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Most theory on film genre is borrowed form literary genre criticism.
Nevertheless in the last two decades it has established itself as a separate field of studies, since more and more scholars are dealing with the topic.

The term “genre” has been identified by many critics as one which can perform many tasks at the same time. Such tasks being:

1. Provides the formulas that derive production.
2. Constitute the structures that define individual texts
3. Programming decisions are based on primarily generic criteria
4. The interpretation of generic films depends directly on the audience’s generic expectations.

Hence: “Genre” serves a precise function in the overall economy of cinema. However, the term “genre” is not your average descriptive term but one that encompasses multiple meanings.

1. Genre as a blueprint, as a formula that precedes, programmes and patterns industry production.
2. Genre as a structure, as the formal framework on which individual films are founded.
3. Genre as a label, as the name of a category central to the decisions and communications of distributors and exhibitors
4. Genre as a contract, as the viewing position required by each genre film of its audience.

Film genre has much more impact than literary genre in that it has consistent connections between production-distribution-consumption. (Example Chaos, a French film on women’s rights and abuses that was depicted as an action movie to attract moviegoers to watch it)

Altman gives a brief summary of the tendencies that have shaped genre theory:

Genres are Transhistorical – lifting the production values of the time and setting transhisotrical readings to a genre can strip away differences in which movies/texts can find similarities. The effect is quite interesting when dealing with genre beginnings, which tend to see genres as a development of pre-existing literary traditions / genres.

Genres undergo predictable development – Defining it as transhistorical critics facilitate the identification and description of genres, stressing the way some genres repeat certain strategies or tropes.

Like other commercial products (although Altman says unlike), genres must change, innovate in order to succeed. Yet genres are not free to just go anywhere and most scholars would imply that: “genres are free to move, but only along already laid tracks.”

Genres are located in a particular tropic, structure and corpus – To be recognized as a genre, films must have a common topic and a common structure, – a common way of configuring a topic.

But even when films share a common topic, they will not be perceived as members of a genre unless that topic systematically receives treatment of the same type.

Subject and structure need to coincide for a film to be considered as part of a cannon. “Star Wars” for example, does not belong to the “westerns” cannon although there are western tropes to it, such as:

- The frontier
- Guns and holsters
- A matter of territory
- Bounty hunters and gun fighters
- Desserts
- Battles.

Films are inherently assigned to a corpus and we tend to be able to identify which ones fit that corpus easier than others.

Genre films share certain fundamental characteristics – critics have noted that all Hollywood genre films share certain essential tropes, as opposing cultural values to counter-cultural values, genre films regularly depend on dual protagonists and dualistic structures. Sometimes manichean forces of good vs. bad in each form according to the genre – western sheriff – outlaw, gangster to FBI or other gangster, etc….

This explains somewhat genres repetitive nature. Some critics say that this diminished audiences’ interest in the film’s end. Other critics’ claim that audiences when drawn to genre movies, more than interested in the end (Spider Man will always win) they are interested in how things unfold.

According to Altman “Pleasure of genre viewing derives more from reaffirmation than from novelty”.

Genres have either a ritual or an ideological function – certain critics have argued that certain genres have a purpose.

Genre critics are distanced from the practice of genre – critics pretended to be a more cultured audience capable of inserting meaning in a film than popular audiences were, distancing themselves from the general public. However mass audiences cannot be excluded since they also play a huge role in what determine genres, since it’s a collective job, that of classifying, regardless of their “cultured” eye.

Other critics give the power to the studios and their production schemes to keep genres alive.

All these theories however are cohesive in agreeing that:

- The film industry, responding to audience desires, initiates clear-cut-genres that endure because of their ability to satisfy basic human needs.
- Genres maintain a fundamental sameness both from decade to decade and from production through exhibition to audience consumption.
- Genres sometimes appear to function ritually and others ideologically.

** notes on the second chapter of Rick Altman’s “Film/ Genre“

Segmento sobre Ciencia Ficción en el libro de Steve Neale, Hollywood and Genre.
- Science Fiction (pg. 100-104) (Helena Stouvenel & co.)

Introducción y ensayos del libro de Annette Kuhn, Alien Zone II.(pg 1-15)
-Janet Staiger, Future Noir: Contemporary Representations of Visionary Cities (pg.97-122) (Helena Stouvenel & co.)
-Vivian Sobchak, Cities on the Edge of Time: The Urban Science Fiction Film (pg 123-146)

Write a structured synopsis on Sobchak´s article.
If you are want to make up for other synopsis that you did not hand in on time, please write one for Steve Neale´s chapter on Film Noir.

1. Subjects and themes
2. Presentation (in the musical for example – musical = signing + dancing)
3. Emotional effect (horror = fear, comedy = laughter)
4. Genre conventions of narrative and style
5. Plot elements
6. Thematic meanings (example: road movies = on the road, searching for something)
7. Film techniques (dark, light somber, mysterious, or happy, colorful)
8. Genres can also be defined through conventional iconography (recurring symbolic images that carry meaning from film to film, ie the cars in the old gangster movies, the space ships in Sci-Fi, the suits in Film Noir. Actors can also work as icons like Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger = action movies)
9. Elements of its form like costumes, music, etc.

Please write a structured synopsis for both texts.

Texts available here.

Ficha 7 & 8

Todd Erickson in his essay Kill me Again: Movement becomes a Genre (in Silver & Ursini), discusses the emergence of noir motifs in films subsequent to the canonical period and suggests studying them as a new genre. “Contemporary film noir is a new genre of film. As such, it must carry the distinction of another name; a name that is cognizant of its rich noir heritage, yet one that distinguishes its influences and motivations from those of the bygone era” (pg. 321). Erickson proposes the term neo-noir because he identifies the films as new forms of noir. Thus neo-noir is “quite simply, a contemporary rendering of the film noir sensibility” (pg. 321). The neo-noir films, according to Richard Martin in his book Mean Streets and Raging Bulls, “not only [..] suggest noir’s continuing exploration of the collective anxieties of American society, but [..] also reflect a sustained tradition of artistic creativity and technical virtuosity nurtured within the confines of American genre cinema” (pg. 6) However, all attempts to validate the term neo-noir and its relation to film noir, deal with, what are by necessity, delicate boundaries considering that the subject of analysis is one of Hollywood’s most unstable genres.

Based on research into neo-noir, I would suggest that there are four basic types (if not more) of production. The first, perhaps the easiest to identify, are those films that constitute a remake of canonical films such as D.O.A, Farewell My Lovely and The Postman Always Rings Twice. The second is that which carries an inflection of nostalgia and make explicit reference to the style and the mood of noir, amongst which are titles such as, Chinatown and L.A. Confidential. The third kind could be identified as those films that pay homage to noir by making references to motifs, dialogue and scenes, such is the case of Pulp Fiction and generally of the work of Quentin Tarantino. The fourth category of neo-noir is perhaps the most difficult to define as all the films I have previously mentioned are examples in which film noir is deliberately referenced. This ‘group’ holds films that do not fit in to any of the aforementioned ‘categories’ and yet audiences can easily perceive certain tropes of noir within these films. Among these we find examples of films as diverse as Matrix, Blade Runner, Lost Highway, Basic Instinct and Black Rain.

Erickson, in his essay accuses two films: The Two Jokes (1990) and The Public Eye (1992) of failing “to maintain the slightest notion of the true noir spirit” (pg. 312). Although the question of truth is problematic Erickson succeeds in adding to the lists of noir definitions the word “spirit”. What defines then the noir spirit? Could it be the “cynical and the pessimistic tone […] the darker side of human condition, modern fables that highlight the dangers of alienation, the fragmentation of society, the breakdown of human interaction, the debasement of love, the beguiling power of wealth, the corruption of government, and mankind’s inherent propensity for inertia and impotence” (Martin, pg. 6)? Is noir “spirit” allowed to evolve, mutate as the environment in which it exists changes? It is also entitled to refer and quote to the noir canon since contemporary audiences are not only conscious of the legacy of noir but also amenable to noir references in modern perspectives and environments?

When discussing authenticity the Argentinean poet Jorge Luis Borges once stated that being original was a matter of having a good memory. Implying that, in art at least, we are the sons of history and beholden to an artistic past. Any attempt to deny the influence of, and our indebtedness to, past artists and art is to forfeit a valuable resource.

Please write a strcutured synopsis for Borde & Chaumont´s text. (Alejandra & Jennifer are exempt from writing the synopsis)

Texts available here!

Ficha 6

The French noticed a certain similarity between the gangster film, the police genre and the detective fiction. Authors like Raymond Chandler, James Cain, and Dashiell Hammett among others were already well know writers and film viewers were already familiar with some of the novels that served as inspiration to the movies, such as The Postman Always Rings Twice, Double Indemnity, Farewell, My Lovely and The Maltese Falcon.

It is no coincidence that when you look up the definition of detective fiction you find that it resembles the definition(s) that critics tend to give of film noir. However, a closer reading of the attempts to define noir as a genre reveals that scholars have found it impossible to capture and define its essence in any absolute sense. In her article on Film Noir and Women, Elizabeth Cowie (in Copjec’s Shades of Noir) discusses the public’s fascination with film noir and how this plays a crucial role in the construction of the category as such.

“Whether it is a genre, a cycle of films, a tendency or a movement, film noir has been extraordinarily successful as a term. As a ‘genre that never was’ – since the term was not used by the studios themselves, or by the audiences at the time..[..] The term has succeeded despite the lack of any straightforward unity in the sets of films it attempts to designate. This tenuousness is matched by a tenacity of critical use, a devotion among aficionados that suggest a desire for the very category as such, a wish that it exist in order to ‘have’ a certain set of films altogether. Film noir as a genre is in a certain sense a fantasy…” (pg. 121)

Cowie does not deny the particular style, or phenomena, present in the Hollywood cinema of the 1940’s and 50’s, she merely points out the contradictions that the study of film noir poses and the discrepancy between the canon and the term itself.

Among early critics and enthusiasts there was a tendency to define noir; Borde and Chaumeton, for example, argue that the presence of crime constitutes noir’s most essential characteristic. The inclination to find boundaries has led critics to disagree on noir’s essential ingredients, although recent criticism is more aware of the dangers of such a limited scope. French film critic, Andre Bazin, aware of the difficulty of delimiting noir as a genre, suggests that we consider noir as a style. This allows the term more flexibility than the designation ‘genre’ and it also points to the limitations of inscribing noir in a singular or series of definitions.

Bazin is correct in pointing out film noir’s peculiar style. It is in fact it’s style, what attracted audiences to it and what we as contemporary viewers tend to admire the most. Noir’s style was greatly influenced by the German Expressionism that was imported to Hollywood when both Austrian and German filmmakers immigrated to the US to escape the war. Figures like Billy Wilder, Fritz Lang, Robert Siodmak, Otto Preminger, are among the filmmakers that are most alluded when one refers to the cannon of noir films.

Watching a ‘noir movie’ is always an exquisite experience precisely because, despite the fact that they were B-movies, there are very ‘stylized’; their convoluted voice over narrations, their costume design (the hats, the rain coats, the femme fatale’s attires, the cigarette holders, etc), their witty dialogue and the cleverness of their characters, the camera work and moreover the lighting, are among the traits that define such style. (One of the most beautiful and influential camera work was done by cinematographer John Alton)

Theorizing on the term ‘film noir’ can be difficult and so critics and scholars have a tendency to look for common traits shared by (what is understood as) its canon of films. Many documents define noir as an essentially male discourse. One of the most common scenarios presents a male character, usually a detective, cop, journalist, agent or even a criminal, confronted with a crime and with a ‘choice’ between two women. Often a tension arises between the two opposite female characters, usually good and evil. Most films share a fatalistic tone with a pessimism dominating the atmosphere. They usually narrate an urban tale that brings out the corruption of society and confronts the spectator with the idea of the ‘American dream’. Other features of film noir are the “use of high contrast lighting and other ‘expressionistic’ devices, the focus on mentally, emotionally and physically vulnerable characters, the interest in psychology, …the downbeat emphasis on violence, anxiety, death, crime and compromised morality”(Neale, 174), and the convoluted relations between male and female characters.

5. Genres social role can also change over time and challenged (example Lars Von Trier’s take on the musical with his film about death penalty “Dancer in the Dark”, questions the whole idea of musicals as escapists forms of entertainment)
6. Genres are easier to recognize than to define (as definitions are not set on stone)
7. Patterns in filmmaking appear quite regularly and these can create new genres or sub genres.
8. Genres can mix between themselves – adding to the challenge of their definition.
9. Audiences change and so does the genre (changes to fit the needs and the desires of the audiences)
10. The existence of genres allows to communicate to the viewer information about what they are about to see, hence simplifying or adding complexity to their movie watching experience
11. Most film genres and subgenres became established after one film was popular and then imitated.
12. New genres and subgenres are also established this way but they usually trace back influences. (for example “gross out” movies like “There is Something About Mary” are influenced by movies like “Porky’s“)
13. They do not remain successful for a long time – they have cycles. These cycles occur when a successful movie makes bursts of imitations. However action and horror movies have always been popular among audicences.
14. Genres are mixed by cross cultural references (for example the case of Sergio Leone’s “spaghetti westerns” and Hollywood’s action movies taking from Hong Kong movies)
15. Genres are bound to cultural factors – there are genres that are typical to a society (Colombians for example, love funny films that make reference to our own customs “costumbristas”)
16. Social change also affects the development of genres, hence genres can dwell and reflect upon social attitudes (example – “Planet of the Apes“, a Sci- Fi that deals with racism, fear of “otherness”, ‘specisim’)
17. Society can also affect the content of a movie and as such of the genre (take the new genre of “social conscious movies like “Blood Diamond” and “Hotel Rwanda” that have sprouted recently)

Introducción y los siguientes ensayos del libro de Silver y Ursini, Film Noir
Reader.
- Introduction (pg. 3-16)
- Raymond Borde & Etienne Chaumont, Towards a Definition of Film Noir. (pg. 17-27)
- Charles Highman and Joel Greenberg, Noir Cinema (pg. 27-36)

Película: Double Indemnity, Billy Wilder, 1944

• Semana 11
Bourbon, noche y mujeres fatales: algunos temas noir
Textos:
Ensayos del libro de Silver y Ursini, Film Noir
Reader.
- Karen Hollinger, Film Noir, Voice Over and the Femme Fatale (pg. 243-259) (Alejandra Soler and Jennifer Ramirez)
- Raymond Borde & Etienne Chaumont, Towards a Definition of Film Noir. (pg. 17-27) (Alejandra Soler and Jennifer Ramirez)

Capitulo 4 del libro de Rick Altman, Film / Genre.
- Are genres stable? (pg 49-68)

Película: The Big Heat, Fritz Lang, 1953

• Semana 12
Neo Noir: revisiones y apropiaciones
Textos:
Ensayos del libro de Silver y Ursini, Film Noir
Reader.
-Highman & Greenberg, Noir Cinema. (pg.65-76) (Santiago Bayona & Vanessa B)
-Todd Erickson, Kill Me Again: Movement Becomes Genre (pg. 307-329) (Santiago Bayona & Vanessa B)

Capitulos 5 & 11 del libro de Rick Altman, Film / Genre.
- Are genres subject to redefinition?

Película: Chinatown, Roman Polanski, 1974

• Semana 13
La frontera del espacio y los detectives y los cowboys intergalácticos
Textos:
Segmento sobre Ciencia Ficción en el libro de Steve Neale, Hollywood and Genre.
- Science Fiction (pg. 100-104) (Helena Stouvenel & co.)

Introducción y ensayos del libro de Annette Kuhn, Alien Zone II.(pg 1-15)
-Janet Staiger, Future Noir: Contemporary Representations of Visionary Cities (pg.97-122) (Helena Stouvenel & co.)
-Vivian Sobchak, Cities on the Edge of Time: The Urban Science Fiction Film (pg 123-146)

Película: Blade Runner, Ridley Scott, 1982

• Semana 14
Entrega del segundo parcial – Futuros distopicos: Sci-Fi recapitulado
Textos:
Ensayos del libro de Annette Kuhn, Alien Zone II.
-Barry Keith Grant, Sensuous Elaboration: Reason and Visible in the Science Fiction Film (pg 16-30) (Carlos Cano y Ricardo Arcila)

Ensayos cortos del libro Blade Runner (Carlos Cano y Ricardo Arcila)

• Semana 15
Entrega de ante-proyectos
Pesadillas marcianas, horror en el espacio exterior
Textos:
Capitulo 8 del libro de Rick Altman, Film / Genre.
-Why are genres sometimes mixed?

Ensayos del libro de Mark Jankovich, The Horror Film Reader.
- Horror, The Film Reader
- Robin Wood, The American Nightmare, Horror in the 70´s (Andrea Velazquez & Co.)
- Linda Williams, Becoming the Monster’s Mother: Morphologies of Identities in the Alien Series. (pg.173-202)

Película: Alien, Ridley Scott, 1979

• Semana 16
Muertos de risa: lo cómico del cine del horror
Textos:
Segmento sobre Horror en el libro de Steve Neale, Hollywood and Genre.
- Horror (pg. 92-100)

Ensayos del libro de Leo Brady y Marshal Cohen, Film Theory and Criticism:
-Tania Modleski, The Terror of Pleasure: The Contemporary Horror Film and Postmodern Theory (pg. 691-700)
-Linda Williams, Film Bodies: Gender, Genre and Excess (pg 701-715)

Película: El día de la bestia, Alex de la Iglesia, 1995