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Elements Of A Semantic Approach To Film Genre

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How is a genre picked for a film? There are many theorists and critics that judge the films and voice an option and eventual a genre is picked for the movies. There are many different kinds of genres, however, todays focus is on the genre type fantasy. What in a fantasy film makes it a fantasy genre? This paper will break down what a film genre truly is, explain how costume design can effect viewers, and describe the key elements of a film in detail to determine what makes it a fantasy genre.
The word genre refers to a type or category of designated motion picture productions. In other words, a genre serves as an upfront guarantee that the audience can expect to find a certain emotional appeal in that film. This allows the viewer to positively know they will get to see similar kinds of films that they prefer to view. In the article, A Semantic/Syntactic Approach to Film Genre, lists some key elements, “[…] we can as a whole distinguish between generic definitions which depend on a list of common traits, attitudes, characters, shots, locations, sets, and the like[...]”, (page 10). Here is another explanation from the book, American Cinema/American Culture by John Belton, express in more detail, “Films that belong to a specific genre draw from a fairly fixed body of character and story types, setting and situations, costumes and props, thematic concerns and visual iconography, and conventions that are shared by other films in that particular genre.” (page 124). The book and

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