Monster in the House- The basis for the Monster in the house genre is that a character, creature or object is thrust into an environment that it doesn't belong in, and its the protagonists job to either eliminate it, or avoid being eliminated by it. e.g.-Prometheus
Golden Fleece- The Golden fleece genre gets its name from Jason and the Argonauts, and this is basically what the genre is about, heroes who must embark on a quest. But what sets this genre is about is that, ironically, it isn't about the 'golden fleece', that is to say the end goal, but the film is mainly about the journey and how it changes the characters, not the prize. e.g.-The Hobbit
Out of the Bottle- There are two sides to the out of the bottle genre. These films are basically What If? scenarios, either a character is given everything they ever wanted and the crux of the film is seeing what the do with it, the other version of the genre is were instead a curse of some kind is placed on a character and they are stripped of something they hold dear, the rest of the film focusing on how they come to terms with it. e.g.-The invention of lying
Dude with a Problem- the basis of this genre is that an ordinary person, the 'dude' is faced with an extraordinary problem. The emphasis of this story is how large the parallel between the ordinary person and the extreme challenge thrust upon him is. The protagonists of these films are often extremely relatable and likable for the audience, as it is to an extent, an everyman story. e.g.-Night at the Museum
Rite of Passage- The hero is forced to go through a change in their life (often a very difficult one), with no option other than to dig deep and find a way to deal with it. The rite of passage is about how the hero will come to terms with the inevitable change in their life which everyone at some point in their life are forced to do, which again, makes the protagonists of this genre easily likable due to their reliability (as long as they don't take too long to accept the change in their life). e.g.-American Pie
Buddy Love- The crux of the Buddy Love movie is that we aren't given one protagonist, but two. The centre of the Buddy love film is the dynamic between the two 'buddies', how their characters bounce of one-another, then you throw the two (usually conflicting personalities) into a variety of interesting or humours situations and see how it plays out. This is why many Buddy Love films are often also 'Road Trip' movies, films that lack an overarching message and simply focus on the characters going through a series of strange encounters and situation throughout the film, the focus being on what the make of everything they come across and not what they find at the end, which is even better when you have two protagonists that who's personalities will bounce of, not only each other, but the unusual situations and characters they come across. e.g.-Dumb and Dumber
Whydunit- As the name implies, the Whydunit delves into what makes a person or a group of people do what they do (usually what they do being something detestable). Though, the questions and answers given in a whydunit aren't meant to be restricted to the characters presented , but are meant to make the audience ask the same questions about themselves. Ultimately, whydunits delve into the human soul and ask why we do some of the dark things we do. e.g.-Minority report
The Fool Triumphant- Essentially this is an underdog story. The focus of the fool triumphant is to see the 'fool', who is an outsider and seemingly inept in everything he does, overcome a larger institution and defy everyone's expectations. e.g.-Rocky
Institutionalized- the institutionalized genre focuses on a more often than not,shady group of people, an exclusive club of sorts, and the story is usually told from the perspective of an outsider who becomes accepted into the group, a new recruit who must learn the inner workings of the group he has joined. While the dynamic between the characters within the group or the groups politics are a central part of the genre, the most important part of this story is whether the outsider is right for the group or not, and if so how it changes them. e.g.-One flew over the cuckoo's nest
Superhero- Fairly self explanatory. The superhero genre is a story in which an extraordinary character must overcome the difficulties that come with living in an ordinary world ( the polar opposite to the dude with a problem story) . A common challenge with this genre is making the protagonist relatable, as they are elevated above everyone around them. This is often achieved by making them sympathetic due to how alienated the hero is to everyone around them. e.g.-Man of Steel
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