Genre
AIM: Within this genre section of my portfolio I will be defining the term genre and analysing a clip from "Modern Times" (a 1936 film by Charlie Chaplin) as well as identifying which aspects of Chaplins work would present him as an auteur. I will be doing so by exploring the ways in which Chaplin portrays physical comedy in this clip and by analysing other Chaplin films.
OBJECTIVE: By the end of this page the reader will be provided with a definition of genre, an explanation of what it is, illustrations of physical comedies, how this is implemented in Modern Times and how I plan to do so in my film.
DEFINITION: Genre can be defined as a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style or subject matter.
EXPLANATION: The concept of genre originated from the classification systems created by philosophers BC, Plato and Aristotle. Plato, an ancient Greek philosopher (429-324 BC) categorically divided literature into three genres: poetry, drama and prose, which was then further expanded by philosophers of the modern era. The definition of an auteur is somebody who creates a theory, genre etc. Charlie Chaplin can be described as an Auteur. Physical comedy essentially originated from Charlie Chaplin, an English actor of 17th/18th century. Through his unique movement and gestures Chaplin created a sense of realism portrayed through comedy, thus proving him to be an auteur. There are lots of other aspects of Charlie Chaplin for example he wrote many of his films as well as directed, edited, filmed and starred in his films. Charlie Chaplin's ability to create a film esentially on his own ultimately makes him an auteur within the film industry.
OBJECTIVE: By the end of this page the reader will be provided with a definition of genre, an explanation of what it is, illustrations of physical comedies, how this is implemented in Modern Times and how I plan to do so in my film.
DEFINITION: Genre can be defined as a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style or subject matter.
EXPLANATION: The concept of genre originated from the classification systems created by philosophers BC, Plato and Aristotle. Plato, an ancient Greek philosopher (429-324 BC) categorically divided literature into three genres: poetry, drama and prose, which was then further expanded by philosophers of the modern era. The definition of an auteur is somebody who creates a theory, genre etc. Charlie Chaplin can be described as an Auteur. Physical comedy essentially originated from Charlie Chaplin, an English actor of 17th/18th century. Through his unique movement and gestures Chaplin created a sense of realism portrayed through comedy, thus proving him to be an auteur. There are lots of other aspects of Charlie Chaplin for example he wrote many of his films as well as directed, edited, filmed and starred in his films. Charlie Chaplin's ability to create a film esentially on his own ultimately makes him an auteur within the film industry.
MODERN TIMES
ILLUSTRATION OF THE GENRE CONVENTIONS: The genre I will be exploring is physical comedy. Physical comedy is a form of comedy typically conveyed by a pratfall, facial expressions and exaggerated movement and gestures. Generally actors within a film with the genre a physical comedy adopt clownish movement and expressions. Although customarily the language and dialogue within a typical physical comedy doesn't contain as much substance as other genres there may be a pun or a satirical comment thrown in at times. For my film i will be looking at silent movies. A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is portrayed through muted gestures, mime and the use of title cards. Typical conventions of a physical comedy also include credits at the beginning of the film.
HOW MODERN TIMES CONFORMS OR DEVIATES: Within the film "Modern Times 1936" Charlie Chaplin conforms entirely to the genre of a physical comedy. During part two of the film when Chaplin is forced to essentially be a guinea pig for a new "modern" experiment called the eating machine, there is a use of clownish and over exaggerated gestures. For example Chaplin points to himself which immediately makes the audience look at the protagonist thus creating a story line based on him. Throughout the film there is a typical "chase" scene. Within this chase scene, Chaplin juxtaposes the silliness within his movement (for example dancing around the room), with the seriousness of the context (being chased by the police).
As a genre, comedy typically looks at those with a lower status. This film conforms to this convention because the main topic of the film is the little tramp. The convention is made evident through the mise en scene. The conventions of a silent comedy also includes title cards. Title cards are generally used to enhance the comedy of the film or simply to explain the narration of the film. An example of this within the film would be when the machine fails. The shot shows the boss saying something to the man and then the title card reads "we'll start again with soup". The title card makes Chaplin's reaction, which is seen after the title card, funnier because the audience are allowed to see what is happening within the content of the film.
Some examples of physical comedies would be Buster Keaton's "The General", "Mr Bean" and Harold Lloyd's "Safety Last". Similarly to Modern Times, "The General" presents a working class protagonist who is frantically fighting with Modern Technology (a train). This film conforms to the typical genre conventions of a physical comedy (as does Modern Times) because the protagonist is a working class man. Also in "The General", there is a use of title cards which provides a narrative. In addition, the protagonist does clownish and exaggerated movement throughout the film.
A modern take on a physical comedy is Mr Bean written by Robin Driscoll. Mr Bean conforms to the typical genre conventions of a physical comedy because the protagonist performs exaggerated movements and facial expressions to enhance the comedy of the film. However, the film deviates from the typical conventions because there is no use of title cards and it isn't in black and white. Furthermore, the film conforms slightly to the genre conventions because although there is non diegetic sound within it, the protagonist is silent throughout and the protagonist is the representation of physical comedy.
The image above shows a modern take of physical comedy in the television series "Mr Bean".
HOW THIS LINKS TO MY FILM: My film conforms to the genre of a physical comedy because it includes all of the genre conventions, for example there will be a use of title cards to enhance the comedy of the piece, there will be typical over exaggerated gestures and finally there will be an overlaid non diegetic piece of music played throughout the film. Also, my film will begin with the credits for example "Gabriella Pollard presents Oh crap here comes the po po! starring ... "
ILL MANORS
ILLUSTRATION OF THE GENRE CONVENTIONS:
1. The protagonist dislikes his low status in life and wants more.
2. Unlike other genres, this story takes place in a big city.
3. The gangster can only gain power by taking it. It is survival of the fittest, and the only law is the law of the jungle.
4. The only loyalty the gangster feels is for his own friends and family.
5. Success is measured in material goods - flashy cars, expensive clothes, and mansions. Women are measures of success as well.
6. The hero's antagonist is society, and the enforcers of the law. The police, the FBI, the CIA represent the enforcers of societal status quo.
7. The end justifies the means- The benefits the protagonist gains justifies hows he gets it.
1. The protagonist dislikes his low status in life and wants more.
2. Unlike other genres, this story takes place in a big city.
3. The gangster can only gain power by taking it. It is survival of the fittest, and the only law is the law of the jungle.
4. The only loyalty the gangster feels is for his own friends and family.
5. Success is measured in material goods - flashy cars, expensive clothes, and mansions. Women are measures of success as well.
6. The hero's antagonist is society, and the enforcers of the law. The police, the FBI, the CIA represent the enforcers of societal status quo.
7. The end justifies the means- The benefits the protagonist gains justifies hows he gets it.
HOW CONFORMS OR DEVIATES: Ill Manors conforms to the typical genre conventions demonstrated above. Take the example of the montage within the film. This montage reflects the life of a drug dealer from when he comes out of prison to when he becomes a millionaire. This demonstrates the first convention presented above. Next, the film takes place in a large town (Forest Gate), this is presented through the mise en scene with large grey-bricked buildings and alley ways. Thirdly, the characters within the film kill in order to gain power and respect within the business. For example there is a scene where the young boy who wants to be accepted within the crowd has to go through a series of tasks as part of an initiation process:
1) To beat up his best friend
2) To kill a group of individuals
1) To beat up his best friend
2) To kill a group of individuals
In addition, it is clearly shown the individuals have no respect for anyone else except there own kind. This was clearly presented by the protagonist (Aaron, played by Rhiz Ahmed). An example of this would be during the scene where Aaron has no respect for the police and talks down to them but when his co-worker enters, his body language becomes feeble and needy while his voice becomes soft. Overall the character becomes dependent of a higher status individual that has respect for him. Lastly, as previously discussed the individuals have no respect for the law, this is represented throughout the film, purely by the fact that they are selling drugs. However, the last point, "the ends justifies the means", is deviated within Ill manors because most of the characters dies.
It is clear that the content of Ill Manors conforms to the conventions of a British Social realist film. To understand this, we can look at something of the same genre, Top Boy. Top Boy by Yann Demange is a tv programme about a troubled young boy who follows the footsteps of drug dealers on his estate. Top Boy, similarly to Ill Manors focuses on the down fall narrative of troubled youths of a working class background.
In terms of visual conventions, Ill Manors conforms and deviates. It conforms by using constumes which are typical of working class teenagers who live on estates, a lot of it is shot at night because their dealings are supposed to be secretive and the locations are places such as a prison and a council estate. However, Ill Manors deviates from a typical British Social realist film in the sense that it doesnt just focus on one ethnicity (black), it focuses on white and indian as well. By doing this, Ill Manors is giving an overall outlook of the lives of people who work as drug dealers, not just of the stereotypical ethnic group. (As illustrated in the pictures above)
HOW THIS LINKS TO MY FILM: Within my film, I intend to portray my characters as very strong, disrespectful individuals. In other words I am reflecting the reality of how "gangsters" are perceived in the media. However I am deviating from the typical social realist/ gangster film because, my film is a silent film, my actors are all white individuals, and all the "gangsters" in my film are female. Also, by the end of my film, I intend on portraying the individuals as of a lower status than the
law.
law.
CONNECTIONS
ILLUSTRATION OF THE GENRE CONVENTIONS: The typical genre conventions of a comedy are that the story generally follows the story of an individual. It typically illustrates the individuals misfortune and positions the audience to laugh at this. However, there is generally a twist and although they are encouraged to laugh at the protagonist, they generally feel sorry for them. In addition, films of this genre typically explore the sexuality of the character and play on it comedically. Finally, comedies express stereotypes and make fun of them through exaggerated movements, facial expressions, gestures and costumes. This film is also a silent comedy, therefore the obvious conventions of the genre are that it is silent, it is in black and white, and the actors within the film do over exaggerated "Chaplinesque" movements.
HOW CONNECTIONS CONFORMS OR DEVIATES: Within the film Connections, the director Steve Oram conforms to the typical conventions of a comedic film and a silent comedy, however unlike most comedies/ silent films, there is narration throughtout to enhance the comedy of the film. Connections is a film with a hybrid genre film which is a modern take on a typical black and white silent comedy.
In addition, connections focuses on the fact that the individual is a male and explores the stereotypes of a male. For example, stereotypically a man would stop at the pub after work more than a woman. This is explored withint the film because opening location is a pub, and it sets the comedy out because the audience are aware of the fact that the protagonist is under the influence. In additon, the costume (a work shirt, tie and trousers) also explores the fact that it is based on a male.
Furthermore, the fact that the film is in black and white and there is no non-diegetic sound within it shows that it conforms to silent comedies, however typical comedies which explore modern problems or have a modern content are generally in colour and there is a use of diegetic sounds. As this film is targetted to a more niche audience, the collaboration between old black and white silent comedies and a modern comedy means that the film deviates partially from either or genre. In addition, this film doesn't use any form of title cards because unlike typical silent comedies, there is a use of narration which illustrates what is happening within the film.
An example of a similar art house film of the same genre would be My Wrongs by Chris Morris. This film focuses on the misfortune of a mentally disturbed man. The audience are once again postioned to feel sorry for the protagonist as well as laugh at him. Differently, this film is not silent and it isn't in black and white. However, similarly to the film I am analysing, there is no use of title cards within this film.
HOW THIS LINKS TO MY FILM: Within my film there is modern content however it is explored through exaggerated movement. My film explores the the stereotypes of gangsters and uses this in a comedic way. In addition my film focuses on the events leading up to a downfall narrative of my protagonists.
Firstly, Connections follows the story of an individual who is lonely and therefore positions the audience to feel sorry for the character as well as laugh at his misfortunes. This is illustrated within the film in the "dream" scene where the protagonist is in the park with someone who he wishes was his friend. In addition, the fact that the opening shot is of a man sitting by himself at a bar clearly drunk makes the audience realise the fact that the story is based on the misfortune of a drunk and lonely man. In contrast, the fact that he is drunk clearly illustrates the fact that it is going to be a comedy because typically we would associate drunk people with some form of comedy because they have no mental or physical control of what they are doing.