Genre theory explanation, genre conventions and attributes
A genre helps people classify films according to its category or type. It is convenient as viewers know what to expect when they see certain iconography at the advertising bill for instance. Different film genres possess familiar story formulas, character types, settings, and iconography etc. (Goodykoontz & & Jacobs, 2014). Main film genres are: westerns, gangster films, mysteries, film noir, horror, fantasy, science fiction, romantic comedy, musicals and documentaries. In this paper, the fantasy genre will be discussed on an example.
Fantasy genre is always a story which lets its characters escape from reality, experience situations where they act beyond the limits of real life. It goes without saying this makes them extremely popular among children and teenagers (Grant, 2012). While watching fantasy, viewers often travel together with the film characters to the unknown world of space, alternative realities, future or past. In such a way, they can let their problems go and forget about difficulties. Fantasy often crosses with other genres, such as horror, science fiction, animation cartoons, and comedies etc. (Wright, 2012). It means that a fantasy film may contain features of a horror movie or a comedy together. No doubt, the films are created to entertain but the best representatives of the genre possess a hidden meaning to think over and reveal a number of touchy issues. Young people usually notice the ideas when they grow older. The most popular fantasy movies are: Lord of the Rings, the Green Mile, Avatar, Big Fish, Perfume, In Time, and the Curious Case of Benjamin Button etc. In a nutshell, fantasy genre offers an escape from reality for young people and reveals a row of sore subjects for adults.
Back to the Future summary
Science fiction is a subgenre of fantasy. Here film characters usually lead a life full of adventures in future, space or other alternative surroundings. Moreover, they often apply non-invented appliances as something natural and habitual. Viewers involuntarily compare the film life with the reality and, believe or not, find many similar problems in the real life. Back to the Future belongs to a science fiction movie that I watched long ago and was impressed by. The film story takes place in America, 1985 (Zemeckis). The main character, a teenager Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) travels back in time to 1955 in a time machine invented by his friend, a wacky scientist, Emmett Lathrop "Doc" Brown. There he meets his parents, still teenagers, and unintentionally appears in the way of his mother’s and father’s romantic relations. The fellow faces two main problems in the past. He needs to find "Doc" Brown there to send Marty back to the future, and it is not an easy task to do. Moreover, the fellow has to get his parents’ relationship back on track, as his own existence is at stake.
What it means is that in the plot we observe the inclusion of science fiction elements such as time machine, past time travel, lightning as a fuel generator etc. It is generally assumed that although there is a difference in time, clothing, equipment, words etc. the film characters face the same problems of bullying and obeying, love and indifference. Life is life and no time can change it!
Genre conventions that help classify the film as a science fiction movie
Meanwhile, let us think of the conventions that help classify Back to the Future as a science fiction genre. The film has all necessary features of the genre, such as a time machine, a wacky scientist and his laboratory. All of this is shown just in the beginning of the movie in the episode when Marty visits his friend’s laboratory and unintentionally sets off an explosion there. The room is shown by the film director Steven Spielberg in details: all the wires, weird equipment and a huge number of different clocks. The strangest thing there is that all of them were adjusted 25 minutes back, which results in Marty’s being late for school.
Another distinctive film episode is when Marty arrives to the past and scares the citizens who nearly shoot him with some kind of hunting weapon. The difference of time is indicated by clothing, all the surrounding and even words. Marty’s waistcoat is taken as a life-jacket. “Pepsi free” is considered to be Pepsi without money, instead of without sugar. Moreover, cars, TV-sets, songs, streets and signs – all belong to the past - strange and different.
Convention example expanding the boundaries of the film specified genre
While thinking of the example which expands the specified genre boundaries, we can take the episode with the family photo. The case is that the images of his brother and then sister started to vanish after he interfered with his parents’ lives. No doubt, it is a fiction but it shows interrelation of common events, character change and the future. We see the influence of the past on the present and then the future. In such a way we find the elements of psychological drama. Nevertheless, Back to the Future is considered to be a science fiction adventure comedy film. The adventures start in the very beginning with the explosion, then getting to school by a skateboard. The whole idea is an adventure and we realize it is not yet finished, as the story is open-ended. The film is full of comic characters such as the doctor, Marty’s father and Biff Tannen. There are comic episodes too. I liked Biff Tanner in the dung best of all.
References
Goodykoontz, B., & & Jacobs, C. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education Inc.
Grant, B. K. (2012). Introduction. In B. K. Grant (Ed.), Film Genre Reader IV. Retrieved from http://www.ebrary.com/corp/
Wright, J. H. (2012). Genre films and the status quo. In B. K. Grant (Ed.), Film Genre Reader IV. Retrieved from http://www.ebrary.com/corp
Zemeckis, R. (Director), & Spielberg, S. (Producer). (n.d.). Back to the future part II [Video file].
