Genre texts have sometimes been criticised for being predictable and unimaginative. Discuss
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Introduction
Genre texts have sometimes been criticised for being predictable and unimaginative. Discuss. Genre is a type of media material that is recognised by audiences through its common elements such as style, narrative, structure, look and iconography. However genre has no fixed boundaries, it develops with new conventions being added through time, a new genre could be created from the conventions of two others being used together becoming a hybrid such as a romantic comedy. It could be said that genre has become too predictable in the sense that once an audience knows the genre of the film, they know what conventions to expect when they see it and an idea or probably more of an expectation of how the story will end. For example, in a gangster film the audience will expect an urban setting, well groomed Italian American gangsters who have a strong sense of family but are ultimately criminals opposing the police force. They would also expect to see the pursuit of the "American Dream" from the gangster proceeding the rise and demise of the character. The audience would expect to be introduced to a character who works his way up to being well respected following a lot of crime and violence ...read more.
Middle
Vito's fellow mobsters then show up armed to protect Vito and take Michael home. * An attempt of repair- When Vito returns home to Sonny being murdered and Michael now living in Sicily to be safe from the same fate, he organises a meeting with the heads of the five rival families who have all united against the Corleones to end the war so Michael is able to return home safely. Having previously refused Vito finally agrees to provide protection for Tattaglia's heroin trafficking. * Restoration/new equilibrium- Years later Vito has died but before he did, he told Michael how he would know who the traitor was to the family. Michael has now taken over the family business and finds out who the traitor is at the funeral of his father. Whilst standing in church as Godfather to Connie and Carlo's child, Michael has arranged for the five heads to be killed. As well as the perfect alibi for Michael's whereabouts, this is very symbolic of the ending of the film which closes with Michael being addressed as "Don" and he has become the new Godfather. ...read more.
Conclusion
Some film producers use genre to decide what content and plot to put into their films and will study that genre to find examples. This is a way they can take successful elements from films and incorporate them into their own adding their own ideas to them. "You have to know transcended forms (genres) so that you can give the audience a sense of originality and surprise." - John Truby, a Hollywood story consultant. Overall, I think genre can be predictable at times but also can include a lot of creativity from the film maker. If genre was just totally predictable then every film of a genre would surely just be clich�d. Spaghetti Westerns are thought to have turned the genre around making the hero bad as well as good. Before then everything was stereotyped with the good guys wearing white and the bad guys wearing black. A lot of films today incorporate conventions of other genres to make the film unpredictable with a twist at the end that the audience didn't foresee which is why I don't think genre can be boxed off as predictable and unimaginative. Stephanie Gadsby Mrs Wright Media Studies ...read more.
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