Jarmusch and Genres
Film genres help viewers form expectations for what it is they are watching. A genre is always made known to the viewer when they are watching the trailer for a film. This helps market the film to a certain demographic that is most likely to pay money to see this film. That is why a film must neatly fit into a given genre in order to be profitable to a mass audience. The word genre conjures the word generic, and that is just what most movies are. Some romantic comedies are better written than others, but the viewer still knows what to expect when they are told a movie is a romantic comedy. Fitting a movie into a genre helps the viewer feel safe in knowing what to expect. But what happens when a director does not make a film that fits cleanly into a given genre? This typically scares an audience and keeps them out of theatres; that is why most films that play with genre conventions are typically independent films. The work of Jim Jarmusch never fits neatly into a genre, and that is what makes his fans love him and makes others wary of his work. It is also why the typical multiplex would never, or rarely, play one of his films.
Stranger than Paradise is best described as a drama with bits of comedy packaged into a road movie. The bulk of the story involves a road trip to Cleveland and then to Florida. This helps put it into the road movie category. The film would most likely be put into the drama category at a video store but there are many elements of comedy in it, and anyone who enjoys a good comedy would enjoy this film. However it moves to slowly to be considered a comedy. Comedies almost need to take place like action movies, the jokes and gags need to fly at the viewer like bullets would.
Down by Law is at heart a comedy, but it once again doesn’t neatly fit into that category. First of all it is a black comedy which pushes it towards the drama section in a video store. Second of all there are quite a few serious moments in the film and it is another quiet and slow moving film. This takes it further away from the comedy genre as mentioned earlier. It is not a crime mystery because there are crimes that take place, but the viewer doesn’t witness the trials. The crimes are there to get the central characters together so they can escape. The escape and flight from justice give some moments of suspense but these are broken by comedy. So I would place this film into the comedy genre, even though this may not be the most mainstream category to put it in.
Mystery Train fits more into the drama category in my opinion, though it too has elements of comedy. It does not have as many comedy elements as it could have if Jarmusch had wanted it to be this way. The film focuses on character development and the everyday lives of its characters. Jarmusch captures small moments in these people’s lives and shows how they interact. These moments are not necessarily the most dramatic or funny times in these people’s lives. But they are the events that happened at these particular moments. The film is once again to slow and thoughtful to be considered a comedy.
Dead Man fits most neatly into the western genre. Western’s grew out of drama so obviously that is there as well. However Jarmusch could not make a conventional western. The film gets its plot moving around the fact that the main character needs a job. He is not a loner or a cowboy like a typical western “hero”. The film does however lead into the hero’s interactions with a Native American character. Native American’s are of course a big part of westerns, but usually they are caricatures of their true selves which is not the case here. This film fits most neatly into a genre of the four mentioned but it does not fit as neatly as a multiplex would think it should. Jarmusch shows his technique and mastery of filmmaking by playing with genres and forming his own new ones.
Stranger than Paradise is best described as a drama with bits of comedy packaged into a road movie. The bulk of the story involves a road trip to Cleveland and then to Florida. This helps put it into the road movie category. The film would most likely be put into the drama category at a video store but there are many elements of comedy in it, and anyone who enjoys a good comedy would enjoy this film. However it moves to slowly to be considered a comedy. Comedies almost need to take place like action movies, the jokes and gags need to fly at the viewer like bullets would.
Down by Law is at heart a comedy, but it once again doesn’t neatly fit into that category. First of all it is a black comedy which pushes it towards the drama section in a video store. Second of all there are quite a few serious moments in the film and it is another quiet and slow moving film. This takes it further away from the comedy genre as mentioned earlier. It is not a crime mystery because there are crimes that take place, but the viewer doesn’t witness the trials. The crimes are there to get the central characters together so they can escape. The escape and flight from justice give some moments of suspense but these are broken by comedy. So I would place this film into the comedy genre, even though this may not be the most mainstream category to put it in.
Mystery Train fits more into the drama category in my opinion, though it too has elements of comedy. It does not have as many comedy elements as it could have if Jarmusch had wanted it to be this way. The film focuses on character development and the everyday lives of its characters. Jarmusch captures small moments in these people’s lives and shows how they interact. These moments are not necessarily the most dramatic or funny times in these people’s lives. But they are the events that happened at these particular moments. The film is once again to slow and thoughtful to be considered a comedy.
Dead Man fits most neatly into the western genre. Western’s grew out of drama so obviously that is there as well. However Jarmusch could not make a conventional western. The film gets its plot moving around the fact that the main character needs a job. He is not a loner or a cowboy like a typical western “hero”. The film does however lead into the hero’s interactions with a Native American character. Native American’s are of course a big part of westerns, but usually they are caricatures of their true selves which is not the case here. This film fits most neatly into a genre of the four mentioned but it does not fit as neatly as a multiplex would think it should. Jarmusch shows his technique and mastery of filmmaking by playing with genres and forming his own new ones.
posted by TAH at 9:56 PM
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