Model of Genre Development

In Christian Metz's Language and Cinema (1974), explorations of the development of genre film are shown and we see his evidence and suggestions about the four phases of existence that genres go through.

The four stages are referred to as:

• 1- The Experimental Phase
• 2- The Classic Phase
• 3- The Parody Phase
• 4- The Deconstruction Phase

The first stage, the experimental phase, first originated through classic English Literature. For example Dracula written by Bram Stoker in 1897 was adapted in 1922 to become Nosferatu.  Another case of this is The Cabinet of Dr. Calgari (1920); these two films are classic examples of film born from the experimental phase as they were experimented with and then adapted into film. After the first World War people became interested in this type of film as they could experience danger                                             second-hand rather than being in harm's
                                                   way themselves.


In the phase that follows: the classic phase, films that               remain significant throughout history were produced. Strict conventions were followed throughout this era as they were what intrigued audiences and so the same type of film with only a few plot details changed were made. Frankenstein (1931) and Dracula (1931) are popular products from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Other popular films just like this were made as the public responded well to it and so Hollywood just kept writing and producing the same film over and over again to accumulate all the money that made Hollywood boom and become where and what it is today.

The parody phase originates from appreciation of the chosen genre it is based on but then is often converted to the comedy genre as it mocks the movie or movies it is based on. As this phase produces mockery comedies, it also shows people often not interested in the genre the parody is based on, little snippets of how the original movie(s) was. Two examples of a parody is Date Movie (2006) and Scary Movie (1998); Date Movie being based on the very popular horror film Scream (1996).

The last phase that genres pass through is the deconstruction phase. This involves the making of a mix of genres converted into one collaboration in a single film. An example of this phase is horror-thriller The Sixth Sense (1999).  This gives the two genres a new lease of life and allows new plotlines and enigmas to be constructed. A combination of different genres are very popular in today's cinema and prove to be very successful; for example another mix that is popular are rom-coms. These mixes take certain elements from their individual genres and blend them together, this also allows different audiences to experience genres that perhaps they wouldn't usually watch.