Research - What Is A Genre

Now that I have looked into what a trailer is and consists of, it has given me a lot to think about for my own trailer. This is why I thought it would be best if I did a little research into what a genre is, so I can choose properly instead of rushing into it. This will give me more of an in depth understanding of what kind of genres there are and which one is best for us to work on.

Film genres have a variety of categories, classifications or groups of films that have recurring or obvious patterns, language rules, filmic techniques or conventions that include;

• Settings - Props, Costumes etc.
• Theme - Happy/Dark.
• Mood - Frightening/Pleasant.
• Period - Present/Past/Future.  
• Plot - Whole narrative.
• Central Narrative Events - The main action.
• Motifs – The image it gives off.
• Styles – Black and White, Silent.
• Situations – Climax Scenes.
• Recurring Icons (James Bond - The Bond Films)

After the silent film era had ended most genres were already categorized into the following:

• Melodrama
• Western
• Horror
• Comedy
• Action Adventure
• Musicals (Talkies)
• Science Fiction (became popular in 1950s)

Many films are well thought out hybrids, they include several film genres. According to Jim Collins since the 1980s Hollywood films were largely influenced towards ironic hybridization. This meant that directors would choose to combine more than one genre for example Cowboys Vs Aliens. Andrew Tutor claimed that any genre of film can be defined in four ways: 

• The idealist method judges films by predetermined standards.
• The empirical method identifies the genre of a film by comparing it to a list of films   already deemed to fall within a certain genre.
• The Apriori method uses common generic elements which are identified in advance.
• The social conventions method of identifying the genre of a film is based on the  accepted cultural consensus within society.

Genre is constantly seen as an unclear term with no permanent restrictions. There are many film theorists that question the term genre for example Robert Stam argues that does genre really exist or is it just the creation of critics. While some genres are based on story content (the war film), other are borrowed from literature (comedy, melodrama) or from other media (the musical). Some are performer-based (the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers films) or budget-based (blockbusters), while others are based on artistic status (the art film), racial identity (Black cinema), location (the Western), or sexual orientation (Queer Cinema).Various genres come with a specific target audience as well as publication support from film magazines, adverts, merchandise and websites. For example statistics show that men are more likely to view a horror or action film than a romantic film. 

(Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_genre)