Philosophy 298

Aesthetics of Film: Film Genres

Objectives: To apply the principles of aesthetic theory and the philosophy of art to film genres. We will study the codes, and procedures used in different genres for making films. We shall ask how does a genre function as a means of telling a story. How are genres determined? What is their history? What are the classical film genres? Why are film genres mixed? How are new genres developed? Are their rules a genre must follow?

American Film Institutes' TOP 10 of the TOP 10 Genres

ANIMATION

1 SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS 1937
2 PINOCCHIO 1940
3 BAMBI 1942
4 THE LION KING 1994
5 FANTASIA 1940
6 TOY STORY 1995
7 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST 1991
8 SHREK 2001
9 CINDERELLA 1950
10 FINDING NEMO 2003

FANTASY

1 THE WIZARD OF OZ 1939
2 THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING 2001
3 IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE 1946
4 KING KONG 1933
5 MIRACLE ON 34th STREET 1947
6 FIELD OF DREAMS 1989
7 HARVEY 1950
8 GROUNDHOG DAY 1993
9 THE THIEF OF BAGDAD 1924
10 BIG 1988

GANGSTER

1 THE GODFATHER 1972
2 GOODFELLAS 1990
3 THE GODFATHER PART II 1974
4 WHITE HEAT 1949
5 BONNIE AND CLYDE 1967
6 SCARFACE: THE SHAME OF A NATION 1932
7 PULP FICTION 1994
8 THE PUBLIC ENEMY 1931
9 LITTLE CAESAR 1930
10 SCARFACE 1983

SCIENCE FICTION

1 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY 1968
2 STAR WARS: EPISODE IV - A NEW HOPE 1977
3 E.T. - THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL 1982
4 A CLOCKWORK ORANGE 1971
5 THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL 1951
6 BLADE RUNNER 1982
7 ALIEN 1979
8 TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY 1991
9 INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS 1956
10 BACK TO THE FUTURE 1985

WESTERN

1 THE SEARCHERS 1956
2 HIGH NOON 1952
3 SHANE 1953
4 UNFORGIVEN 1992
5 RED RIVER 1948
6 THE WILD BUNCH 1969
7 BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID 1969
8 McCABE & MRS. MILLER 1971
9 STAGECOACH 1939
10 CAT BALLOU 1965

SPORTS

1 RAGING BULL 1980
2 ROCKY 1976
3 THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES 1942
4 HOOSIERS 1986
5 BULL DURHAM 1988
6 THE HUSTLER 1961
7 CADDYSHACK 1980
8 BREAKING AWAY 1979
9 NATIONAL VELVET 1944
10 JERRY MAGUIRE 1996

MYSTERY

1 VERTIGO 1958
2 CHINATOWN 1974
3 REAR WINDOW 1954
4 LAURA 1944
5 THE THIRD MAN 1949
6 THE MALTESE FALCON 1941
7 NORTH BY NORTHWEST 1959
8 BLUE VELVET 1986
9 DIAL M FOR MURDER 1954
10 THE USUAL SUSPECTS 1995

ROMANTIC COMEDY

1 CITY LIGHTS 1931
2 ANNIE HALL 1977
3 IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT 1934
4 ROMAN HOLIDAY 1953
5 THE PHILADELPHIA STORY 1940
6 WHEN HARRY MET SALLY ... 1989
7 ADAM'S RIB 1949
8 MOONSTRUCK 1987
9 HAROLD AND MAUDE 1971
10 SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE 1993

COURTROOM DRAMA

1 TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD 1962
2 12 ANGRY MEN 1957
3 KRAMER VS. KRAMER 1979
4 THE VERDICT 1982
5 A FEW GOOD MEN 1992
6 WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION 1957
7 ANATOMY OF A MURDER 1959
8 IN COLD BLOOD 1967
9 A CRY IN THE DARK 1988
10 JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG 1961

EPIC

1 LAWRENCE OF ARABIA 1962
2 BEN-HUR 1959
3 SCHINDLER'S LIST 1993
4 GONE WITH THE WIND 1939
5 SPARTACUS 1960
6 TITANIC 1997
7 ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT 1930
8 SAVING PRIVATE RYAN 1998
9 REDS 1981
10 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS 1956

Interesting facts about the list include:
-- The earliest entry on the list is THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (Fantasy) from 1924; with the most recent being FINDING NEMO (Animated) from 2003.
-- Alfred Hitchcock is the most represented director with 4 films; Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kubrick follow with 3 entries each.
-- James Stewart is the most represented actor with 6 entries; Tom Hanks is next with 4; Warren Beatty, Robert De Niro, Gene Hackman, James Earl Jones, Paul Newman, Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino and John Wayne all have 3 films each.
-- Diane Keaton is the most represented actress with 4 films on the list; Grace Kelly and Talia Shire each have 3 entries.
To compile the final list, AFI distributed a ballot with 500 nominated movies (50 per genre) to a jury of over 1,500 leaders from the creative community, including film artists (directors, screenwriters, actors, editors, cinematographers), critics and historians.
AFI asks jurors to consider the following criteria in their selection process:
FEATURE-LENGTH FICTION FILMS
Narrative format, typically over 60 minutes in length.
AMERICAN FILM
English-language film with significant creative and/or production elements from the United States. Additionally, only films released before January 1, 2008 will be considered.
GENRE:
ANIMATED
AFI defines "animated" as a genre in which the film's images are primarily created by computer or hand and the characters are voiced by actors.
FANTASY
AFI defines "fantasy" as a genre where live-action characters inhabit imagined settings and/or experience situations that transcend the rules of the natural world.
GANGSTER
AFI defines the "gangster film" as a genre that centers on organized crime or maverick criminals in a twentieth century setting.
SCIENCE FICTION
AFI defines "science fiction" as a genre that marries a scientific or technological premise with imaginative speculation.
WESTERN
AFI defines "western" as a genre of films set in the American West that embodies the spirit, the struggle and the demise of the new frontier.
SPORTS
AFI defines "sports" as a genre of films with protagonists who play athletics or other games of competition.
MYSTERY
AFI defines "mystery" as a genre that revolves around the solution of a crime.
ROMANTIC COMEDY
AFI defines "romantic comedy" as a genre in which the development of a romance leads to comic situations.
COURTROOM DRAMA
AFI defines "courtroom drama" as a genre of film in which a system of justice plays a critical role in the film's narrative.
EPIC
AFI defines "epic" as a genre of large-scale films set in a cinematic interpretation of the past. Their scope defies and demands-either in the mode in which they are presented or their range across time.

Criteria

CRITICAL RECOGNITION
Formal commendation in print, television and digital media.

MAJOR AWARD WINNER

Recognition from competitive events including awards from peer groups, critics, guilds and major film festivals.

POPULARITY OVER TIME

Including success at the box office, television and cable airing, and DVD/VHS sales and rentals.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

A film's mark on the history of moving images through visionary narrative devices, technical innovation, or other ground breaking achievements.

CULTURAL IMPACT
A film's mark on American society in matters of style and substance.

Tim Dirks on Film Genres:

Main Film Genres

These are some of the most common and identifiable film genre categories (see below). Select an icon or film genre category below, read about the development and history of the genre, and view chronological lists of selected, representative greatest films for each one (with links to detailed descriptions of individual films).

There are obvious Genre Biases in the Selection of Best Picture Oscar Winners by AMPAS (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences). Top Films by Genre indicates the 'Greatest Films' by main genre type. In 1999, the Guinness Book of Film selected their Top 100 Films, categorized into a Top 5 for twenty different genres. Also view various Sub-Genres or Other Film Categories. If you're interested in the chronological history of film by decade - visit the section on Film History or the multi-part section on Milestones in Film History.

Main Film Genres
Iconic symbols represent the different genres of films Descriptions of
Main Film Genres

Action Films Action films usually include high energy, big-budget physical stunts and chases, possibly with rescues, battles, fights, escapes, destructive crises (floods, explosions, natural disasters, fires, etc.), non-stop motion, spectacular rhythm and pacing, and adventurous, often two-dimensional 'good-guy' heroes (or recently, heroines) battling 'bad guys' - all designed for pure audience escapism. Includes the James Bond 'fantasy' spy/espionage series, martial arts films, and so-called 'blaxploitation' films. A major sub-genre is the disaster film. See also Greatest Disaster and Crowd Film Scenes and Greatest Classic Chase Scenes in Films.

Adventure Films Adventure films are usually exciting stories, with new experiences or exotic locales, very similar to or often paired with the action film genre. They can include traditional swashbucklers, serialized films, and historical spectacles (similar to the epics film genre), searches or expeditions for lost continents, "jungle" and "desert" epics, treasure hunts, disaster films, or searches for the unknown.

Comedy Films Comedies are light-hearted plots consistently and deliberately designed to amuse and provoke laughter (with one-liners, jokes, etc.) by exaggerating the situation, the language, action, relationships and characters. This section describes various forms of comedy through cinematic history, including slapstick, screwball, spoofs and parodies, romantic comedies, black comedy (dark satirical comedy), and more. See this site's Funniest Film Moments and Scenes collection - illustrated, and also Premiere Magazine's 50 Greatest Comedies of All Time.

Crime & Gangster Films Crime (gangster) films are developed around the sinister actions of criminals or mobsters, particularly bankrobbers, underworld figures, or ruthless hoodlums who operate outside the law, stealing and murdering their way through life. Criminal and gangster films are often categorized as film noir or detective-mystery films - because of underlying similarities between these cinematic forms. This category includes a description of various 'serial killer' films.

Drama Films Dramas are serious, plot-driven presentations, portraying realistic characters, settings, life situations, and stories involving intense character development and interaction. Usually, they are not focused on special-effects, comedy, or action, Dramatic films are probably the largest film genre, with many subsets. See also the melodramas, epics (historical dramas), or romantic genres. Dramatic biographical films (or "biopics") are a major sub-genre, as are 'adult' films (with mature subject content).

Epics/Historical Films Epics include costume dramas, historical dramas, war films, medieval romps, or 'period pictures' that often cover a large expanse of time set against a vast, panoramic backdrop. Epics often share elements of the elaborate adventure films genre. Epics take an historical or imagined event, mythic, legendary, or heroic figure, and add an extravagant setting and lavish costumes, accompanied by grandeur and spectacle, dramatic scope, high production values, and a sweeping musical score. Epics are often a more spectacular, lavish version of a biopic film. Some 'sword and sandal' films (Biblical epics or films occuring during antiquity) qualify as a sub-genre.

Horror Films Horror films are designed to frighten and to invoke our hidden worst fears, often in a terrifying, shocking finale, while captivating and entertaining us at the same time in a cathartic experience. Horror films feature a wide range of styles, from the earliest silent Nosferatu classic, to today's CGI monsters and deranged humans. They are often combined with science fiction when the menace or monster is related to a corruption of technology, or when Earth is threatened by aliens. The fantasy and supernatural film genres are not usually synonymous with the horror genre. There are many sub-genres of horror: slasher, teen terror, serial killers, satanic, Dracula, Frankenstein, etc. See this site's Scariest Film Moments and Scenes collection - illustrated.

Musicals (Dance) Films Musical/dance films are cinematic forms that emphasize full-scale scores or song and dance routines in a significant way (usually with a musical or dance performance integrated as part of the film narrative), or they are films that are centered on combinations of music, dance, song or choreography. Major subgenres include the musical comedy or the concert film. See this site's Greatest Musical Song/Dance Movie Moments and Scenes collection - illustrated.

Science Fiction Films Sci-fi films are often quasi-scientific, visionary and imaginative - complete with heroes, aliens, distant planets, impossible quests, improbable settings, fantastic places, great dark and shadowy villains, futuristic technology, unknown and unknowable forces, and extraordinary monsters ('things or creatures from space'), either created by mad scientists or by nuclear havoc. They are sometimes an offshoot of fantasy films, or they share some similarities with action/adventure films. Science fiction often expresses the potential of technology to destroy humankind and easily overlaps with horror films, particularly when technology or alien life forms become malevolent, as in the "Atomic Age" of sci-fi films in the 1950s.

War (Anti-War) Films War films acknowledge the horror and heartbreak of war, letting the actual combat fighting (against nations or humankind) on land, sea, or in the air provide the primary plot or background for the action of the film. War films are often paired with other genres, such as action, adventure, drama, romance, comedy (black), suspense, and even epics and westerns, and they often take a denunciatory approach toward warfare. They may include POW tales, stories of military operations, and training. See this site's Greatest War Movies (in five parts).

Westerns Westerns are the major defining genre of the American film industry - a eulogy to the early days of the expansive American frontier. They are one of the oldest, most enduring genres with very recognizable plots, elements, and characters (six-guns, horses, dusty towns and trails, cowboys, Indians, etc.). Over time, westerns have been re-defined, re-invented and expanded, dismissed, re-discovered, and spoofed.
In the lists of recommended genre films, those that have been selected as
the 100 Greatest Films are marked with a .

Genre Categories:
They are broad enough to accommodate practically any film ever made, although film categories can never be precise. By isolating the various elements in a film and categorizing them in genres, it is possible to easily evaluate a film within its genre and allow for meaningful comparisons and some judgments on greatness. Films were not really subjected to genre analysis by film historians until the 1970s. All films have at least one major genre, although there are a number of films that are considered crossbreeds or hybrids with three or four overlapping genre (or sub-genre) types that identify them.

The Auteur System can be contrasted to the genre system, in which films are rated on the basis of the expression of one person, usually the director, because his/her indelible style, authoring vision or 'signature' dictates the personality, look, and feel of the film. Certain directors (and actors) are known for certain types of films, for example, Woody Allen and comedy, the Arthur Freed unit with musicals, Alfred Hitchcock for suspense and thrillers, John Ford and John Wayne with westerns, or Errol Flynn for classic swashbuckler adventure films.

Click Here: Wikipedia On Film Genres Empirical Style