107-081 Genre Study

Usually 12.5 points of first year cinema studies, see Prerequisites.

This subject is a close study of two genres: the western and the horror film. Students should 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 USA; 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 horror film component will focus on horror in the wake of Hitchcock's Psycho and The Birds, looking specifically 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.