Best Genre?

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Trash Puppet
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Best Genre?

Post by Trash Puppet »

I know I know, every genre has it's own special qualities blah blah blah, but really, do they?
I personally love me some gory mo fucking horror. I don't know if I'm just being narrow minded, but horror seems to be the one genre that never gets tired or old, like there's literally no limit to the amount of ways people can die or be killed or scared shitless! I guess fantasy and sci-fi probably have the same qualities, but (please correct me if I'm wrong) they seem to be better suited to books than film.
Also, I've noticed that most people who like films, love horror...Is that a thing, or am I just subconsciously only talking to other people who like gore? 0_o

Dominoes1992
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Re: Best Genre?

Post by Dominoes1992 »

I'm of the opinion that there isn't any single "best genre". I have my favorites, but I would agree that some are more lenient in what you could do then others.

That being said, there isn't a limit to what can be done in a specific genre because there is a constant influx of new directors and writers trying to do something new or simply reinvigorate old styles with fresh takes ideas. Well, I'd like to think so.

I am partial to Spaghetti Westerns, Giallo horror, general Sci-fi, Film Noir and Hong Kong action. Actually, I like pretty much everything, but those in particular I am very fond of.

Yup.

Trash Puppet
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Re: Best Genre?

Post by Trash Puppet »

That being said, there isn't a limit to what can be done in a specific genre because there is a constant influx of new directors and writers trying to do something new or simply reinvigorate old styles with fresh takes ideas. Well, I'd like to think so.

Romance. And possibly romcom. :|

Stewball
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Re: Best Genre?

Post by Stewball »

Drama, which can be put in any kind of setting, even horror (which has be done to death down to the core). Sorry, I know they must exist, but I just can't think of an example--only stupid horror or comedy horror.

nauru
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Re: Best Genre?

Post by nauru »

I like film and I really don't like horror. Probably my second least-favourite genre. The biggest problem I have with the genre is that the villain is 99% of the time totally lacking in reasonable motivation. In most cases I can't even suspend disbelief at all and I just don't care what happens to anybody as a result. The villains always seems to be some crazy dude or a monster with no feelings or rational reason for killing or some other undeveloped derivative of this. When somebody is stalking/killing people and has actually decent reasons for doing so (other than 'I'm taking revenge for being wronged when I was in high school and now I'm back from the dead and have super-powers') then I can enjoy the horror film and actually care what happens to people. But in my experience 99% of the films in the genre don't even attempt a motivation other than 'he's evil' or 'the devil possessed her' or 'it's a monster that likes to eat humans for no particular reason, and wild animals are apparently not sufficient nourishment'.

Least favourite would be western.

All the other genres are excellent in their own way.

I have a personal preference for adventure, history, science fiction, fantasy, musical, and animated versions of all these -- mainly because these are the genres that tend to make the fullest use of the sensory stimulation capabilities of film as a medium (in addition to compelling plot and characters). If I am going to see a film at the cinema it is almost always from one of these genres. Others usually don't really require a huge screen and booming sound system to be fully appreciated due to less ambitious cinematography, sound, art direction, costumes, sets and visual effects so I just wait for them to be available to watch at home.

Yes there are exceptions to this, but generally this has been my experience. Also the genres I mentioned seem to be rarer than, say, dramas which are a dime a dozen and seem to be the cheapest movies to make. So i appreciate it more when a well-made sci-fi or fantasy etc is released.

Zozan
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Re: Best Genre?

Post by Zozan »

I don’t like horror, no. Probably my least favorite genre along with Musical.
I also stay away from Western and War these days as I sort of got fed up with this settings.

Some genres, like Western.. I don’t even get why we a genre named “Western” and don’t have a genre named “Samurai”.
Or how come Musical or Animation happens to be a genre, right?
Or “short” :shock:
Very weird categorization.

mwgerb
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Re: Best Genre?

Post by mwgerb »

I don't think there's any way you can claim there's a best genre, but you can certainly have your favorite.

I personally love sci-fi. It has such an ability to build new worlds, and so it's capable of more escapism, but it also has the ability to look at humanity in ways that other genres can't, because it can explore the past and future and how we would react to extraordinary events. Also, I'm sure the fact that I'm so familiar with its tropes helps my enjoyment factor quite a bit.

"For me science fiction is a way of thinking, a way of logic that bypasses a lot of nonsense. It allows people to look directly at important subjects." - Gene Roddenberry

"There's no real objection to escapism, in the right places. We all want to escape occasionally. But science fiction is often very far from escapism, in fact you might say that science fiction is escape into reality. It's a fiction which does concern itself with real issues: the origin of man; our future. In fact I can't think of any form of literature which is more concerned with real issues, reality." - Arthur C Clarke

"Science fiction stories are extraordinary voyages into any of the infinite supply of conceivable futures." - Isaac Asimov

TheDenizen
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Re: Best Genre?

Post by TheDenizen »

dom wrote:I am partial to Spaghetti Westerns, Giallo horror, general Sci-fi, Film Noir and Hong Kong action. Actually, I like pretty much everything, but those in particular I am very fond of.

Throw in some insane Japanese action/horror movies and you've nailed my faves to a tee. Our TCI should be closer.

Zozan wrote:Some genres, like Western.. I don’t even get why we a genre named “Western” and don’t have a genre named “Samurai”.

There is, just not in English. In Japan, action oriented samurai films are referred to as Chanbara, and more dramatic films set during the historical era when samurai were prevalent (usually Edo period) are called Jidaigeki.

My top 3 films of all time are a Jidaigeki, a dystopian sci-fi, and a western....so I guess those are the best for me. Of course I have a special love for all things Kung Fu.

I mostly hate musicals and comedies....especially rom-coms and the vast majority of Will Ferrell and Adam Sandler films. And obviously, I cannot abide "chick flicks".

3dRevelation
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Re: Best Genre?

Post by 3dRevelation »

I am definitely partial to dramas. 58 of the 69 films in my 10th tier are considered dramas. Of course there are other genres sprinkled in to those dramas like Sci-fi (in Inception, Donnie Darko, The Fountain for instance), or Horror (in Misery and The Shining), and then there are the crime dramas. I find that in dramas there is generally a high potential for some very good performances.

As far as my dislikes go I'm not very high on horror (especially the modern day, mainstream horror that seems to be just recycled garbage ridden with cliches) and I am extremely selective of the comedies I watch (I guess I have a unique comedic taste as I would rather watch Tommy Boy for the millionth time than watch say Judd Apatow's Funny People). I haven't seen enough Westerns (especially good ones) to say I don't like the genre, but I haven't had great experiences with the genre, so I generally don't seek them out.

Just1n
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Re: Best Genre?

Post by Just1n »

I watch most films but i narrow it down to what i wont watch and that is musicals and most comedy. I seem to go through an intense period of genre watching at a time. Like recently i went through a blaxploitation phase and watched about 8 films of that genre.

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