Research Into Genre

Research Into Genre:

The genre me and my group intend on working with regarding our opening sequence is an intense, action-packed biographical drama. The reason behind this is due to the fact that it is based on true story signified through the motivational speech at the start of the opening titles from the boxers (the protagonist) point-of-view. It is also extremely dramatic because the backing track featured builds the atmosphere in the room. Accordingly, it is a biographical drama. In addition, our opening sequence could perhaps be a sub-genre as well due to the fact that it revolves around boxing. Therefore, the sub-genre would be boxing and the genre would be sport. Combine the two together and you have a boxing biographical drama. Due to this information, our opening sequence is therefore a hybrid genre – a mix between the biographical drama and the sub-genre of boxing.

The generic conventions of the sound used in these types of films include the aspect of perhaps breaking the fourth wall by incorporating dialogue aimed directly at the audience. This is exactly what we plan on doing through the use of a motivational speech at the start to not only connect with the audience but also connote that the opening sequence is based on a true story and therefore biographical – hence the genre chosen. In addition the fact that potentially breaking the fourth wall through the use of the speech can encourage the audience to sympathise, empathise and possibly relate to. This therefore links in with Rick Altman’s genre theory because considering the syntactic elements, the emotional themes of empathy enables the audience to relate. Also, the music track we are going to use is called ‘State Of Mind’. It is an intense, tension-building and atmospheric track that enables the ‘atmos’ within the room to build up suspense to what is going to happen next. This allows for the narrative to progress and the flow of the opening sequence is enhanced. 

Another convention of our chosen genre is what is displayed in the mis-en-scene. There are various elements that are incorporated into the mis-en-scene, for example: props, costumes and the colour on screen. The conventional props used would be boxing equipment such as, gloves, boxing shoes, water bottle etc. Accordingly, boxing equipment should be used in our opening sequence in order to make the sequence appear professional and legitimate. Also, costumes are a big focus because they give each character their sense of style and audiences really pick up on that. Generic costumes found in a boxing film would be fairly dark colours in comparison to a comedy, connoting the ruthlessness signified in competition. Costumes may consist of robes when warming up, the proper shoes used by boxers; including shorts and boxing gloves. This breaths life into any piece of media text if it looks professional and that is exactly our aim. Furthermore, the location must reflect your genre and narrative; conventional locations of a boxing genre would obviously include a boxing ring but potentially locations like changing rooms, gyms etc. This really sets and determines the mood of the film because it represents the characters in a certain way. Therefore, we have to choose the correct location for our film. In addition the font used could be modern, block capitals in order to connote the resilience and strength boxers need to maintain. The font incorporated represents the characters in a particular light and must be done accurately, for example: ‘Raging Bull’ is a renowned boxing movie and features block capitals for its title. Furthermore, character types within the film our crucial into representing and signifying what genre it is. An example of a stereotypical boxing character would be either the boxing him/herself or even the coach. All the major characters must be represented as tough, strong and purposeful. These characteristics are generic traits of character types within this specific genre of movie. It sometimes even comes down to what their hobbies are, for instance: a group of characters may go to watch a match or go down the pub. Character types are extremely important regarding the representation of the genre.

One conventional director that often films in the sport / drama genre that works in symmetry to our film is Noel Clark. Noel directed films such as, ‘Kidulthood’ and ‘The Anomaly’ which are very similar to our opening sequence because of the British drama genre appeal. He is an inspiration to other directors in this genre category because he knows how to represent different aspects in different and effective ways. Also, conventional actors are important when representing genre. An example of a conventional actor who is typically associated with this genre is Jason Statham, due to the dramatic fighting elements he is in that could be considered a sport. He is a good actor when playing a certain role in this genre because he’s so good on camera when connoting the genre. He can represent the mis-en-scene in a particular way and really set the atmosphere due to his props and costumes but most importantly his facial expressions. All these elements can reflect the genre well and represent any connotations behind the film.

There are certain conventional themes that are tackled in this genre such as, avenging and revenge. Characters seem to know what they’re fighting for, whether that be physically fighting or fighting something that has been put upon them. Either way, there are unanswered questions at the start in order to engage the audience but characters are often out for revenge because of something that the audience don’t yet know about. These themes are typically connoted in this genre and are represented through enigma codes. Therefore, these conventional themes appeal to particular audiences due to the repertories of genre element used. This links in with Steve Neale’s Genre theory due to the fact that it suggests that audiences enjoy specific media texts because of the repetition of genre aspects. Thus audiences may enjoy these films because of conventional themes often used like avenging and revenge.

Specific audiences enjoy watching these types’ films because they often gain gratifications from the genre. According to Blumler & Katz’s Uses & Gratifications theory audiences would enjoy watching these types of genres because they mainly fulfil two ‘functions’. The audience would receive the sense of entertainment and identification because of the engagement aspect regarding the entertainment function. And identification because audiences who watch these types of genres could be able to relate, as it sparks interests and possibly memories.

There have been various famous examples over the years of films in this genre. Potentially one the biggest franchise of films is ‘Rocky’.