New examples may develop the range of themes and characteristics. For example, the 60s westerns, starring Clint Eastwood were very different from the john Wayne westerns of the 1940s and 1950s. The ‘hero’ of such films was no longer clearly in the right, and the violence became much more explicit and bloody.
Given the uncertainty of audience tastes and the general decline in cinema audiences, it’s not surprising that no genre productions are sure to be successful. Instead popular films are often made into mini-genres in the form of sequels which maybe numerous, e.g. Jaws I – III and the Star Wars episodes.
Genres rarely stay the same. The main reason for this is to please the audiences and their needs. A popular formula is unlikely to stay popular if it becomes too predictable.
Many of the themes of genres reflect wider social changes. For example, gangster films from the 1930s dealt with the activities of gangs involved in bootleg liquor during the prohibition in the USA. The films were very often based on actual gangsters’ lives such as Al Capone, or events such as the St Valentines’ Day Massacre.
Although in many post war Hollywood films it appeared as though organised crime was a thing of the past, by the early 1970s it was increasingly clear that in fact its influence was greater than ever before. Films like the Godfather reflected the success and respectability achieved by the modern Mafia in America and also in Italy.
Early horror films, such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari have paved the way for the more modern horror films such as Frankenstein (with Kenneth Branagh).
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari’s exaggerations of buildings, ornaments and its special emphasis on the conventions and codes of classic horror lighting have become standard for the genre.
But the horror films of today differ from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari in many ways.
They are set in common places which makes it harder for the audience not to believe, for example Nightmare on Elm Street is et in a neighbourhood in modern times. Horror films have moved away from the classic castle and dungeon setting. This makes it easier to unsettle the audience more due to the fact that they can connect themselves to the ‘average’ neighbourhood, i.e. it could be them. The audience can emphasise with the film characters much more easily.
The techniques used to disturb and disorientate the audience of horror films have also changed. The floating camera, the concealment and the delay cut have all emerged and conformed to the genre to contribute in unsettling the audiences.
Early horror films did not use these special techniques because they did not have (or have access to) this sort of technology.
Film genres have evolved since the beginning of film production. This is not only due to the evolution of mankind and technology, but also due to the audiences diversity in tastes and the change in their desires and the change in culture and society has also contributed to this.
In earlier horror films such as nightmare On Elm Street, the victims of Freddie Kruger were all murdered because they had sexual intercourse. Morality played a big issue in Nightmare in Elm Street. One of the girls’ parents had separated – this wasn’t the way a family should operate – so Kruger victimized her, but as she was still a virgin, she stayed alive.
Kruger had brutally murdered Tina in her sleep/nightmares because she had underage sexual relations outside of marriage, but because her friend did not, she did not die.
Yet in Scream, Sydney did have sexual relations with her boyfriend outside of marriage and she did not get murdered – although there was an attempt at murdering her.
Equilibrium is usually reached at the end of horror films; this is to please the audience. It gives them a sense of security. For example, in The Shining, Jack dies of Frostbite.
But in Nightmare on Elm Street, equilibrium is not reached and there are no status quos.
Film genres are constantly changing to comply with and stay in favour with audiences. Although they’ve come a long way since the beginning, there are certain similar aspects that have stayed the same. This is so films can be generalised – labelled and identified and categorized so that audiences know what to expect when they view them.