Response to Thomas Schatz

I agree with David’s analysis of the article. The beginning of the “Film Genre and the Genre Film” left me a little lost. It was difficult to grasp what the distinctions between film genre and genre film were, especially due to the fact that both titles utilize the same words and were easily jumbled in my head. Regardless, I found it interesting how Schatz addressed the versatility of genre itself. I found the explanation of ‘determinate’ and ‘indeterminate’ genres especially intriguing. According to Schatz, “Determinate genres [are] entered by an individual or collective hero, at the outset, who acts upon it, and finally leaves” (698). Meanwhile, “Genres of indeterminate space generally involve a double (and thus dynamic) hero in the guise of a romantic couple who inhabit a ‘civilized’ setting, as in the musical, screwball comedy, and social melodrama” (698). I think analyzing the genre within these two separate categories can reveal plenty about understanding the structure of a film. I never considered that conflict is just as persistent in indeterminate films as well as determinant; though its weight is shielded by a “civilized, ideological stable milieu” which helps to construct the narrative. Thus, as the conflicts of westerns and detective film are determined by the volatile environment, the same is influence by normalized society within films of indeterminate genres. I hope to keep this analytical viewpoint in mind next time I view a film like The sound of Music or Oklahoma.