wow

I completely fail at updating this blog.

Last week in Film 188B, we talked about genre classifications. You know the drill-- western, sci-fi, comedy, thriller, horror, musical. My professor brought up an interesting point about why genres are actually not confining to an artist, but actually liberating.

(By the way, I should probably explain-- this fall I'm taking a film class. It's called "Art and Technique in Filmmaking", and the purpose of the class is pretty much to consider film as an art form, and analyze what makes a film both artistic and, hopefully, successful. I love this class, because it's confirmed what I've already realized about movies-- they're ART. A very complex art, in fact.)

So anyway, back to the topic at hand.

I have to confess something: I've always hated genres. Why put a label on something? Why impose a bunch of overused clichés and structures onto an otherwise acceptable story? Some of the best movies are the ones that don't fit into any particular genre. (Eternal Sunshine comes to mind.) To me they've always seemed unnecessarily restrictive.

My professor said that genres are useful in a couple of different ways. First of all, they have a pre-established audience. There's an audience for Indiana Jones-type adventure pics, as much as there's an audience for the latest Judd Apatow production, the next Pixar flick. There's an audience for horror movies-- who will go see any scary movie that comes out, no matter how crappy. (how else could a movie like "Prom Night" have opened at #1? yeah, remember that one? no thanks)

The point being, one of a filmmaker's main goals is to get asses in the seats. Making a genre picture helps achieve that goal.

But the artistry has to be considered, too. That's where my prof's next point comes into play. He said that genres provide a set of thematic issues to explore, plots and characters to tangle with, over multiple films.

In westerns, morality can be dark and complex; in sci-fi, the ethics of technology and human advancement; in horror, our universal fear of death and the supernatural; even in comedy, we can question what makes us laugh.

Not only that, but genre films can allow a director to grow and gain skills, offering many technical challenges that are unique to each genre. If I were to make a musical, I'd probably want to use warm lighting, bright colors and fast-moving cameras; but if I wanted to do a film noir, I'd film black-and-white in stark lighting, and probably hire Billy Wilder to write the script. So making a genre picture can be a great learning tool for a director-- like me!

So I'm thinking my first big feature has to be a musical.

I have some ideas ("24: The Musical" anyone? Kiefer Sutherland faces off against a band of singing terrorists in a wacky real-time romp-- featuring Kristin Chenoweth as Chloe! Tickets on sale now, get yours before time runs out... *tick* *tock* *tick* *tock* *tick* *tock*)

But I think I'd better wrap this up before I give away the farm.