A comparative study of the characteristics and dimensions of the author's theory and the theory of genre films

This research is about studies of genre film and it more aims to identify and understand the concept of genre film, its dimensions, and especially the meaning of the word “genre film”. Many genre theory studies have used this word, although they didn’t give an exact and evident definition of genre film. The Focus of this article is on the definition of “genre film”. This study aims to answer these basic questions: 1. If we recognize the word “genre film” and its meaning in film studies, is there the “non-genre film”? 2. What distinguishing characteristics have non-genre films? When we want to answer these questions, we have to explain concept, term and practical aspects of the film genre. According to the contrast between ‘author theory’ and ‘film genre theory’, and besed on a comparative study of these theories, in this paper we are trying to distinguish and describe the dimensions and characteristics of genre film with descriptive-analytical method. Initially, a definition of authorship theory and film genre theory will be provided, and then, the above mentioned conflict, “genre film” would be explained. We can detect many films that don’t have these characteristics. These films can be called non-genre films. The results show that properties of non-genre films are the main points of the author’s theory. This means that if two theories are illustrated like two opposite points in a syntactic structure, many of recent genre films are between these two points. When a film is near to one of these points; it would be in the structure of that, and far from the structure of the other. Although there have been a connection between these theories, since the creation of French new wave to now, and can improve structure of each other. Connection between theses two theories has provided a bed for the emergence of some films wich have different characters of two theories. Many directors from commerical cinema have paid attention to critiques and aims of author theory and began to make films which were inspired by author theory. Cinema historians called these films and their directors ‘second generation of new wave’. These films show personality, solitary and individuality of artist (director) and simultaneously, stand in generic structures of genre theory. Although no genre film is completely without artist’s personality and authority and there isn’t any author film that doesn’t have any of the six properties of genre film. When a film closes to genre theory and its structures, it would have no properties of author theory. Six characters are detected for genre films: Repetitive nature, economic nature, social function, predictability, Extensive use of resources and intertextual references, the application of formal elements and symbolic iconography. Therefore, those films which don’t have any of these properties are non-genre films. In the result, most of the films that are highly oriented toward author, aren’t in the range of genre films and have their individuality.