Ok so this hasn't been finished, referenced or even spell checked properly yet. But this a current bit of theoretical background and initial attempt at conclusion:
Thursday 31 March 2016
Rationale
For some reason we seem to go and watch films that are presented as 'a genre' just one genre in most cases. A story that is a 'western' or a 'police procedural'. This same story could be, and often is, then remade as a sci-fi, or a rom-com lets say. Why? Why are these genres 'established' and not others? Why do stories get told in these formulaic ways and why do they have to 'belong' to a genre. We all know the conventions of a Western and we delight in this to a point, but only really to parody and play with them nowadays. But what if it wasn’t like this, what if we could create genre-less texts, or what if we could tell stories that were so overloaded with genre that they became something different. What if we could go and watch a film in which our understanding of genre wasn’t stable and comfortable, what would that be like..
I didn’t want to try and make a genre-less text (too boring, too difficult!) so instead I tried to make something that might represent the extreme.. A genre apocalypse! (a text where a whole lot of genre is smashed together)
So this film is not a quality short film looking at how to best reproduce genre film conventions. I'm not trying to create a standout film noir scene and then do the same scene as a stand out sci fi for instance. I'm trying to elucidate one extreme of genre use.
I'm asking (my students and hopefully you guys too) :
1.Could genre hybridity/blending exist and function in this extreme form? (maybe not in my badly made film but could it in a real hollywood effort lets say).
2.Does this prove genre to be a useful, integral construct or one that we feel is needed somehow?
3.To what extent does an unstable, continuously changing genre mix always result in confusion and chaos? Do audiences need a 'steady genre experience' in order to understand other aspects of the film (narrative, lighting, etc)
4.Does contemporary use of film genre and the inevitable generic blending always result in parody or is it possible to create a new form or use of genre in this way?
5.Have traditional genres been transcended or challenged by the use of genre blending in the past and potentially in the future? Is there an end to genre on the horizon? (genre apocalypse?)
I didn’t want to try and make a genre-less text (too boring, too difficult!) so instead I tried to make something that might represent the extreme.. A genre apocalypse! (a text where a whole lot of genre is smashed together)
So this film is not a quality short film looking at how to best reproduce genre film conventions. I'm not trying to create a standout film noir scene and then do the same scene as a stand out sci fi for instance. I'm trying to elucidate one extreme of genre use.
I'm asking (my students and hopefully you guys too) :
1.Could genre hybridity/blending exist and function in this extreme form? (maybe not in my badly made film but could it in a real hollywood effort lets say).
2.Does this prove genre to be a useful, integral construct or one that we feel is needed somehow?
3.To what extent does an unstable, continuously changing genre mix always result in confusion and chaos? Do audiences need a 'steady genre experience' in order to understand other aspects of the film (narrative, lighting, etc)
4.Does contemporary use of film genre and the inevitable generic blending always result in parody or is it possible to create a new form or use of genre in this way?
5.Have traditional genres been transcended or challenged by the use of genre blending in the past and potentially in the future? Is there an end to genre on the horizon? (genre apocalypse?)
Intro: What is this project?
On here is my short film (9 minutes). I have still a few placeholder titles in there where i need to add a scene or two (although im starting to think I might not need them as its chaos enough as it is!). Anyway I'm using this a teaching tool for my A level classes to get them thinking about Genre hybridity and the way in which it is used currently and maybe potentially. There are questions at the end which i would use with students I guess but if you guys have any questions or advice on what works and what doesn't then that would be great.
Please ignore the million and one continuity errors and plot holes!
PROJECT OUTLINE:
THE GENRE APOCALYPSE? : Escaping genre's 'presumption of universality' – Do dominant genres need to mix in order to survive? An experiment in genre hybridity.
Are media texts always confined (whether by institution, artist or audience) to the generic? Can the dominant forms of genre be challenged by a text which attempts to become ‘paradoxically genre-less’ as a result of it being ‘continuous genre mixing.’ Would a multi-hybrid, patchwork genre film be as filmic as a ‘pure’, classical genre film? Does the mixing and blending of the ‘pure genre’ degrade and destroy genre’s usefulness as a concept, or does the existence of a range of genres within a movie ensure that genre is given centre stage, and thus the most important construction of all?
Please ignore the million and one continuity errors and plot holes!
PROJECT OUTLINE:
THE GENRE APOCALYPSE? : Escaping genre's 'presumption of universality' – Do dominant genres need to mix in order to survive? An experiment in genre hybridity.
Are media texts always confined (whether by institution, artist or audience) to the generic? Can the dominant forms of genre be challenged by a text which attempts to become ‘paradoxically genre-less’ as a result of it being ‘continuous genre mixing.’ Would a multi-hybrid, patchwork genre film be as filmic as a ‘pure’, classical genre film? Does the mixing and blending of the ‘pure genre’ degrade and destroy genre’s usefulness as a concept, or does the existence of a range of genres within a movie ensure that genre is given centre stage, and thus the most important construction of all?
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