Seduction and Genre

Abstract

Clearly definable genres are considered a phenomenon of functioning film studio systems. Initially, the differentiation of film genres played a role in the early phase of the Hollywood studio system: films were made according to certain patterns, with certain stars and at the same locations. This approach satisfied the growing demand of the silent film audience and optimized the shooting process in economic terms. In this sense, the early genres partly arose from logistical necessity, not only in the USA, but worldwide and especially also in the cinema of the Weimar era (Hickethier in Felix (ed.) 2002, p. 63 ff.; Grant 2003, p. XV–XVI). Genre films are “confectionery cinema”, as Rudolf Arnheim writes (Arnheim 1975, p. 327): films that the audience desires, that are meant to seduce and satisfy them; films that use proven patterns and reproduce them with slight variations. Genre films, in this logic, help the audience to escape from a dreary reality into the dream sphere of the screen.