Film Genre and the Genre Film

In this article, Thomas Schatz delineates the difference between film genre and genre films, by cleverly comparing genre with language. He first describes film genres as simultaneously static and dynamic. They are dynamic because they are continuously evolving as time passes, yet also static because they must follow certain conventions in order to qualify for the specific genre. Film genres are dynamic because they reorganize components in original ways, but static because these components are contrived and expected. He also makes the point of noting that film critics must not only evaluate the construction of the film, but also its quality. The genre film, on the other hand, operate within a “field of reference” – that is, it incorporates a specific cultural context with certain expected thematic conflicts. I found it interesting that Schatz examines the subtlety of genres, and how there is an unspoken society-wide acceptance of particular character types, attitudes, values, and actions that correspond with certain genres. This acts as a shortcut for conveying information about a film, and also as a sort of contract between the production side and the consumption side of the filmmaking industry. When a team makes a gangster movie, they are communicating to their audience specific expectations about what the film will deal with and what it will be like. Thus, genres create culturally specific modules of meaning and express a bundle of information in a concise few words.