Genre theory

A film poster with no obvious genre.

We were given 20 minutes to make a film poster that didn't convey a genre. When making mine I decided to find a portrait of someone that did not look like he would suit a particular genre. I found this picture of an old man and his expression of either amazement or confusion means that we don't know what could be causing his expression. I gave the film a title of simply 'no' so that it did not give away anything about what the film could be. I put a green line under the image, above the text so that there is a simple divide. I chose green because it's a simple colour that I thought could be fairly neutral. 

We were given 2 statements about genre and had to choose one and argue it's case. 

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"Genre is an endlessly flexible tool for artists and audiences to understand and define films. It allows filmmakers to connect with the audience most likely to enjoy their work."

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"Genre is a barrier to creativity, and a straight-jacket to prevent experimentation. It is the enemy of interesting."

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In a world where genre doesn't exist it is very difficult to find out whether a film is to your taste or not without a general theme or term. It does mean that you could be more curious to go to see the films when you don't know much about them. Although here in a world with genre we may avoid films that we may really enjoy just because of the genre. Looking at the 2 statements, I found it difficult to choose one. I do agree that genre can be a barrier to creativity considering that filmmakers may not be able to go with the choices they want because they have to stick within the expectations of a genre. I do believe that most filmmakers may not stick within these expectations if they are creative enough to do what they want with their film. I do think that many companies and filmmakers can use genres to help promote and gain a large audience using iconography. I think if I have to choose between the quotes I'd have to go with the first one because genre can be incredible useful to ensure you attract the audience you are intending.