Genre

GENRE

 

Genre is essentially a category for any form of entertainment, art and basically everything else media related, music included. An example of some genres include Horror, Comedy and Action Adventure.

 

So how do we categorise certain Genres? What makes a Horror film? Conventions is the answer. Conventions are quite simply something that you'd expect from a that certain genre; in this case if we're speaking about Horror we could say that we 'expect' jump scares, or quite a morbid setting, while with Comedy films we 'expect' to laugh at the film.
 
Take this Horror film for example, Jeepers Creepers. This contains all the conventions you'd expect from a typical monster movie. First of all let's talk about the setting, both main characters within the film are stalked by what appears to be a normal man at first in some isolated fields. This is a convention of a Horror film as its a secluded area, away from any help, which in the majority of Horror Monster films, is the case. The secluded setting connotes isolation and the feeling of being alone.

Another typical convention of the Horror genre featured in this film are the characters; in many Horror films, this one included, teenagers are usually the main characters, this is because it connotes vulnerability, and the audience feel this.

Lastly, with a Horror film, a convention or something you would expect from a film like Jeepers Creepers is for people to die, and then in the end, one, two or maybe even three people manage to escape the situation they're in. But with Horror films, this is not always the case and does not follow the same conventions as other genres. There could be a plot twist ending and all the main characters die. However I am just generalising and no one has to die in a Horror film, it could just consist of jump scares. 

Moving on to Action Adventure films, in this case I am going to talk about Speed. There are many conventions through out the Action Adventure genre which you probably have noticed, one of which being the typical Hero and Villain scenario, or Protagonist and Antagonist. The Antagonist usually has the upper hand at some point in the film, but the Protagonist always manages to fight back and end up beating the Antagonist at the end of the film. The Protagonist, stereotypically, is a man who is usually an 'Average Joe', in other words he is usually a normal guy like everybody else. This Average Joe is always most likely  a muscular guy who is unequipped for the situation, which in the case of this film is the case. The Protagonist is muscular to connote power. The Antagonist in Speed is basically a terrorist with a grudge against the main character, which is a typical convention of the Action Adventure genre.

In this film, Speed, there is a scene where a bus leaps across an almost impossible gap in the unfinished bridge. This is called a Big Set Piece, and is used in a lot of Action Adventure films. These are essentially parts in a film where lots of money is used to make the scene. For example the Tomb Raider Temple scene, which can be seen at the beginning of the video below.