Schatz and Genre

In his article on genre Schatz discusses how genre actually has little to do with setting, but much more to do with characters and how they embody certain cultural types. He uses the example of "The Hardy Girls" to show that setting does not make a Western, but instead the idea of a hero coming in to either save or ruin a place and eventually leaving, makes a Western. Further reflecting upon these points, he explains that the reason genre films are so popular and abundant, despite the fact that they follow linear, predictable plots, is because they speak to timeless conflicts that can not be as casually "solved" as they are in these films. Schatz touches upon how we as an audience enjoy exploring these conflicts that are either present in our own lives or completely foreign to us. However, I think the popularity of the genre film runs deeper than this. As audiences we do not simply enjoy the genre film because we get to explore a cultural sector's problems and attitudes, we enjoy the genre film because we get to see a cultural sector's problems and oppossing attitudes solved and resolved, and we, more often than not, get to see people live happily ever after. Movies have always been an escape, and in exploring timeless problems we all can relate to on some level or another, what is more escapist than the classic happily ever after ending of the genre film?