111-255/355 Genre Study

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Subject Description:

This subject is a close study of two genres in particular: the Western and the Horror film, with reference also made to other genres such as the melodrama, film noir and action cinema. Students will be expected to gain an understanding of some of the following areas: the historical development of genre criticism; evolution theories of generic stages; generic crossovers; the influence of Hollywood genres outside the U.S.A.; the relationship between filmic reality and social reality. The western will be studied through its various stages of development, including: the 'classical' western, the revisionist western; and the spaghetti western. The interchange between the western and samurai film, as well as western and action film will also be explored. The horror film component will focus on horror in the wake of Hitchcock's Psycho and The Birds, looking especially at the stalker, splatter and apocalyptic horror tradition. Issues to be discussed will include: horror and the family institution, horror as cultural ritual, self-reflexivity and genre, and horror as a form of game play.

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