Exam Question 1(b) (Mr Love)

Exam question 1(b) – Theoretical Evaluation of a Product Formal Assessment 1: Genre 1(b) Robert Stam states that “genre is hard to define.” Analyse a recent film trailer of your choice in relation to the concept of genre. Robert Stams’ statement “genre is hard to define” is true in some aspects however some genres are far easier to define. Rick Altman defines genres as having syntactic and semantic elements which relate it to its genre, syntactic elements being the more clear cut obvious things that make a movie its genre; romantic movies are often obvious as because they involve syntactic elements like kissing, handholding, deep talks, romantic gestures. Semantic elements are defined as harder to spot, the meanings behind the actions. In “A Case of You” (2013) directed by Kat Coiro the semantic elements can be seen as the way Sam changes himself to be the ideal person for Birdie however later on is angry that she doesn’t know him when he has put up a figurative wall to appease her. The book Sam writes can also be seen as a semantic element as he writes his life down in story form and learns from others perceptions of the story, the publishers telling him they side with the girl of the story because the man is “unstable” shows Sam in a light that he hadn’t seen himself in before. In the trailer of A Case of You, the genre is displayed through the relationships on screen as well as multiple other key media concepts, for example the establishing shot of the trailer shows a large bridge and built up sky line which has the cultural codes of America per Roland Barthes narrative theory this suggests to the audience that this movie is going to take place in a built up area, and that it will be a city living film which suggests to an audience that the movie is going to be modern themed. The next shot is of a small shop front labelled as a selling Italian French bread and comic booklets, this has the connotations of a nerdy character that is interested in quiet places the can read or write, the scene inside of the shop which involve Sam the main male character meeting up with someone he clearly knew previously, who corrects him when he calls her maiden name, this brings the idea of romance in full force, the diagetic conversation they have is accompanied by happy and energetic music which fits with Sarahs attitude in the scene however contradict Sam’s when the topic of romance is brought up. This use of sound suggests the theme of the movie in being a comedic styled film as the music follows the idea of a joke, it is overly jolly for a seemingly normal situation where an old friend of puts the main character in a slightly uncomfortable situation. The next significant camera shot is a reverse-zoom tracking shot as Sam walks down a cold looking street, the trees in the background have no leaves on and suggest it is winter at the time of the film, this shot suggests genre as it focuses on the nerd character who is displayed as being lonely and disbelieves that he has the chance of having a girlfriend is a synonym for the trees as they both seem bare. The inclusion of this suggests that he is incomplete. The voice over of his own voice gives the impression that he is thinking hard about something, this makes the situation seem less mundane than him just walking down the street, the genre is represented through the fact that romance is often seen as a way to happiness or becoming fulfilled. This leads into the idea of a woman coming into his life, which in the trailer is the next thing that occurs is Sam asking for help on a word from a worker behind the counter at the comic book café. This suggests he is desperate but also confirms the genre as comidedic as the answer the worker gives is particularly inappropriate for the situation and rude which is often the basis for a lot of humour in films. This however also describes the film as possibly too old for some audiences that could be interested in the film. The movie trailers’ mise-en-scene is casual and life like, the main charcter wears formal casual clothes which fit his persona as a lonely hidden away character, while Birdie wears much more casual clothes, which convey her relaxed personality to the audience suggesting that the two should work out together as she helps him open up and he helps her come back down to earth from the dream world she is portrayed in where he’s perfect for her. This film in film evolution would be classed as a parody of sorts, the movie trailer in itself seems very similar to the majority of other romantic comedies with Propps character types with the quest giver being Sarah as she pushes him to put himself out into the world to stop himself from being lonely, the hero is Sam while he could also be seen as the villain as he pushes himself to fit with the princess – Birdies’ ideal man, the support characters are entertaining for the audience lending itself to much more comedic ideas. I consider the narrative open as from the trailer there are plenty of ways to take the characters. In response to Stams statement I believe the film makers of A case of you, designed the film for the genre to be very obvious to an audience while the genre do not lead themselves to being hidden well the idea of the story focuses on the genres syntactic elements a lot. However other movies it is arguably a lot harder to see the movies genre, for example marvel movies while iron man is clearly a super hero movie it is harder to tell what subgenres are as some are much weaker defined as others. Some film makers might also design their films to make the genre harder to define, by contradicting syntactic elements of their genre, or challenging stereotypes and expectations of the film to stretch the boundaries of the form