RESEARCH - What is genre?

Genre is used to categorise films into groups which share the same features. Examples of this would be Comedy, Romance or Horror. You can even further and use a sub genre to categorise a film. These are sub-divisions of a genre which are for example; fairytale and chick flicks. Hybrid Genres are also used - this is when a film is a combination of two or more genres. An example of this would be Rom-Coms or Action and Adventure. A genre can be determined by Codes and Conventions - these are signs which create meaning or create symbolism. Genre tropes are common themes or devices seen in a certain genre of film. This can also be used to determine the genre.

My favourite film genres would have to be Horror, Romance and Rom-Coms (Hybrid genre).

I really enjoy horror movies because of the adrenaline rush they cause when making the audience jump. This still is from Paranormal Activity. As lighting is very dark, and there's a shadow hovering near the subject, you can tell that this is a horror film. As well as this, the fact that it shows that this is being recorded as the date and time are shown in the bottom left corner, is a typical feature of horror movies as the victims try to capture the creature that is causing odd and scary things that happen.

The last song is an example of a Romance. This is one of my favourite film genres as it makes me feel really warm inside when two character do cute things with each other. Just by looking at the still image, you can tell that this is a romance. It's set on a beach which is a typical setting for a romantic movie. As well as this, the two characters are standing in the centre, looking at each other lovingly. Their body language also helps determine the genre as they're holding each other close romantically, and it looks like they're about to kiss.

Lastly, Rom-Coms. This hybrid genre is perfect for me as I love romance movies, but to have a movie that makes you feel warm inside and makes you laugh is always better. The Movie Clueless is an example of that. This still image shows two characters sitting together on the couch. The fact that the female looks very uncomfortable and stiff and that the guy hasn't taken any notice of this shows the comedic side to the situation. The costume and makeup of the female character shows that she's very girly as she's wearing really light colours - she is also sitting up straight which adds to that.