Genre: What is genre and why it is such an important term in Film Studies?

If you are working your way through the whole or parts of this chapter you will find it useful to have watched the whole of Seven (Fincher, 1995) and at least the opening to Scream (Craven, 1995). You will also find it helpful to have access to scenes, clips and single shots from at least some of the following films:

■ Psycho (Hitchcock, 1960) ■ East is East (O’Donnell, 1999) ■ Runaway Bride (Marshall, 1999) ■ From Dusk Till Dawn (Rodriguez, 1995)

This chapter deals with:

■ defining the concept of genre; ■ genre as a means of giving pleasure; ■ acknowledging genres as dynamic and subject to change over time; ■ recognizing the possibility of seeing genre as a form of film language; ■ looking for similar thematic concerns across genres; ■ recognizing the use made of genre as a marketing strategy; ■ introducing the genre of film noir; ■ suggesting possible approaches to Seven.