Mixed Genre Movies Heralding the Era of Globalization - Literature review Example

Mixed Genre Movies – Heralding the Era of Globalization? “You’ll go from a teenager in his bedroom in New York telling you what he loves the most in the world to this amazing Masai woman with her necklaces standing outside her hut telling you what she loves the most and just that clash is so wonderful.” (Kevin MacDonald, 2010) Welcome to the world of mixed genre movies, which is yet another reflection of post-modern times in its myriad forms. The world itself is a melting pot of cultures, languages and peoples and practices, as Zygmunt Bauman (2001, p. 121) rightly puts it, “culture is debated in terms of individual, group or categorical difference, creolization and hybridity;” and ‘mixed’ forms or ‘hybrid’ forms have taken on a different connotation with the advent globalization. So does mixed genre or hybrid genre mean? How does it vary from pure genre or categorization, with regard to movies? What were the causes that led to the hybridization in the film industry? How can one identify the typical characteristics of hybrid movies, and what are their implications for the future? This essay shall discuss hybridization of genres in the post-modern phenomenon of globalization in movies and analyse the under currents that have brought about the changes. Deborah Kapchan and Pauline Strong (1999) have analysed the term ‘hybrid’ in various contexts and its associated terms like ‘syncretism’, ‘bricolage’ and ‘creolization’ (pp. 240-1) and how they have been interpreted in terms of culture by the society. Tracing the meaning of the word from its Latin origin, Kapchan and Strong (1999) observe that in general, ‘hybrid’ stands for “a composite” and it also means “anything of heterogeneous origin or composition,” (p. 240) and the term can apply to a wide range of things from cuisine, poems, books, movies, languages, costumes, to traditions, cultures and even people. The authors observe that the process of hybridization is dynamic and therefore, subject to transformation and change. The significant point in hybridization is that, the most dominant traits from objects/concepts that fall under two different categories are carried over to form a part of the new. ‘Syncretism’, denotes the mixing that takes place “in conditions of displacement and new contact, certain forms are carried over and others are lost” (Herskovit 1966 cited in Kapchan and Strong 1999 p. 240). While ‘bricolage’ is described as a post-modern form of random mixing, ‘creolization’ pertains to the ‘creativity’ in hybridization of cultures, brought about by conditions like colonization and so on (p.241). Of particular interest is ‘creolization’ as it is an instrument to study hybridization, in that it allows the examination of mixing of traditional homogenous rituals’ transformation into heterogeneity, identity and reformation of identity. At the root of this ‘exchange’ lies the “power differentials” that becomes the basis or the “root metaphor” for “innovations” and expressions of “cultural creativity” which is characteristic of “creolization” (Kapchan and Strong 1999, p. 241). Especially relevant to this discussion is its character to “communicate across linguistic and cultural boundaries” that facilitates “transfer of goods and capital, whether symbolic, aesthetic, or economic” (Kapchan and Strong 1999, p. 241) since this aspect defines the identification of mixed genre movies, which combines different genres or categories to create new identifications of movies. Moreover, the newness of a hybrid does not lie in its mere recombination of old traits, "but rather the technologies which have globalized and transformed culture" (Franco, 1993:136 cited in Kapchan and Strong 1999, p. 242). To illustrate the above briefly with an example from current movies, The Warrior's Way is a ‘hybrid’ of action - cowboys vs. ninjas (2010), which combines two different cultures under the banner of action. Discussion of hybrid genre leads one to question, first of all, as to what is ‘pure’ genre? Scholars like Bhaktin (1981) explain ‘genre’ as an “expression of worldview and ideology”, while according to Dorst (1983) genres intermediary sifts and “embody a particular relation to time and space” (cited in Kapchan and Strong 1999, p. 242). Even though such explanations help one understand what genres broadly constitute, a more concrete description can be found in Greta Hsu, Giacomo Negro, and Fabrizio Perretti’ s (2008) research study which traces the history of hybridization in Hollywood through the years 1912-1948. Citing Neale (2000:31), Hsu, Negro, and Perretti (2008, p. 3) define ‘genres’ as something that notes “provide spectators with means of recognition and understanding” and specifically aid individual films to speak for themselves. Depending on the model of the plot, the roles played by the characters and other such factors, the movies are placed under a classification. This helps in more ways than structuring the expectations of audiences; “schemas convey information about appropriate patterns in organizational arrangements” and also “enable diverse market participants to assign roles to and form expectations for producers’ offerings, facilitating market interactions” (Hsu, Negro, and Perretti 2008, p. 5). Thus, ‘pure’ genre movies convey clarity and strict conformity to the schematic models, “the schema for category membership is well developed, the features which signal that an offering is (or is not) a member of the category are clear and readily apparent to market participants” (Hsu et al 2008, p.5). When the features to be expected by the audiences are ambiguous, the offerings or movies do not fit into category expectations compactly, this does not appeal to the audiences. As in the case of the mixed genre movie Pathfinder (2007), audiences responded to this one, by “imposing penalties on producers” (Hsu et al 2008, p.5) and was not well received; it did badly at the box office (Den of Geek 2010). If this is right, then what are the causes for production of such hybrid genre movies at all? Interestingly, research (Hsu, Negro, and Perretti 2008, pp. 8-23) explains and demonstrates some situations under which hybrids or mixed genre movies are permitted by audiences. According to above researchers, in the first type of situation, there is high demand from the audiences for a movie to conform to the category expectations, since it aids audiences understand and assess them immediately. However, high adherence to genres produces more movies with similar schemas with little variations, which in turn, make the audiences crave novelty, thereby leading producers to mix genres to meet the novelty demands of the audiences (Schatz 1981:5, cited in Hsu et al, 2008, p. 4). If the model for the offerings in specific categories are well defined features, then the expectations to adhere to such categories is strong, and audiences tend to reject or respond negatively to hybrid movies in those categories. However, in genres wherein the models for belonging to or claiming membership to that category are weak, with no clear set of boundaries as to what is permitted and what is not, then, then hybridization is more likely to happen (Hsu et al 2008, pp. 7-9). This is the second type of situation. Another type of situation mentioned by the researchers where in hybridization of genres in movies can happen as, “diversity of alter genres also contributes to this process by fragmenting the template for production even more, further increasing the likelihood of spanning genres” (Hsu et al 2008, p. 21). The study brings out the importance of ways in which category structures are important determinants in the production of hybrids or mixed genre movies. Very different from the empirical research done by Hsu et al (2008) or the academic analyses of Kapchan and Strong (1999) is the comparative article found in the website Den of Geek (2010). Various genre hybrid movies are scrutinized here, and passed off either as success or failures. Illustrating the hybrid categories under which they fall, the website discusses some of the latest hybrid genre movies and explains them, “This melding of true life events and sci-fi is a simple example of how the hybrid genre movie is rapidly becoming more popular in Hollywood” (Den of Geek 2010). Exposing the pros and the cons of such mixing experiments, it observes how the current trends in which producers chose plots from historical epic, war movie and sci-fi genres and “combine these genres to create a film that can be both great fun and ridiculous in equal measure” (Den of Geek 2010). The website serves as good indicator of audiences’ mood and serves to gauge their changing expectations through the media of internet. The website has raised a pertinent question “are these films anything more than low brow entertainment? Are they watch and throw away movies that, due to their ludicrous nature, are nothing better than Friday's night diversions?” (Den of Geek 2010) It need not be the case; taken seriously and accorded adequate creativity, mixed genre movies can create history, and indeed transform the way movies are made, transcending all boundaries. To illustrate this, it is relevant to consider the unique mixed genre movie (documentary) Life in a Day – The story of a single day on earth (2010) directed by Kevin MacDonald. The movie is very novel in its concept, in that it seeks to record the happenings and events in the life of ordinary people, in one day – 24th July, 2010. People across boundaries, across the globe, were asked to film events, opinions, feelings of love, fear, what they carry etc., Using the collaboration of the National Geographic Channel and the you tube channel technology of internet, the films were collated to make a documentary, which combined various genres like drama, romance, action etc., It can be said that the movie is a product of globalization, since admittedly it would not have been possible without the innovations you tube and the internet. This documentary of one hour and thirty-four minutes, defies all efforts of classification, and yet is widely acclaimed as meaningful and innovative. It offers hope that given the right thrust and opportunity, mixed genre movies spur innovation and capture the imagination of audiences, while simultaneously offering meaningful models for future use. Hybridization has been one of the key traits to identify globalization. Deborah Kapchan and Pauline Strong (1999) offer scholarly analyses of the origins of hybridization which helps in a broad understanding of the vast domain that it can be applied to. Researchers’ Hsu, Negro, and Perretti (2008) empirical study Hollywood helps one understand the factors that effect changes in genre through space and time. A glimpse of the audiences’ opinion is offered in the article found in the website Den of Geek (2010). Finally, the example of the mixed genre documentary Life in a Day – The story of a single day on earth (2010) offers positive implications for the direction of hybrid movies in future. The study has offered insightful understanding regarding the factors that determine the success and failures of mixed genre movies in the market. References Bauman, Zymunt (2001) “Identity in the globalizing world” in Social Anthropology (2001) 9, 2, 121–129. 2001 European Association of Social Anthropologists. [Press]. Den of Geek (2010) “Do genre mash-up films really work?” [Internet] Accessed 02/06/2012. http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/16785/do-genre-mash-up-films-really-work Hsu, Greta., Negro, Giacomo., and Perretti, Fabrizio., (2008) “Hybrids in Hollywood: A study of genre spanning in the U.S. film industry” University of Toronto.[Internet] Accessed 02/06/2012. http://scripts.mit.edu/~cwheat/ess/papers/Hsu_25.pdf Kapchan, Deborah and Strong, Pauline (1999) “Theorizing the Hybrid” The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 112, No. 445, (Summer1999), pp. 239-253. Life in a Day – The story of a single day on earth (2010) [Internet] Accessed 02/06/2012. https://sites.google.com/site/liadpressinformation/life-in-a-day-videos-1 Read More