Genre analysis also includes understanding the evolution of a genre over time. Genres change and develop because of changes in the culture or historical period in which the genre is being produced. The Western solo hero who was popular in the 1940s and 1950s evolved into the group of heroes in the 1960s and 1970s with Rawhide and Bonanza—shows that reflected a shift in the workplace to that of the group in the corporation or company during that time. And, with the increasing interest in urban crime and international espionage in the 1970s and 1980s, the Western was replaced by the police/detective and the spy/thriller genres.

Genres also gain popularity with certain audiences who seek out these genres given the historical or cultural forces operating in a certain period. During the Great Depression, audiences flocked to movie houses to view Hollywood romantic comedies as a way of escaping the grim realities of everyday lives characterized by poverty and deprivation. The nature of the threat in science fiction movies also shifts to reflect changes in fears or threats facing societies. During the 1930s and 1940s, Americans expressed racial fears, as manifested in the rise of the Klu Klux Klan, and in the film, King Kong.

During the 1990s, with the increased production of films and the control of media conglomerates over the types of films being made, an increasing number of formulaic genre films were produced. Film studios needed to attract large audiences in order to make a return profit on the millions they invested in high-production, special-effects films, so they turned to safe, familiar genres and sequels. As Wheeler Dixon (2000) argues:

What audiences today desire more than ever before is “more of the same,” and studios, scared to death by rising production and distribution costs, are equally loathe to strike out in new generic directions. Keep audiences satisfied, strive to maintain narrative closure at all costs, and keep within the bounds of heterotopic romance, no matter what genre one is ostensibly working in. Yet, at the same time, the studios must present these old fables in seductive new clothing, with high budgets, major stars, lavish sets, and (if the genre demands it) unremitting action to disguise the secondhand nature of the contemporary
genre film (p. 8).

Film versus television genres. There are some important differences between film and television genres. Film genres (see list below) tend to be more general, for example, the western, action/adventure, comedy, horror, science fiction, etc., while television genres (see list below) are often specialized, for example, cooking shows, sports-talk shows, children’s animation, etc. A film that is representative of a certain film genre also tends to be self-enclosed — the conflicts are often resolved within the film, even with film sequels. In contrast, a television genre program tends to be part of a serial, in which a storyline may continue and develop or characters may evolve across different programs.

List of film genres:
Yahoo Directory: Movies and Film
Angelfire.com: Film Genre Page
moviegoods.com
IMDb.com
filmsite.org: The Greatest Films

List of television genres:
Yahoo Directory: Television
dmoz.org
omni seek

Resources/readings on film/television genres:
General Critical Studies of Television
Amelie Movie Guide

For further reading on film/television genres:

Altman, R. (1999). Film/genre. London: British Film Institute

Browne, N. (Ed.) (1998). Refiguring American film genres: History and theory. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Creeber, G., Miller, T., & Tulloch, J. (Eds.). (2001). The Television Genre Book. London: British Film Institute.

Dixon, W. (2000). Film genre 2000: New critical essays. Albany: State University of New York Press,

Elsaesser, T., & Buckland, W. (2002). Studying contemporary American films: A guide to movie analysis. London: Arnold.

Fischer, L. (1996). Cinematernity: Film, motherhood, genre. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.

Grodal, T. (1997). Moving pictures: A new theory of film genres, feelings, and cognition. New York: Oxford University Press.

Grant, B. K. (Ed.). (2003). Film genre reader III. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.

Mittell, J. (2004). Genre and television: From cop shows to cartoons in American culture. New York: Routledge.

Neale, S. (2000). Genre and Hollywood. New York: Routledge.

Neale, S. (Ed.). (2002). Genre and contemporary Hollywood. London: British Film Institute.

Strong, J., Dowd, G., & Stevenson, L. (2003). Genre: Media, meaning and definitions. Bristol, UK: Intellect.

Module 7: Word document

Different Perspectives on Genre Study

Audience-based Approaches to Film/Television Genre Study

Critical/Ideological Analysis of Genres

The History and Evolution of Genres

Devising Genre-analysis Activities

Different Genre Types

Action/Adventure

The Western

Gangster/Crime

Detective/Film Noir

Comedy

Fantasy/Sci-Fi

Horror/Monster

Suspense Thriller/Spy/Heist

Soap Opera

The Talk Show

Sports

Game Shows/
Reality TV

Animation

Comics

Graphic Novels

Teaching Activity

References

Teaching activities on genre developed by students in CI5472, Spring, 2004