Writing About GenreDetermining the genre that Hot Fuzz belongs to from watching the clip may be seen as difficult. Throughout the trailer we are able to suss that it belongs under a number of different film categories. From the beginning, we can see that it belongs in the Crime genre as its main character and story is and revolves around a policeman. As the clip goes on we can say that Hot Fuzz contains action as well as comedy and maybe also horror from the deaths of certain characters. Homages are made in the movie to classic action-crime films such as Bad Boys, The Good The Bad and The Ugly and Lethal Weapon and although the film can be interpreted as a comedy it is not a parody.

Robert Stam believes that ‘genre’ is something that does not actually exist. He believes that as most texts overlap genre boundaries, thousands of infinitely possible ‘hybrid’ and ‘sub’ genres are crested thus making the idea of genre meaningless. It can be said that Hot Fuzz could be used to support this theory as it belongs to many genres.

Communicating more than one genre in a film or film trailer is a good way to attract a bigger audience. People like specific types of films and so they look for that in other movies which could appeal to them. If a film trailer is showing conventions which belong to a genre that is something they like then they will be attracted to that film and want to know more about it. This is why using more than one genre in a film is effective as it enables a variety of people with possibly different tastes in movies to come together and watch something which they can all enjoy.

Die Hard is shown to be extremely action packed; involving many guns and gunshots as well as explosions and helicopter scenes. These things can be seen as genre signifiers for action thriller films as well as semantic elements which are part of Rick Altman’s theory. Altman believes that genre consists of two elements: the first being semantic elements which were physical conventions such as props, costumes, locations, etc. and then syntactic elements which were emotional themes such as love in a romance film.

Guns, gunshots and explosions are more commonly seen in action films which, according to theorist Steve Neale, attract audiences as they gain pleasure from seeing the repetition of qualities of a certain genre. Steve Neale also believes that genre is not set in stone. His theory says that genre goes through a cycle consisting of four stages then changes; as genre changes, ‘typical aspects’ of it change too and evolve to the next stage of the cycle. The four stages of the cycle are:

1. The form of the genre finds itself – this is the beginning where the first ‘typical aspects’ of a genre are made.

2. Classics – this stage is where films of a certain genre are made and viewed as ‘classics’. Classic movies may be different for all people.

Justine Panalqui

3. Pushes Boundaries – films which push the boundaries are ones which differ from other films in a genre. They still use the typical aspects of the film category however, they do it in a way which challenges the usual methods that it is done.

4. Parody/Homage – a parody is a type of film which is made to, in a way, make fun of a film, or films, in a certain genre. To pay homage to something is to make something which signifies the love a person has for a certain genre.

The idea of ‘classic’ films from a specific genre contributes to how it is able to remain popular with audiences. Categorising a film as a ‘classic’ means that it is something that you are able to watch multiple times without ever getting tired or bored of it as it is such a good film. Although classics are different to all people this enables different films to be introduced to many others as audiences like to share their favourite classic films with friends, families, etc.

Using Steve Neale’s theory, it can be understood how a genre has remained popular with audiences over time. Saying that audiences enjoy the repetition or difference to repertoire in films of a specific genre links to how people react to the changes made or not made during the stages of the genre cycle. As films are made which push the boundary of a genre (stage three) new genre conventions are introduced to people which shows how it evolves. Steve Neale’s theory is important when thinking about the changing conventions in genres and how they are able to remain popular. This is because people will eventually get bored if the typical aspects of a genre were to remain relatively similar forever. The continuous repetition in movies belonging to a specific genre would no longer be enjoyable or appealing as it would have been seen too many times. This is where the evolving genre conventions come in and can be shown to the audiences. These new aspects of a specific genre that are added or have replaced old conventions are a way for film makers to reconnect with audiences if they are showing less interest in the typical movie from that genre.

Another reason as to how different genres have been able to remain popular with audiences is through films belonging to hybrid genres. Hybrid genres are able to bring something new to a specific category of film, even if it is different. Mixing different movie categories allows people to possibly discover a fondness for a new genre as well as grow fonder of the genre they had already liked before.

Justine Panalqui