Breaking Film Genre Convention

[lafunky xxvii]

My girlfriend does Media at college and has do to a 4000 word essay on genres and stuff for Friday. As part of the essay she has to identify 5 films from 5 different genres which either break the conventions of the genre or push the boundaries of them.

An example would be something like Bugsy Malone - a gangster film, but all the characters all played by children and there are no bullets, etc. Also, something like Robocop has been identified as a scifi/police vengeance genre, but with an underlying idea of a Western - the sheriff against the bandits, superb marksman, spinning his gun before putting it in his holster.

So all you movie buffs flex your movie knowledge and discuss some examples that could be used, and help Lafunky get the good lovin'.

Cheers.

[Liam]

My media teacher said that you can read Star Wars as a wetern rather than a Sci-Fi (the first film,that is..)....I dunno exactly how, as I can't really remember the film.

Alien (the first film), as it's a film where the transgressive female doesn't die (generally, any film where a woman breaks out of the mold of being a woman is killed off, although arguably she has to "act like a man" to survive)

I'll have a little think.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Arlington Road.

Breaks Hollywood film convention by:

Finishing with the bad guy 'winning', getting to keep the son of the other man whose life he destroys

Alien broke horror film convention of the time by:

Killing off the most famous actor (Tom Skerritt) before the end of the film as well as John Hurt, another well-respected actor, and placing the weight of the film on the young Sigourney Weaver, who was also a woman. It was her third credited film, one of her roles being a tiny background part, the other being another smaller part.

Also, filming the Chestburster scene without telling any of the cast except John Hurt, and then filming their REAL reactions.

Edited January 17, 2006 by ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster

[Liam]

I'm going to bump this, as this may help me with a concept for one of my media presentations later in the year.

Any other examples?

[fourstarfizzle]

Tarantino's films have been classed by many as breaking some of the unwritten rules of film convention, something to do with him showing the credits at the start of films, etc.

[NobBe Nobbs]

Since Hamster mentioned Arlington Road breaking it through the spoilers, how about Saw? It's a horror movie, but it - a) takes place almost exclusively in the one room, and b)

the bad guy wins again - Doctor Lawrence has to cut off his leg and probably dies from blood loss, while the other guy (Adam?) gets told that he washed away his only chance of survival when he took the plug out of the bath, and dies of either shock or starvation

Edited January 20, 2006 by Ze