In my previous post I defined genre <\/i>as a category of film (usually American) that was made primarily for commercial reasons (usually in a prior era) and which transcended its commercial underpinnings.\u00a0 Because the accolade of genre<\/i> was usually bestowed by critics to films years after they were made, it would seem the term would only have significance to film historians\u2014and perhaps it should.\u00a0 Yet the term is frequently being associated with contemporary filmmakers.\u00a0 It is not unusual to hear that a filmmaker\u2019s next project will evoke another era, such as the 1940\u2019s, and this is further reinforced when the film is made in black and white.\u00a0 And if there were any doubt about what the filmmaker is planning to do, it becomes abundantly clear when critics praise him for having made a genre<\/i> film and paying homage to long deceased directors.<\/p>\n
You may detect that I might have a problem with a contemporary filmmaker unabashedly making a genre<\/i> film.\u00a0 Do I and should I?\u00a0 Well, let me put forth a question.\u00a0 If I bought my clothes in vintage clothing stores\u2014and many do\u2014what would people think when they saw me walking down the street in clothes of a bygone era?\u00a0 That I have good taste in clothes?\u00a0 That I am making a fashion statement?\u00a0 Or perhaps that I am an eccentric who wishes that he lived in a previous century?\u00a0 No matter how people would regard me, it will be entirely different than how the original owners of the clothes were regarded when they wore them in the appropriate era.\u00a0 Bear in mind that the term genre<\/i> is not synonymous with timelessness<\/i> or classic<\/i>.\u00a0 What worked in one era may not work in another.\u00a0 Audiences change.\u00a0 In the 1930\u2019s and 40\u2019s, everyone went to movie theaters to see films.\u00a0 Today, that audience is much smaller and younger.<\/p>\n
Does that mean that contemporary filmmakers shouldn\u2019t make genre<\/i> films?\u00a0 Not necessarily:\u00a0 especially if the genre<\/i> serves as an inspiration rather than a road map.\u00a0 Quentin Tarantino is a very talented filmmaker who has had great success in re-inventing filmmaking \u00a0from another era for new audiences; his Kill Bill<\/i> (martial arts), Inglourious Basterds<\/i> ( World War II action films), Django Unchained<\/i> (spaghetti Westerns), and\u00a0 Jackie Brown<\/i> (Blaxploitation) are a few examples.\u00a0 As to their artistic merit, I will leave that question to the critics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In my previous post I defined genre as a category of film (usually American) that was made primarily for commercial reasons (usually in a prior era) and which transcended its commercial underpinnings.\u00a0 Because the accolade of genre was usually bestowed … Continue reading