The Film Industry - Term Paper Example

Types of Movies Introduction Movies are categorized according to several aspects which include the plot of the story, the setting, the characters used, environment used and the theme. The film industry has evolved over time due to creativity that is sparked by consumers’ appetite for more and better films. The result of this has been production of movies that have characteristics of two or three different genres. These changes by movie directors and producers have made the formerly conventional movie categories to change according to the film industry environment. Categorization formula may vary slightly depending on place or the movies itself but the most common and major categories are documentaries and narratives. There are other minor categories but these can easily be absorbed into the major categories. This essay will look into categorization of movies and differentiation of these categories. The differentiation will be about the characteristics of the existing subcategories of movies. Characteristics of Different Categories Just like the name, action movies involve a lot of physical activities by the actors. In most action movies, the protagonist actor encounters highly daunting tasks that usually involve a lot of physical struggle and strain. The protagonist finally beats all the challenges through fights, exchange of fire power, destructive explosions and many other kinds of physical struggle. It should be noted that the protagonist can be one actor or a group of actors who mostly encounter events or situations that threaten their lives. It is through the actions and physical struggle that the theme of the movies is conveyed to the audience. Examples of action movies and movie series include Nikita, James Bond movies and movies involving actors such as Steven Seagul, Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris and Sylvester Stallone. Similar to the action movies category but a different category are war movies. These are movies whose theme is a clear conflict between evil, represented by antagonists, and good, represented by protagonists. Mostly, these movies involve military action which includes heavy fire power and sophisticated military equipment. There has been numerous war movies produced with the setting and environment of the World War Two. There are few scenes in war movies that involve military plotting and strategizing. The main themes in such movies may include effects of military combat to a country’s population, military tactics, conquests as well as unhealthy diplomatic relationships. Examples of war movies are Black Hawk Down and Platoon. Science fiction movies are movies that present themes that have not yet been proved possible by science. Science fiction movies, commonly referred to as sci-fi, use the rules of science in developing their concepts but these concepts are creatively developed further than what is possible according to science. This is where this category of movies acquired its name as it uses science to give a fictional theme. Most scenes in these movies involve aliens, UFOs, very sophisticated technology, journeys into space and time. In most science fiction movies, the greater part of the motivation for the theme is speculation. Examples of science fiction movies include Man of Steel, After Earth and In Time. Comedy movies involve a lot of humour. Their sole purpose is to entertain the audience through laughter and making fun of a real life situation or character. Comedies lighten moods and are directed and developed such that the audience will focus on the jokes involved. Comedians may use funny faces or use harmless amusing actions to entertain their audience. Such movies can either be narratives where the comedian gives accounts of humorous incidents or acts involving characters that perform funny actions. In some cases, sarcasm is used to bring out a real social issue in an entertaining way. Conflict has also been utilized in some comedies where two conflicting characters counter each other in funny ways. Examples of comedies are The Fierce Wife and One for The Money. Thriller movies are movies that involve great suspense. The main character or characters in the films encounter grave danger but they finally overcome and emerge victorious. In most thriller plots, the protagonist faces an enemy by interfering with their interest and conflict comes in. It is through this conflict that suspense is creatively developed and the audience always wants to know what will happen next. The moment the protagonist overcomes the challenge or the enemy marks the climax. Climax moment comes with excitement which characterizes thriller movies. Examples of thriller movies are Underworld: Awakening, Rebound, Honeymoon and The Guest. Romantic movies involve characters displaying affection and usually the theme is love. A romantic movie can be a narrative of a love affair starting from how the lovers met and in most movies there is a happy ending. Romantic movies can also be full of drama and conflicts where two or more lovers are in conflict. The conflicts are mostly motivated by emotional attachment. Conflicts are brought out using heartaches and break-ups. Heartaches and break-ups can be replaced by difficult situations or unfortunate happenings that strengthen the bonds of love between the characters. This point is the climax of a romantic movie. Most soap operas are good examples of romantic movies. The main theme in horror movies is fear. These movies use scenes that evoke fear in the audience. Examples of such scenes include powerful evil creatures, evil forces and darkness. Mostly the protagonist appears to be a weak and helpless character that faces a dangerous creature or force who is the antagonist. Horrifying noises and soundtracks are used in horror movies to further advance the theme of fear. In order for a horror movie to have the desired effect on the audience, some things have to be chosen carefully and correctly. These include the environment, which should be dark or gloomy and graphics which depict violence. Proper selection of both the antagonists and protagonists should also be done. Examples of horror movies are Evil Dead and I Spit on Your Grave. The plot in mystery movies is one where investigations are carried out to unravel a mystery and suspense is maintained all through till the climax where solutions to the mystery are found. The characters that might be behind the mystery are revealed to the audience who can only guess the actual person or situation behind the mystery in the movie. However, there are movies where the characters behind the mystery are revealed to the audience early in the movie. In mystery movies the central characters are the person behind the mystery and the mystery solver. These can be either individual persons or a group of persons such as a group of special crimes police unit trying to solve a mystery murder. Examples of mystery films are Veronica Mars, Crimson Peak and The Call. Family and personal relationships movies mostly use the family set up to bring out a certain theme in the society. The characters in these movies are from one family and every character has a different personality. Mostly there is conflict within the some family members who represent the antagonist group and other family members who solve the conflict and represent protagonists. Biopic movies give the biography of a famous person. These movies can use a historic character or a living character. The character in the movie uses the actual names of the main character and is carefully chosen so as to resemble the main character. The movies give an everyday account of the life of the main character and the notable events of their life are given more attention. Since it is quite difficult to acquire every detail of the life of the main character, some sections of these movies is creatively fabricated so as to flow with the other scenes in the movie. It is only in very few movies that the actual main characters are in the movie to represent. Conclusion Recently, there have been movies that are overlapping or combine aspects of two or more categories. These are placed in sub-genres but the main categories still remain. Categorization of movies is ever changing according to what production houses churn out to the audience. However, it still remains an important aspect in the movie industry as it gives a framework to guide movie production houses. Works Cited Shon, Ji-Hyun, Young-Gul Kim, and Sang-Jin Yim. "Dissecting Movie Genres from an Audience Perspective: MTI Movie Classification Method." (2012). Read More