Film Genres Going to the movies has been a popular pastime in the lives of the developed worlds general

populous ever since theatres gained air conditioning in 1925. Its a wonderful world where popcorn is a rare and expensive commodity; where spills of delicious root beer stain the floors, which feel sticky under your feet; and where the chair you sit in never leaves you feeling comfortable. But, those things arent what the movie theatre is about. Its about the movies, man. Unlike todays modern popular music, movies arent the same or predominantly similar; there are multiple genres to satisfy a wide variety of interests, personalities, and subcultures. The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) identifies 22 separate movie genres in North American cinema a substantial number. While there is some overlap in themes and styles between several genres, an almost infinite number of sub-genres seem to exist to attract the curiosities, and captivate the minds of, any individual or conceivable audience. Like most well-rounded and intelligent people, I enjoy a wide selection of movies of varying genres, periods, and star-power. While period and star power drastically influence the appearance and character of any movie, it is the genre that really decides the overarching theme of a movie. The five genres I find most appealing, or in other words my five favourite genres, are Comedy, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Musical, and Documentary. Comedy is one of my most liked film genres. Films from this genre, when done well, will take the viewer on an eventful journey through the truly hilarious, whether through soft wit or raucous tomfoolery. Comedy is a broad category that encompasses a gamut of sub-genres: everything from the cheap pass-off jokes, physical humour, and double-entendres found in slapstick or gross-out films; to the mind-stimulating, heartwarming laughs found in a rom-com or endearing sitcom like The Big Bang Theory; to the biting wit and satire of movies like Borat or The Life of Brian. Comedy, though quite different then from its contemporary form, has its roots in Greek theatre. Aristophanes, often referred to as the Father of Comedy, was a comedic playwright; 11 of his 40 original plays survive and are still preformed today. The Aristophanes age is often referred to as Old Greek Comedy, and centers around political satire and innuendo. New Greek Comedy, on the other hand, represents a period closer to the modern idea of comedy. Popularized by playwrights such as Menander, its themes resembled situation comedies; less satirical than plays before them, they involved the ordinary man and his mishaps or missteps in relationships and life. In film, a comedy must make people laugh. This is usually achieved by the use of humourous dialog, peculiar soundtracks, and visual gags. CGI, other special effects, and cinematography don't play a major role in this genre; but, they can still be employed not to contribute to any overarching plot line, but to lull the viewer into a state where they don't anticipate the coming joke or sequence of humourous events, or to create a scenario that in itself instills amusement (such

as things randomly blowing up). Comedy is meant to incite laughter and I enjoy comedy for this reason alone. However, it is the wittiest and most satirical comedies that keep me laughing the hardest and longest. Notable examples from this genre include the following: Borat; The Life of Brian; The Big Bang Theory; Arrested Development. Science-Fiction, commonly abbreviated to the two-syllable, Sci-Fi, is a great film genre and also one of my most well-liked genres. Rife with technological advances and interstellar settings (and space ship captains. who. sometimes. talk. as though. every. word. is. its own. sentence), these films take the viewer tens, hundreds, or thousands of years into the future, or to an alternative present. Supposedly based on ever-advancing science the broad field of study making everything from the computer to the rocket possible Sci-Fi creates within the viewer a sense that what they see may eventually become reality, inciting within them a mix of feelings from apprehension to wonder to excitement. Because of the absolute vastness of science-fiction themes (the extraterrestrial, alternate multiverses, extremely advanced technologies, apocalyptic storylines, utopias, and dystopias), scholars often argue about the origins of this genre. Some scholars assert that certain aspects of ancient mythology contain science-fiction elements. The Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, a twelve tablet series dated around 2000BCE, can be considered one of the earliest examples. It concerns a two-thirds god, one-third man character named Gilgamesh and his adventures. The Hindu Bhagavad Gita, estimated around 500BCE, also seems to envisage horrible war fought with flying machines and city destroying weapons. Other scholars believe the genre began during the middle ages, while still others believe it began after the advent of the Scientific Revolution, in the works of authors like Mary Shelley, Jules Verne, and H.G. Wells. Regardless, the genre became wildly popular in the 19 th and 20th centuries, with novels by authors including Douglas Adams, Issac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Stan Lee, Gene Roddenberry, Carl Sagan, and Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. One of the earliest examples of films in this genre was the silent 1927 German monochrome masterpiece, Metropolis the first film to feature a humanoid robot, so early the term robot had not yet been coined. In the film, the mechanical humanoid was called the machine man. For a film in this genre to be successful, it must exploit a variety of techniques. There must be some form of CGI and/or special effects, as to create the illusion of other planets, stars and galaxies, extraterrestrials, or intergalactic space travel. Also, there must be an appropriate soundtrack, with everything from the noises created by interstellar weaponry, to an amazing orchestral soundtrack considered. I enjoy modern science-fiction. Its themes explore the unexplored, the otherworldly, the advancement of the human species and the realization of human potential. A successful sci-fi leaves me with feelings of awe it will have been a truly mind-stimulating and enlightening journey through the realm of what if?

Notable examples from this genre include the following: Star Trek; Star Wars; Metropolis; 2001: A Space Odyssey. Fantasy is a third film genre I really enjoy. Exploring concepts commonly found in mythology, the viewer is taken to another world whose inhabitants may include any number of legendary phenomena: gods; minotaurs; hobbits; elves; faeries; even great wizards (some of whom possess interesting scars, or whose names contain only two letters). Though related to science-fiction (and many themes do overlap), fantasy can be considered separate: sci-fi generally attempts to show the scientific advances of humanity fantasy tends to strive away from such themes. Most modern examples have plotlines descended from Medieval environments especially considering the worldwide success of J.R.R. Tolkiens hobbit novels or center around magic and the supernatural J.K. Rowlings Harry Potter series has become almost the archetype for this magic-oriented sub-genre. Special effects must certainly be implemented for such films to exist, as virtually every aspect contained within a Fantasy film save, at best, the actors themselves, and perhaps the scenic backgrounds do not really exist. There is no perceivable magic, no faeries or hobbits, no books which write themselves, or living scarecrows possessed by the idea of brains. Many of the techniques utilized would overlap with those found in a science-fiction flick however, it must be remembered that in the realm of fantasy, huge technological developments or advances are not to be revealed to the viewer. (This is almost ironic, considering it is these very advancements, in real life, that bring any modern Fantasy universe to the silver screen.) I enjoy Fantasy for the reasons listed above. Its themes deal not quite with the other-worldly, but with little universes within our own broadly defined region of time-space. A random wizard school placed who-knows-where on our otherwise muggle-filled earth or little creatures with strange ears chasing some jewelrybased MacGuffin in a Medieval atmosphere are two well-known examples both incite fascination and excitement. Notable examples from this genre include the following: The Lord of the Rings; Harry Potter; The Wizard of Oz; Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The Musical is another genre I really enjoy. While a musical is not exactly a genre unto itself many are meant to be dramatic, or comedic, or romantic, etc. it differs from regular movies in that it contains a lot of singing. The characters sing, the narrator if there is one sings, bystanders join in on the flash-mob; for those who enjoy and frequent musicals, the audience often sings along, too. The musical, on screen, is often based on a stage-production. The stage musical virtually every famous musical has its roots in this format is, in turn, based on musical theatre, which itself is derived from opera. Opera, however, has singers who act, whereas musical theatre has, in the main, actors who sing. The Black Crook, published by Charles M. Barras, opening in 1866 on Broadway, is considered by some historians to be the earliest surviving example

of the traditional book musical; the archetype for all modern musicals until the end of the Musical golden age in the 1960s. These musicals involve actors singing and dancing, with solid plot lines and scene changes, in an attempt to incite interest, emotion reaction, and occasionally laughter. The motion picture musical became possible with the advent of Sound on Film technology, such as Pat Powerss Cinephone. A successful musical features numbers that not only serve as filler, but also further the plot line. These musicals often dont rely on stunning visual effects or CGI; rather, if used, they are used only to enhance the scene, with the real focus on the music. These, with the singing at their core, are the musicals I enjoy the musicals that win awards, the musicals people remember. Notable examples from this genre include the following: Chicago; Les Miserables; The Rocky Horror Picture Show; The Pirates of Penzance. The fifth film genre I really like is in a category unto itself: the Documentary. A documentary focuses not on action or its sub-genres, and not on inciting excitement or an adrenaline rush, but rather on delivering a truthful message; ergo, it could be considered the antithesis of the Action genre. The documentary, like the action genre, encompasses a wide range of subgenres of different styles and time periods: there are the very early stock film shots of people walking around, shopping, talking, etc.; the war propaganda films released by everyone from the US to Germany to the USSR; the anti-war, anticolonialism, anti-capitalism films directed and produced in the 1960s and 1970s; and, the modern documentaries focusing on every broad topic from the supposedly warming environment, to the world at a glance, to how Wall Street behaves. The documentary has, traditionally, been relatively low-budget. Rarely are special effects exploited or A-movie actors employed; many are shot during live lectures. The format is therefore generally popular among the big movie producers as they can often turn a tidy profit in a documentarys release, and among independent producers who don't have access to big studio budgets. Historically and, because the internet-raised masses have been taught from an early age that learning new things and constantly acquiring more information and knowledge is good, perhaps even more so today the Documentary genre has done quite well in theatres, to educate audiences on topics concerning the world around them, and to influence their opinions. I enjoy Documentaries for the learning adventure they provide an adventure provoking excitement not through action, but knowledge. A successful Documentary leaves the audience feeling as though theyve learned something, heightening their awareness of a particular topic or field. It should also contribute to an inflated ego, allowing the individual to feel they have learned something new. Notable examples from this genre include the following: An Inconvenient Truth; Capitalism: A Love Story; Planet Earth; Supersize Me; Bully. The local theatre has been the modern arena of entertainment for

generations of individuals. It is because of the wide selection of films available that movies, as a whole, have been so successful like the people in the audiences who watch them, each genre is different from another. While the selection of genres and sub-genres continues indefinitely especially when one considers the overlap between categories the genres I prefer seem to add something of value to my existence the other genres don't. Comedy incites laughter and warms the heart; Sci-Fi explores realms unexplored, stimulating the mind; Fantasy takes a trip to a different earth in which magic rules, sparking the imagination; Musicals are eponymous with the fun contained within them, provoking the innate melodious mindset; and Documentaries provide depictions of the real world and its milestones and phenomena, heightening intelligence and changing world views. These genres amaze audiences, captivate minds, excite imaginations, and soothe souls cascades of colors assembling pixel by pixel on the silver screen for the worlds use and enjoyment.