of ideas that may be included in the genre films. The second stage that some genre films may be in are the classical stage of films, this stage is where the films have followed the rules, in this case the horror rules and therefore has become a classic horror film that the audience know and love well. The third stage is the parody stage, this is the comical side of films. In the case of horrors it is the films that analyse and make fun of the conventions of a horror film, an example of this would be the film Scream. Finally the last stage is the deconstruction stage, this is the final stage. This stage is a different type of ways to go around making a horror film, for instance instead of going along with the stereotypical side of horrors they go against these conventions and create a completely different type of horror that hasn’t commonly been seen before. These are commonly used in this day and age because it’s something different that people aren’t used to and therefore come away from the film satisfied that they have enjoyed the film. Regarding my summer trailer, I would place my work in the classical stage of Metz theory. This is because we worked solely on the conventions of a horror so we knew that horror fans and the audience of our trailer would want to go and watch it.

The last theorist I am going to analyse against my work regarding genre is a man named Rick Altmann. He believed that there is three ways of getting out pleasure out of any type of film. Regarding horror he believed there is a pleasure side, this would be guessing who the antagonist is throughout the film. An example is Scream, every audience member would be analysing who the antagonist could have been throughout the horror because of the way the film was set up. Creating a horror like this gives the audience an intellectual puzzle that they feel they need to resolve before the end of the film happens. This is almost seen as a chase to the end. The third pleasure is the emotional side, regarding horror it should make you feel scared all throughout the film, and you should feel as an audience member on the edge of the seat throughout. This is because this is what the purpose of a horror is and therefore if it doesn’t achieve that for you then it isn’t a conventional horror, feeling these emotions will make you enjoy the film even more. If a horror makes you laugh at what they have created as the climaxing parts that are supposed to scare you then it isn’t conventional horror. You are supposed to laugh at comedies, not horrors. Lastly the third part is the visual pleasure, regarding horror this should create an animalistic desire for you. For example in an action you should feel happy and like the fact that the hero gets to kill the antagonist. Horrors are supposed to make you feel cringed out and hide from the screen, which is their function in the genre of films. Horror genre fans expect this. Regarding my own summer trailer it doesn’t show the visual pleasure that it should. I feel this is because it’s only a short clip and you don’t get to see all the climaxing parts therefore it doesn’t make you want to cringe and hide. On the other hand I believe it does give you the intellectual pleasure because it leaves you wondering who the killer is behind the mask, one mistake we done was briefly show the antagonist to the audience. I know this was a mistake because it reveals too much to the audience and they are already satisfied without actually watching the film. This wouldn’t appeal to the audience as much and therefore when I do my trailer this time I’m going to make sure I don’t reveal that.

In conclusion Genre has been explored by many theorists that created different explanations about the horror genre. After analysing their theories against my own summer trailer I feel it has helped me improve on my previous work in time for my future work. I now won’t make these mistakes that are identified through the theories and it will therefore improve my grade for the future. Looking into these theories it has also helped me realise that I may not need to do all of them to keep it at a high grade and creative horror.