Very, very interesting. I was at a Pitchfest in L.A. in early August and of course one of the very first things they wanted to know was the genre.
Cuz, you're right, from a production p.o.v. and a viewer p.o.v. a specific genre will mean securing certain kind of audience. One of my problems is, I write across genres. So, to be honest to the producers, I had to say something like: 'a drama with elements of magical realism...'
I would see the brows pull together as they added that up, but it did put them in expectation of a certain kind of story and it worked. Folks that were interested leaned forward and those that were not leaned back, and I knew right away if I should save us both time and switch to a different pitch. Genre classification means a lot. Especially these days with tight production budgets.
So I understand the value of a clean definition when you can, and I think you also have a point about it becoming potentially dangerous, and I mean for children and young adults. To expect one venue and receive elements of horror intertwined...well, we all know the power of image and how it can seed and impress the mind.
But what do you do if the work honestly crosses genres?
One of the best writers quotes I like in the moment comes from Rowlings, and paraphrased, she says she writes first and foremost for herself. And of course that's why her tales work. She is satisfying her need to heal some element or 'fix' some aspect in the world that disturbs her personally. And because a lot of writers are writing in such a way, that is, from an idiosyncratic point of view, you're gonna find a plethora of mixed and crossed genres in all media.
I’m inserting laughter here, cuz I was submitting one of my books to a contest and the list of genres and sub-genres was impressive. And I’m like...'well, is it more, fantasy or sci fi or visionary fic?'
'Um...about 40% sci fi...ah 20% fantasy and leaves 40% visionary...oops I have a tie between sci fi and visionary.'
See what I mean? Just how do we class things anymore?
One thing is sure (for me) even a 10% element of Horror makes the whole thing Horror in my opinion.
Of course, in television they may be programming the 'wrong' genre to grab whatever built-in audience a certain program may have.
Very interesting. Thanks for detailing your thoughts so well. It was helpful to hear this from your perspective.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2010-09-13 02:19 pm (UTC)Cuz, you're right, from a production p.o.v. and a viewer p.o.v. a specific genre will mean securing certain kind of audience. One of my problems is, I write across genres. So, to be honest to the producers, I had to say something like: 'a drama with elements of magical realism...'
I would see the brows pull together as they added that up, but it did put them in expectation of a certain kind of story and it worked. Folks that were interested leaned forward and those that were not leaned back, and I knew right away if I should save us both time and switch to a different pitch. Genre classification means a lot. Especially these days with tight production budgets.
So I understand the value of a clean definition when you can, and I think you also have a point about it becoming potentially dangerous, and I mean for children and young adults. To expect one venue and receive elements of horror intertwined...well, we all know the power of image and how it can seed and impress the mind.
But what do you do if the work honestly crosses genres?
One of the best writers quotes I like in the moment comes from Rowlings, and paraphrased, she says she writes first and foremost for herself. And of course that's why her tales work. She is satisfying her need to heal some element or 'fix' some aspect in the world that disturbs her personally. And because a lot of writers are writing in such a way, that is, from an idiosyncratic point of view, you're gonna find a plethora of mixed and crossed genres in all media.
I’m inserting laughter here, cuz I was submitting one of my books to a contest and the list of genres and sub-genres was impressive. And I’m like...'well, is it more, fantasy or sci fi or visionary fic?'
'Um...about 40% sci fi...ah 20% fantasy and leaves 40% visionary...oops I have a tie between sci fi and visionary.'
See what I mean? Just how do we class things anymore?
One thing is sure (for me) even a 10% element of Horror makes the whole thing Horror in my opinion.
Of course, in television they may be programming the 'wrong' genre to grab whatever built-in audience a certain program may have.
Very interesting. Thanks for detailing your thoughts so well. It was helpful to hear this from your perspective.