FILM GENRES FINAL

Bildungsroman

A genre focusing on the psychological and moral growth of the main character from youth to adulthood.

Key traits of a Bildungsroman film

1. Focus on a young protagonist. 2. Emphasis on inner growth. 3. Formative experiences. 4. Conflict with society. 5. Ending with maturity.

Menippean Satire

A genre that critiques ideas, worldviews, or ideologies through humor, parody, and philosophical dialogue.

Key characteristics of Menippean Satire

1. Satire of Ideas. 2. Nonlinear Structure. 3. Philosophical and Comedic. 4. Mix of Genres and Voices. 5. Carnivalesque Tone.

Body Genre

A film genre focused on the physical body, exploring bodily transformations, destruction, and experiences.

Types of Body Genre films

1. Body Horror: graphic transformations. 2. Slasher Films: violence and injury. 3. Sexualized Body: focuses on sexual identity. 4. Zombie Films: decay and reanimation. 5. Physically Transformed Bodies: surreal transformations.

Themes of the Body Genre

1. Identity and the Body. 2. Mortality and Decay. 3. Bodily Autonomy and Violation. 4. Sensuality and Pleasure. 5. Physicality and Bodily Tension.

Three Thousand Years of Longing's engagement with Menippean Satire

Critiques rationality and desire through philosophical dialogue and a fragmented plot.

Carry-On (2024) in relation to Body Genre

Focuses on physicality and tension, bodily autonomy dilemmas, and the vulnerability of characters.

Dazed and Confused as a Bildungsroman

Explores the transition to adulthood through formative experiences and struggles between self and society.

What is Moretti’s argument about the genre?

argues that the Bildungsroman genre survives not because it resolves the tension between personal growth and societal expectations, but because it contains that contradiction. It offers a compromise, showing how individuals learn to live with the contradiction of self-identity versus societal pressure, making it central to modern culture.

What is Bakhtin's view on Dostoevsky's novels?

suggests that Dostoevsky’s novels are dialogic, meaning that they represent multiple worldviews through characters who speak for themselves. Instead of one truth dominating, the novels create a dialogue between different truths, making them fundamentally different from monologic works.