Blog #2 – Genre

Genre is a negotiation between the film industry, artists, audiences, and critics. Genres are also historical formations that continually undergo processes of change. We might think of genre films as leaky and susceptible to cross-fertilization with alternate genres, tropes, and aesthetic forms. For instance, James Cameron's Avatar is a sci-fi fantasy, which is not only a hybrid of two genres but also borrows from several others. There is the war film's critique of the military institution (e.g. Paths of Glory) as well as the revisionist Western's transposition of 'bad' white men vs. 'good' ecologically sensitive natives (e.g. Dances with Wolves). It also incorporates 'regeneration through violence' and the 'healing panacea of wilderness' – tropes that extend across several artistic mediums. Lastly, Avatar's spectacular mise-en-scène, range of technologies and weaponry, and quantity of violent battles and lengthy chase scenes, has close affinities to contemporary videogame aesthetics.

Choose any of the following films...

and provide some specific, detailed examples of how the film splits from a singular frame of genre and merges with an another genre, trope, or aesthetic form that is not restricted to the 'horror film'. You may choose to do another single-scene analysis, or identify a few plot elements, and/or describe some filmic elements (lighting, editing, camera movement, etc.) that reflect other aesthetic forms. The main point of this blog is to show the intrinsic impurity of genre – in other words, how it splits while also remaining the same. You're expected to cite at least one passage from one of our genre-focused readings (i.e. Altman, Schneider, Kawin) to guide your analysis.

Remember that this entry can potentially work together with your earlier entry to compose part of a rough draft for your final essay. You may choose to think of this assignment as an extension of your earlier argument or analysis, while you introduce the analytical layer of genre theory. (You may even write about the same scene, or the same film, or a similar topic from a different film, or you can change your focus to something else entirely.) Your blog entry must be 400-500 words and posted by 6pm Oct. 2nd. If you experience any technical difficulty, you must email the text to your T.A. (nicole.gartner@stonybrook.edu) by the deadline. Late assignments will not be accepted.