RESEARCH: TASK 11 - What is genre?

Genre is the type/style of art, music or literature. They are used to categorise different products that share similar features. They are important in media and film because hey help to establish certain expectations and helps the audience to develop personal tastes around genre.There are different types of genres such as horror, comedy, action, science fiction and many more. A genre have common codes and conventions which are the typical features and common elements the audience sees in a genre.
There are also sub genres and hybrid genres. A sub genre is a subdivision/subcategory of a genre, it is more specific. For example within the horror genre, there are ghost films, zombie films, monster films etc. A hybrid genre is a cross genre that have elements from 2 or more genres e.g. rom com.

My favourite genres are superhero and fantasy.

Superhero
The superhero genre is one of my favourites because there is a lot of action and it is exciting. I love the use of CGI and special effects used which make it more entertaining and thrilling.

This is a still from the film Captain America: Civil War which fits into the superhero genre. From this still I know that this is in the superhero genre as there are 5 characters ready to take off and fight which is typical as superhero films are action packed. The audience can see the person in the blue and red costume is the main character as he is in the middle and the one closer in the shot.

This continues from the first still which shows the audience another convention in superhero films which is good vs evil. The audience can see the two different sides against each other. This indicates that there are heroes and villains in superhero films. This supports Propp's character theory. He stated that there is a stuggle between the good and evil/heroes and villains.


Fantasy
I also like the fantasy genre because it allows to me to imagine things and broaden my mind. They allow me to escape from reality and go into a different realm.This supports Blumlr and Katz uses and gratifications theory that we use media for different reasons. So one reason people watch films is to escape the real world to experience something different and new which is why I like to watch fantasy films.

This is a still from Harry Potter. This shows a make believe world as it is the place where the students have to go to to study magic. It is typical in fantasy films for their to be an imaginary, made up world.

From this still the audience can see a made up creature which is also typical in fantasy films. The audience can also see the creature do magic which is a supernatural element and common theme.
The Harry Potter franchise also follows Propp's character theory which states that every film has these specific eight characters. This includes:

• The hero - a character who seeks something and solves the problem - Harry Potter
• The helper - aids the hero - Ron Weasley/ Hermione Granger
• The villain - who opposes and actively blocks the hero's quest -  Lord Voldemort
• The princess - acts as the reward - Ginny Weasley
• The dispatcher - sends the hero on their quest - Dumbledore
• The false hero - disrupts the hero's success - Draco Malfoy
• The donor - provides the hero with objects to help them on the quest - Hagrid
• The father - who acts to reward the hero - Arthur Weasley