Christian Metz Made Of Genre Development

We will be identifying films of Christian Metz in the Horror genre and use his development to recognise the horror genres existence and development

Did you know Universal studios have created early horror classics?

Horror Films:

• Frankenstine ( 1931 )


• Scary Movie ( 1999 )


• Scream ( 1996 )


• Nosperata ( 1922 )


• Blair With Project ( 1998 )


• The Sixth Sense ( 1999 )


• Dracula ( 1931 )


• The Cabinent of Dr Caliguri ( 1919 )


• Seven ( 1995 )


• carry On Screaming ( 1969 )

Christian Metz in his book language and cinema ( 1974 ) explored the development of genre films and suggested that genres pass through four phases of existence.

Did you know Christian Metz was a French film theorist, best known for pioneering the application of Ferdinand de Saussure's theories of semiology to film. During the 1970s, his work had a major impact on film theory in France, Britain, Latin America and the United States.

The four Phases are :

• The Experimental - Films such as Dr Caliguri and Nosferata


• The Classic - Films such as Dracula and Frankenstein


• The Parody - Movies such as Scary Movie, Carry On Screaming as well as Abbotand Costello Meet Frankenstein


• The Deconstruction - Films such as Seven and Sixth Sens
  

Explanation of these four phases.

1. Experimental - The phase of early films which explored and experimented with horror themes in it's narratives such as Nosferata.


2. Classic - We mean the phase of films which established the narravtive conventions of the horror genre in it's most successful and defining period such as Dracula.


3. Parody - by this we mean films that have mimicked the horror genre in some comical way just as Scvary movie have done.


4. Deconstruction - We mean which have taken the genetic elements of the horror genre and amalgamted them into varying sub genres.