FILM 1502 1st Edition Lecture 18Outline of Last Lecture I. Brief history of the contemporary Horror filmII. How does this play into Altman’s concept of generic progression?III. How does the slasher sub-genre break with the horror genre structurally?Outline of Current Lecture IV. What are prescriptive and descriptive approached to genre?V. What is genre revisionism and why is it important to the ways that we think about contemporary genre formation?VI. In what ways can we think about genre as culturally and geographically specific?Current LectureThe Significance of Genre 11/4 Q1: Prescriptive approaches to genre assume that genre is defined before a film is made and that closeness to the genre formula makes the film better, while descriptive approaches assume that genre changes over time and that audiences prize genre for different reasons. TRUEGenre- The Maltese Falcon (John Huston, 1941)o Film noir, elements of crime drama, action, drama - Genre definitions (Hollywood genres)o Comedy, western, drama, musical, horror, science fiction Comedy Genre- Distinctive characters-features, costumes, speaking - Gags and situational humor- Theatrical acting o Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd- Slapstick (interactive environment), screwball (dialogue comedy), romantic comedy- Constructive mise-en-scene-interaction with environment Western Genre- Tough character/ rugged individualism-distinguishes them, counters American exceptionalism - Quest into western worldThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.- Open and natural aesthetic - Man vs. modernity Q2: Hollywood genres are not inherently “universal.” Global and Local Genre (read p. 347, 350)Drama Genre - Defined by situation- Communicate emotion-phenomenological - Rely on reversals and emotional climax-3-act structure- Personal cinema-close-up reliance- Music underscores genre (melodrama)- Larger implications Musical Genre- Expression through song and dance - Push forward or halt plot Horror Genre- Characters w/ physical, psychological, spiritual deformities - Built upon suspense, surprise, shock- Can be person, place, faceless, expression of evil- Supernatural horror: emergence of spiritual evil in human realm, not of this world ex. The exorcist - Psychological horror: evil originates from human world ex. Psycho - Physical horror: slasher, extreme violence o Convergence of these classifications Q3: Corrigan and White do not outline science fiction as a genreScience Fiction Genre - Science based situations or phenomena- Sci-fi vs. drama- 2001: Space Odyssey o 1968 and Yuri Gagarin- “reconcile man with the unknown”-speculative - categorized by adherence to rather than break from science The Godfather and Genre- remaining issueso thematic and iconography- drama-masculinized, dark, quiet, lack of
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