Blog Introduction

Films can be divided into an array of genres. These genres of movies deal with race, class and gender, some more subtly than others. We will concentrate on four genres of film to discuss. Each of us has chosen one in specific to dissect. Romance, horror, comedy and action will be the focus of this blog. We will discuss the underlining importance of race, class, and gender in each.

The least obvious of the movie genres dealing with such issues would probably be action movies. We will look closely at four different action films and analyze the many aspects that deal with class, gender, and race. Hopefully this will help us to better understand the forms of media that surround us, rather than simply being passive consumers.

The focus of the romantic movie is to show how the media portrays love. Many romance movies show people who are about to get married and are planning their wedding. The way the director portrays the process of planning a wedding could influence actual relationships. Sexuality has an important role in romance movies. Many romantic movies exhibit high levels of sexual content. Also in terms of sexuality and love, the movie genre romance is becoming more liberal in the definition of relationships. In I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, Hollywood is beginning to depict non-traditional households as successful. The same is seen in The Next Best Thing, in which a straight women and gay man who are best friends raise a child together. In terms of gender, the media shows males as being passive and refusing to work on their relationship, while the women is the dominant person working for something more.

Comedies are movies that are intended to make you laugh. There are different types of comedies. Slap-stick focus on physical aspects of comedy, while more recently it has expanded to include silly actions and dialogue. An example of this would be Will Ferrell movies. Some other types of comedies are situational comedy and a mix of comedy with other genres, such as romance. In these forms, you see less slap-stick, but rather the dialogue is what makes the movie what it is. An example of this could be The Big Lebowski.

Horror films play on the many stereotypes of race, class and gender. Often, a large male figure is depicted as the monster. He chases after women who are helpless. People of lower class are first to die. The storyline depicts as them as not having the intelligence needed to escape even the most simple of villains. This is personified in the new Friday the 13th, when small town farmers and college girls are easy pray for Jason. Race plays an unfortunate stereotype in horror films as well. The audience has now learned that minority actors/actresses in horror films will rarely see the end of the story, as they will almost always be killed. However, films that are able to break this mold, or were filmed before this problem became prevalent, are classic horror movies that will forever remain popular.

This blog is dedicated to understanding, praising, and breaking down the problems that make up these four genres. Race, class and gender play important roles in the storylines of romantic, action, comedy and horror films. We will discuss these aspects and more in this blog.