Steve Neale's genre theory

 Steve Neale’s genre theory: 

What are conventions? 

Conventions are the common features of specific genres. 

For example, Romance films feature genre conventions such as kissing. 

• Steve Neale argues that film genre goes through a cycle and changes throughout its lifespan 
• The genre will change its signifiers in order to move to the next stage of the cycle 

His theoretical is:

Form finds itself- ground breaking films that begin a new genre e.g Slasher- psycho (Alfred Hitchcock 1960) 

Classic- associated with the genre by the major of audiences, adds essential elements (like codes and conventions) that become the norm in future films e.g slasher- Halloween (john carpenter 1978)

Pushes boundaries- stretches the classic by tweaking elements, sometimes by using the unexpected or by going even further with the current codes and conventions e.g slasher- nightmare on elm street)

Parody- focuses on the elements of the genre that are commonly repeated in films and mocks them in a humorous way (such as stereotypes or specific scenes or actions) e.g Slasher- Scary movie (Keenan Ivory Mayans 2000)

Homage- makes reference to other famous films from the genre as a mark of respect especially by using specific scene or situations or even sometimes by direct reference. e.g Slasher- Scream (Wes Craven 1996)

Steve Neale belies that genre is enjoyed by audiences because of either the repetition of elements familiar to the genre or because the director makes a change or difference to that repertoire of elements that makes it  seem unusual. 

(some of the information on this section is from my teachers powerpoint)