Plan: Jan 06A

Genre texts have sometimes been criticised for being predictable and unimaginative. Discuss.

“Genre offers comfortable reassurance.” (Patrick Phillips, 1996)

For:
Follows conventions- provides number of pleasures
Audience feel satisfied when their expectations are fufilled
“Popular film storytelling is largely repetition with just enough varition to give the film its own identity and surpise element.” (Patrick Phillips, 2000)
“Surprise element is predictable and based on a convention.” (Patrick Phillips, 2000)

Films repeat themselves in different ways by using the repetoire elements: style, setting, narrative, characters, audience response, themes, and iconography

Slasher sequel and trilogy for example Friday the 13th, Nightmare on elm street, Scream ECT…

Against:
Audiences have expectation and when these are fulfilled they are happy. Talk about audience pleasures while watching slasher films.

People generally know what to expect but their is variation within genre,

Genre changes with the time

Postmodern texts:
Scream (1996),
The conventions are stated in the film, but it still has the power to scare and was a great sucess. This reinvograted the genre (Metz)
The conventions is not what gives the audience pleasure,they are just used for the producer, the narrative devices such as the glory killings is what the audience want to see, and that is what gives them masochistic pleasures.

Scary Movie (2000)
Parodies previous slasher films

Conclusion:
Conclude and summarise all the point,
Genre movies are predictable and imagintive because…………….
However they are not predictable because……………………….