Genre exam question

Apply the concept of genre to one of your productions

Steve Neale

Genres are not systems, but processes of systematization.

By placing a film in a certain genre it is easier to pick out who the target audience is. It is convenient to categorise texts but they do this with a purpose to help everyone not just for their theory.

I wouldn’t really say that they are infinite. They are there because they are needed.

Are genres just a convenient way for theorists to categorise texts

(not just films!) ? OR are they infinite?

They change as new hybrid genres appear every now and again. The film Cowboy and Aliens merged the genres Sci-Fi and Western together for the first time.

Are they timeless (set in stone) or do they transcend (change) over time?

Loach's film work is characterised by a particular view of realism; he strives in every area of filmmaking to emphasise genuine interplay between actors, to the point where some scenes in his films appear unscripted. All scenes are carefully scripted, around which some improvisation can occur. The final script and the final film are actually very close. Loach values having a strong, creative partnership with scriptwriters, most recently with Paul Laverty, who has written nine feature films for Loach (including The Wind That Shakes The Barley and Sweet Sixteen), and previously with Jim Allen (Land & Freedom) and Barry Hines (Kes).

Ken Loach

Leigh uses lengthy improvisations developed over a period of weeks to build characters and storylines for his films. He starts with some sketch ideas of how he thinks things might develop, but does not reveal all his intentions with the cast who discover their fate and act out their responses as their destinies are gradually revealed. Initial preparation is in private with the director and then the actors are introduced to each other in the order that their characters would have met in their lives. Intimate moments are explored that will not even be referred to in the final film to build insight and understanding of history, character and inner motivation. When an improvisation needs to be stopped, he says to the actors: 'Come out of character,' before they discuss what's happened or what might have happened in a situation.

Mike Leigh