Stars Even the actors who star in genre movies
factor into how the genre is classified, analyzed,
and received by audiences. In the 1930s and 1940s,
actors worked under restrictive long-term studio
contracts. With the studios choosing their roles,
actors were more likely to be “typecast” and identi-
fied with a particular genre that suited their studio-
imposed persona. Thus, John Wayne is forever
identified with the Western, Edward G. Robinson
with gangster films, and Boris Karloff with horror.
These days, most actors avoid limiting themselves
to a single genre, but several contemporary actors
have become stars by associating themselves almost
exclusively with action films. Arnold Schwarzeneg-
ger, Chuck Norris, Steven Seagal, and others have
benefited from the genre’s preference for physical
presence and macho persona over acting ability.
That’s not to say that no genre stars can act. In
fact, an actor who has become identified with one
genre will often receive extra attention and acco-
lades for performing outside of it. For example,
Bill Murray became a star while acting in screw-
ball comedies, but his subtle performances in the
dramas Lost in Translation(2003; director: Sofia
Coppola) and Broken Flowers(2005; director: Jim
Jarmusch) made him an actor worthy of movie
critics’ praise.
Compiling an authoritative list of narrative genres
and their specific conventions is nearly impossible,
especially within the confines of an introductory
textbook. There are simply too many genres, too
much cinematic variety and flexibility, and too little
academic consensus to nail every (or any) genre
down definitively. That said, the next section offers
a closer look at six major American genres to help
you begin to develop a deeper understanding of
how genre functions.
Six Major American Genres
Gangster
The gangster genre is deeply rooted in the concept
of the American dream, which states that anyone,
regardless of how humble his origins, can succeed.
For much of its history, America’s wealth and polit-
ical power have been primarily wielded by succes-
sive generations of a white, Anglo-Saxon, highly
educated, and Protestant ruling class. American
heroes like Daniel Boone, leaders like Andrew Jack-
son and Abraham Lincoln, and popular novelists
like Horatio Alger, Jr., challenged this tradition of
power by birthright; their example gave rise to the
notion that anyone with intelligence and spunk can
rise to great riches or power through hard work
and bold action. The nation’s expanding population
of working-class American immigrants were eager
to embrace this rags-to-riches mythology.
By the turn of the twentieth century, pulp-fiction
accounts of the American West had already estab-
lished the hero as an outsider who lives by his wits
and is willing to break the rules in order to achieve
his goals. Two historical events provided the remain-
ing ingredients needed to turn these working-class
notions into what we know now as the gangster
genre. First, the Eighteenth Amendment to the
Constitution—passed in 1919—banned the manufac-
ture, sale, and transport of alcohol. This ill-advised
law empowered organized crime, which expanded
to capitalize on the newfound market for the sud-
denly forbidden beverages. Many of the criminal
entrepreneurs who exploited this opportunity were
Irish, Italian, and Jewish immigrants. What’s
more, Prohibition legitimized unlawful behavior by
making outlaws out of common citizens thirsty for
a beer after quitting time. As a result, common
people—many of them immigrants themselves—
began to identify with the bootleggers and racket-
eers, and to see them as active protagonists who
take chances, risk the consequences, and get
results—all surefire elements of successful cinema
heroes. The stock market crash in 1929 and the
resulting economic depression further cemented
the public’s distrust of authority (i.e., banks and fi -
nanciers) and the allure of the gangster.
In this specific cultural context, American audi-
ences began to question the authority of discredited
institutions such as banks, government, and law
enforcement, which fed their fascination with the
outlaws who bucked those systems that had failed
the rest of society. As the Depression deepened, the
need for vivid, escapist entertainment increased.
Hollywood was the ideal conduit for this emerging
zeitgeist; the result was the gangster film.90 CHAPTER 3TYPES OF MOVIES