Genre

Over the last week in AS Media I have been learning about the word "Genre". I have learnt about it's effects and importance on the film and television industry. I learnt that with certain genres you would expect to see certain things, for example, in 'Star Wars' you would expect to see lightsabers, aliens and for the film to be set in space, this is because it is a Science Fiction film, where as in a western, you would expect to see guns, remote areas and cowboys. This makes genres easily identifiable because of the fact that they have different conventions.

However in films, the plot needs a twist. This is too keep the audience hooked. A twist differentiates a film from other films within the same genre. A film needs a twist to keep the audience intrigued, because they don't want to watch the same film of a certain genre over and over again. 'Alice in Wonderland' and 'Lord of the Rings' are very different and very similar at the same time but they are both fantasy films. This is because 'Alice In Wonderland' is aimed at children where as 'Lord of the Rings' is aimed at 12 year olds and up wards, however they both contain similar props and they both have mysterious and exciting creatures. Despite the fact that both films are aimed at different ages, the films are based on books, which means that both films could be aimed at universal age groups, because different generations may have been brought up by these books.

Also I learnt how genres can be diverse, they are not static and can be mixed with other genres like a "rom com" film or a Science Fiction Horror film, like 'Alien', both of which are very popular. This is to add variety to entertainment, which is similar to having a twist in a film. Writers do this to appeal to a wide audience, because they main reason for a film, book, television programme being made is too make a vast profit.

Some actors like Jason Stateham stick to one role. He mostly plays a muscular action hero, this is because audiences like repetition, and they would find it weird if he played a different role, because they know him for being one specific character in most of his films, this fact will lure in fans of his work and his films. However actors like Johnny Depp can play various different roles, for example 'Pirates of the Caribbean' and 'Blow'. In both films Johnny Depp plays a leading role, in one film he plays a crazy pirate where as in the other he plays a drug dealer. He gets away with this because he is known for being a very versatile actor.