Hello! Welcome to my Media Studies blog; Today I'm doing some research for three Genres for an upcoming Project, namely the film opening, that I have fast approaching. For my three Film Genres, I chose Historical, Western, and Drama. Each of these genres have a long history in the film industry, and for inspiration I will be exploring the Cinematography, Conventions, and Narratives that each of these genres uses as their bread and butter that keeps audiences coming back again and again.
Western
The first true Western, shot in 1899, is "Kidnapping by Indians" - a short 2-minute silent black-and-white film, depicting two women being kidnapped by stereotypical Indians, and a group of 'Cowboys' fighting back, with one of the girls saved by him.
On a side note, this depiction of Indians derogatorily would be a prominent theme in Western media for a very long time, however there were notable exceptions to this, such as the 1930 film 'The Silent Enemy,' which depicted a tribe of Indians' struggle against starvation in northern Canada.
Western Film would continue to thrive after the Silent Film Era, with films such as "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," which was praised long after its time for it's brilliant storytelling and cinematography.
The final scene of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" - a freeze frame, with a hail of bullets sounding off in the background from the Bolivian Army. Their fates are more than clear - but without visual confirmation, the viewer has just a little bit of hope that they survived. A hope that they had escaped impossible odds, yet again.
Western films will typically follow stories with Male leads, who patrol the deserts alone - either for Revenge, looking for prospects, or simply by a twist of fate. They often have very cut and dry morality - however, they also can explore themes of moral greyness, more often with stories following outlaws. Those who exist outside society's set standards, but are still loved by audiences. In this way, Westerns are very unique, and have continued to Stand out past the Neo-Western revival of the 1990's and 2000's.
Historical
Historical Films follow stories that have occurred in real life - some of which are dramatized for the screen, but are at the very least inspired by or are directly reminiscent of these stories in the real-life setting. Sometimes, Historical pieces are set in a certain year or time, and follow that setting, but have fictional places, events, or characters that change the outcome.
An example of a Historical Drama or a Docudrama, one that follows historical events closely and is meant to convey the events of such accurately, would be Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer follows the life of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer - the scientist most accredited for the creation of the Nuclear Bomb, aside from Einstein. It stays close to the concerns of the time, and shows the life of the genius scientist, and the regrets that making the bomb made him have.
Historical films are often character-driven, as they seek to make messages beyond what their historical constraints would usually allow. 'Oppenheimer' is the most evident of this, with the entire film revolving around his point of view, his life, and how he views his invention that changed the world.
Historical films are also usually ripe with representation; they seek to tell yet-unknown stories from many corners of the world and from many points of view. While it is regarded as a generally bad movie, "The Woman King" Is an example of a Historical-Fiction movie that focuses on underrepresented or lesser-known groups, namely the Kingdom of Dahomey and other West African Kingdoms. "Inglorious Basterds", on that same token, tells the story of a unit during World War 2 that, while not having a direct combat role, was nonetheless invaluable in retrieving Europe's stolen art from the Germans at the time.
Drama
Drama is a very ambiguous genre - but, to put it simply, It's any film that decides to focus moreso on serious moments than comedic or other entertainment value. Because of this, Drama has many different subsets - Dramedy, Drama-Action, Historical Dramas - most genres have a Dramatic subset thanks to it's wide interpretation.
Drama is very old - As it's an integral part of storytelling as a whole, Drama cannot be pinned to any one source. However, there are many examples of films that fit Drama's specific tenants. For example, a Tragedy is a type of Drama that explores the downfall of the protagonist for any number of reasons - often exposing fundamental flaws in personality that people have, or the subtle imperfections that drive us so very mad.
An example of Tragedy would be the film "Requiem for a Dream" - a movie that showcases the downfall of it's three protagonists as they hopelessly chase their dreams, and are pulled apart and lose everything they have worked so hard for, for something they may never achieve. Requiem for a Dream is deeply thematic, and deeply thought-provoking, and it's a perfect example for Tragedy.
Many Drama-films are like this - they are Character-Driven and want to be taken seriously. They expose things that we as people deal with in our lives, and how we react to that. Philosophically, it could be said that Drama is a Genre that explores humanity as a whole - which could also be the reason why it's so widespread among many different genres, as all stories are about human lives and human experiences, which Drama is deeply invested in.
Having explored so many Genres, it's hard to pick just one - but, If I had to say, I'd go with a classic Western. A lone gunman out in the old west, a storyline as old as time, that also incorporates many of the tenants of the other genres that we've explored (Historical and Drama)
But it's ultimately up to you to come to your own conclusions - I've only explored three genres here, but there are many more for aspiring storytellers and filmmakers like you and me to delve into!
Sources
What Is Drama? Tracing Its History and Evolution [With Template]
Zack Snyder's Film "300" tops in Golden Icon Awards - Axcess News
Oppenheimer (film) - Wikipedia
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - Wikipedia
Watch Kidnapping by Indians (1899) online - BFI Player
Historical films are also usually ripe with representation; they seek to tell yet-unknown stories from many corners of the world and from many points of view. While it is regarded as a generally bad movie, "The Woman King" Is an example of a Historical-Fiction movie that focuses on underrepresented or lesser-known groups, namely the Kingdom of Dahomey and other West African Kingdoms. "Inglorious Basterds", on that same token, tells the story of a unit during World War 2 that, while not having a direct combat role, was nonetheless invaluable in retrieving Europe's stolen art from the Germans at the time.
Drama
Drama is a very ambiguous genre - but, to put it simply, It's any film that decides to focus moreso on serious moments than comedic or other entertainment value. Because of this, Drama has many different subsets - Dramedy, Drama-Action, Historical Dramas - most genres have a Dramatic subset thanks to it's wide interpretation.
Drama is very old - As it's an integral part of storytelling as a whole, Drama cannot be pinned to any one source. However, there are many examples of films that fit Drama's specific tenants. For example, a Tragedy is a type of Drama that explores the downfall of the protagonist for any number of reasons - often exposing fundamental flaws in personality that people have, or the subtle imperfections that drive us so very mad.
An example of Tragedy would be the film "Requiem for a Dream" - a movie that showcases the downfall of it's three protagonists as they hopelessly chase their dreams, and are pulled apart and lose everything they have worked so hard for, for something they may never achieve. Requiem for a Dream is deeply thematic, and deeply thought-provoking, and it's a perfect example for Tragedy.
Many Drama-films are like this - they are Character-Driven and want to be taken seriously. They expose things that we as people deal with in our lives, and how we react to that. Philosophically, it could be said that Drama is a Genre that explores humanity as a whole - which could also be the reason why it's so widespread among many different genres, as all stories are about human lives and human experiences, which Drama is deeply invested in.
Having explored so many Genres, it's hard to pick just one - but, If I had to say, I'd go with a classic Western. A lone gunman out in the old west, a storyline as old as time, that also incorporates many of the tenants of the other genres that we've explored (Historical and Drama)
But it's ultimately up to you to come to your own conclusions - I've only explored three genres here, but there are many more for aspiring storytellers and filmmakers like you and me to delve into!
Sources
What Is Drama? Tracing Its History and Evolution [With Template]
Zack Snyder's Film "300" tops in Golden Icon Awards - Axcess News
Oppenheimer (film) - Wikipedia
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - Wikipedia
Watch Kidnapping by Indians (1899) online - BFI Player
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