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Genre Types or Genres and

their symbolism

Genre - from theFrench word for genus,type, style or kind

Saw, Enter the Dragon & Date Night

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Genre All contain a loose set of

expectations.

Relate to previous

examples Easy to imitate

Can fall into clichs

Common ideas andaspirations of a culture

Archetypal story patternfrees filmmaker to exploremore personalexplorations

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Genre Slapstick Comedy

Western

Horror

Detective/Crime/Gangst

er

Thriller

War

Science Fiction

etc

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Genre 4 Cycles of Genre

Primitive:

Nave, powerful

because of the

novelty

Establishes

conventions of genre

The Musketeers of Pig Alley

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Genre Classical

Genres values are

assured and widelyshared

Little Caesar & The Public Enemy

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Genre Revisionist

Genres pre-

establishedconventions are

used to question or

undermine popular

beliefs

Bonnie & Clyde & The Godfather

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Genre Parodic

Mockery of genres

conventions

The BigLebowski & Serial Mom

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Genre Scarface, 1932 (orScarface:

Shame of a Nation) Dir. Howard Hawks I'm a

storyteller - that's the chief function ofa director. And they're moving

pictures, let's make 'em move!

Written by newspaper reporter BenHecht & based on Al Capone inChicago

Starring Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak &George Raft

Visually expressionistic

Fast & violent one of the longest,bloodiest finales of the time

Motifs (watch for the X)

Version was censored in many markets(including NY) and pulled out ofdistribution completely in 1947 untilrestored in 1980

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GenreSuggested changes to conform to the Hays Code (from filmsite.org): an added sub-title was required [its original title was simply Scarface, and the first suggested retitle was

The Menace] to illustrate that the film was not a glorification, but an indictment of gangsterism

an apologetic, moral statement was tacked to the beginning of the film

various cuts, erasures, voice-overs and changes were made throughout Tony Camonte's mother was shown expressing disapproval of her son's behavior - she calls him "bad"

and "no-good"

although there are almost 30 deaths in the film, blood is never shown, and even more deaths occur off-

screen

moralistic, denunciatory speeches, in a prologue and epilogue, were added by a Chief of Detectives and

a newspaper publisher (several scenes were directed by Richard Rosson),

"the public" is blamed for the existence of gangs, rather than law enforcement officials: "Don't blame thepolice. They can't stop machine guns from being run back and forth across the state lines. They can't

enforce laws that don't exist"

an alternative, moralistic, sermonizing (and emasculated) second ending (substituted for the shootout)

was created to condemn the gangster as cowardly and show his sentencing and retributory punishment

(hanging) by an effective justice system

muted hints of an incestuous attachment between the main protagonist and his sister, one of the film's

sub-themes, supposedly went uncontested, or the most obvious references to incest were removed by

Hawks himself

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1932 & 1983