TVSF ESSAY Revised

Deng 2

Rui Deng

Cal State LA

Dr. Farner

LBS 2666-01

3/9/2021

Film Reflection

Factors and Conventional Elements Used to Analyze Genre

Genre is a literary composition category, artistic and musical, characterized by specific form, content or style (Yashar et al. 207). In short, genre categorizes films. Classifying films makes it easier for viewers to discover what they want to see and what they like. Genre comprises of four elements which are setting, character, plot and the story, and when these elements vary, they create a different category of a movie (Yashar et al. 207). Movies can have genres that overlap, but one is always dominant than the other one. The role of identifying film genres is to help screenwriters and film audiences as it creates a tonal expectation. Additionally, genre help screenwriters with general organizational patterns that can help them arrange what they say and where they say it (Yashar et al. 207).

Factors, Elements and Expression Characterizing the Science Fiction Genre

Science fiction also called a literature of ideas, involves a wide diversification of futuristic concepts (Yashar et al. 207). They are typical, imaginative, scientific, comic strip-like visionary, expert film production design and advanced technology gadgets. Other than the setting and characters, all sci-fi genre are complex, explore larger themes and commentary, which are sometimes satirically, and contain nuanced details (Yashar et al. 207). Time travel, mind control, teleportation, space travel and exploration, a parallel universe and interplanetary warfare are the classic elements of the science fiction genre (Yashar et al. 207). In most cases, sci-fi movies show technology's ability to destroy humankind by Armageddon-like occurrences, earth imperiling disasters and wars between worlds (Yashar et al. 207).

A Trip to The Moon Genre

A Trip to The Moon is a short film directed by Georges Méliès and is regarded as the earliest example of the sci-fi film genre (Livingston 188). What makes this film genre so amazing is its capability to achieve almost every science fiction element in one story. This film is not just enjoyable; it also makes its audience reflect on the chances of spaceflight and dread what would happen if they would come across an alien life form. The film is considered a sci-fi film as it shows a group of scientists travelling to the moon where they are captured by aliens but manage to escape and find their way to back to earth (Livingston 188). This film takes you on an adventure which is a highly inaccurate one. Elements that make this movie qualify to be a sci-fi genre is the use of rockets fired up to the sky, the journey to the moon. The moon's portrayal shows that they indeed arrived in space; an encounter with aliens indicated interplanetary wars (Livingston 188). Generally, the entire film illustrated the use of technology as it is the means that the group of scientists used to travel to the moon.

Cognitive Estrangement by Suvin

According to Suvin, science is an approach to contemplating the reality that is its objectivity is not accounted for (Gray 75). Fiction is a manner of illustrating reality that presumes the subjectivity of experience. In every fiction film, there is a different approach to perceiving things and a different reality. Science fiction is two words that contradict each other since a thing cannot be science and, at the same time, be fiction. Suvin's idea of cognitive estrangement as the factual reporting of fictions has separated people from the usual premise of reality (Gray 75). Suvin emphasizes estrangement for two reasons; the first one is as a Marxist, he perceives science fiction as the literature of revolt and a genre of how thing can be done differently, and the second one is reinventing literary history in Marxist terms to identify how science fiction has been in existence for many centuries but it is known about it has been suppressed and neglected, and its materials are ideologically persecuted myths (Gray 75).

Visual Realism and Its Aspects

Visual realism is the extent to which people perceive an image as a photo instead of a computer-generated image (Krakauer 165). The main aspects of visual realism are realistic setting and characters, understandable details about daily encounters, a plausible plot that is a similar story than I can connect with a story I know from my setting or environment, real dialects in the area, character development as well as the importance of portraying social class.

Realism in Metropolis Film

Even though most films have advanced in technology, no film has surpassed Metropolis regarding its influence on production design (Krakauer 165). Its impact can be detected in numerous subsequent films such as Ridley Scott's Blade Runner. Lang's eye for impressive special effects and set pieces results in memorable images such as the notable skyscrapers that control Metropolis's skyline and when the robot acquires Maria's features (Krakauer 165).

Approaches Used in Metropolis Film

This film's ideology exposes the mechanics of capitalism, starting from the labouring masses at the low levels to the powerful elites at the top level (Krakauer 165). It is concerned with the wider political and cultural challenges that are depicted thematically and visually. The movies' social preoccupations have been identified as a commentary on the political setting that existed in Germany at the time (Krakauer 165). Additionally, it serves as a warning of where Germany was heading in the coming days.

Defining Factors and Conventional Elements of a Film Genre

Works Cited

Deldjoo, Yashar, et al. "Using visual features based on MPEG-7 and deep learning for movie recommendation." International journal of multimedia information retrieval 7.4 (2018): 207-219.

Gray, Martyn. "Domestication as Cognition, Foreignization as Estrangement?." Transletters. International Journal of Translation and Interpreting 3 (2020): 75-97.

Kracauer, Siegfried. "14. THE NEW REALISM." From Caligari to Hitler. Princeton University Press, 2019. 165-180.

Livingston, Cecilia. "A Trip to the Moon (An Opera for All Ages) by Andrew Norman." The Opera Quarterly 33.2 (2017): 188-202.