Film Genre
Offering an accessible introduction to the study of film genres and genre films, this book examines the use of genre in cinema from its beginnings to the present day.
This book explains the various elements of genre, the importance of genre in popular culture, problems of definition, Hollywood and the studio system, ideology and genre, national cinema and genre, authorship and genre, and debates about representation. The book also provides an in-depth examination of four key genres: the Western, the horror film, the film musical, and the documentary film. Each chapter provides a historical overview of the genre and a summary of important critical debates, and concludes with a case study that builds on the historical and theoretical aspects already introduced and provides a model for subsequent analyses. Featured boxes throughout the text highlight specific cycles, filmmakers, and trends, and each chapter concludes with a list of suggestions for further reading.
Film Genre: The Basics is an invaluable resource for those new to studying film and for anyone interested in the history and ongoing significance of film genres and genre films.
Barry Keith Grant is professor emeritus of film studies and popular culture at Brock University, Ontario, Canada and an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He is the author of Film Genre: From Iconography to Ideology (2007), Shadows of Doubt: Negotiations of Masculinity in American Genre Films (2010), 100 Science Fiction Films (2013), and 100 American Horror Films (2022). His edited books include Film Genre Reader I, II, III, and IV (1986, 1995, 2003, and 2012), The Dread of Difference: Gender in the Horror Film (1996), and Notions of Genre: Writings on Popular Film before Genre Theory (2016).