Essay Plans

Question One:
Genre texts have sometimes been critised for being predictable and unimaginative. Discuss.
(January 06)

Openining Paragraph- Begin to disscus the ways in which similair aspects and conventions of a genre film are shown throughout all of the films of the same genre.

Discuss the different reasons to why genres have changed over time. With particular reference to the slasher genre discuss possible reasons such as the changes in the target audience, changes in the audeicne expectations and censorship. These can influence the ways in which particular genres are able to present themselves to the audiences.

Discuss the reasons to why genre conventions would appear to be the same in all the films. This may be in order to appeal to the audience expectations of the film. For example in a slasher film the audience would expect there to be deaths.

Final Paragraph- Summary of the reasons to why genre is believed to be predictable and unimaginative. In this paragraph i could write about the common aspects about the slasher genre. Write about the mise en scene in which most of the films are set and how the main characters would be teenagers.

Question Two:
"The audience may know what to expect, but are still excited by genre texts". To what extent is this true?
(June 05)

In slasher films there is a recurrance of certain rules which apply within all horror films are shown, therefore the audience would be able to expect that the people who are most promiscuos are killed and the final girl. However the idea of sex=death is different in the film scream, as the female character survives after having sex.

Due to technology films are able to meet the expectations of a new audience. There would be more speical effects in the films.

Although the films are often remakes of an original directors are able to find different ways to reinvent the film addind different characters and chnages certain aspects from the original film.

Censorship, before in films there were certain restrictions to what the films were allowed to show, as in terms of horror and in some scenes. State other changes which may have made genre adapt.

Question Three:
"Genre arouses the expectations of an audience". How and why does it do this?
(June 04)

Write about the changes of the target audience. The audience expectations of the films would be higher therfore certain aspects of the genre would have to be changed.

The changes in technology allow the films to show more sepcial effects and appeal to the new target audience. The audience would aspect there to be certain ideologies to appear in the genre film.

Changes in society, ideologies and representations within the film would have changed.
Genres, therefore have to adapt and change due to the fact that society and their expectations have also changed.