The Hidden Layers: Social Setting is not a Genre
Have you ever left a theatre feeling that you have been tricked into watching a different movie as the trailer/marketing promised? Was the marketing of the movie deceiving you? Sure it was but I want to argue that it might have not been intentional.
It has happened to all of us right? You went to watch a war movie and it was the psychological analysis/exploration of a man. You started watching military miniseries but it was a coming-of-age drama. You watched a Mafia movie but the main theme of the movie was succession and leadership. You went to watch a Love Story but ended up watching a Greek Tragedy.
It happens because we confuse the social setting of the story with the genre of the story. Genre refers to a category of art and it has more to do with the underlying themes and motifs than the social context.
The social setting or sometimes a character is almost always the pretext under which a movie/art is sold but the real genre of the art piece is hidden beneath layers of superficiality.
The interplay between the social setting, motifs, and characters creates a balance that then makes a compelling narrative.
Let me give you a few examples where Genre is different from what people perceive it to be:
Joker, is a comic book movie right? That is how most people would categorize it. It’s true but I say it comes under the category of Character Study and Psychological analysis of a fictional character.
Alpha Bravo Charlie is a military miniseries filled with patriotism, right? Wrong, It’s a coming-of-age drama that explores the careers and relationships of three friends as they enter adulthood.
Apocalypse Now has the social setting of the Vietnam War when in fact it’s a psychological analysis and descent of a man in his job.
The trailer of American Sniper led me to believe it was a war movie but it was a Biopic.
She’s the Man is literally the Shakespearean adaptation in a high school setting.
A Bollywood example of this would be ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’ which is a partial adaptation of Ramayana in a familial setting.
The Godfather has a mafia setting but the theme of the movie has more to do with the leadership crisis and succession planning in a patriarchal structure.
Now let me give you a few examples where the social setting is the genre:
Inglorious Bastards, The Great Escape, and Guns of Navarone are good examples of war movies. The social setting does define a genre in these cases because it plays an integral part in the character development and story structure. What about Die Hard, it’s a hostage/action movie and that is exactly what it is. Similarly, Searchers, Unforgiven and Shane are Westerns without a doubt.
A good thumb rule to figure this out is that you cannot take the characters and story out and put them in another setting to achieve similar results.
Together, let us embrace the intricate complexity and artistic beauty of storytelling, forever driven to uncover the hidden layers of narrative depth that lie beneath its surface.
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