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Post up titles of films, TV, books, songs/albums that aren’t necessarily the best in class, but would be considered genre defining.
For example :
Sci-fi: Star Wars (might even have to categorise that more specifically)
Horror: Psycho
Britpop: Common People
Etc.
Particularly keen to hear from people with a particular passion for the genre, as I’ll check out the definitive title for some!
Prequels - Manhunter (Silence of the Lambs).
This is difficult as I never really think much about genres. But I'd say the definitive Britpop album would be Definitely Maybe and single Cigarettes and Alcohol although well down the list in my personal favourites which would probably be headed by The Bluetones' Expecting To Fly for album.
Music video - Flowered Up - Weekender
I would have thought Thriller was the genre defining video.Quote:
Originally Posted by HUTCHYHIBBY
Having said that, I'm not familiar with Flowered Up. I'll watch it on my TV later.
Mafia movies - The Godfather
Punk album - Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols
Not sure I can agree with this - one of the best mafia films ever made? Sure. Set the standard for all contemporary mafia movies? Fine.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hibbyradge
There's an entire library of exceptional mafia films that significantly pre-date the Godfather trilogy though.
How are you defining "genre defining" if not by your second point?Quote:
Originally Posted by Sylar
Actually a very good question, if a little academic in its nature.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hibbyradge
I'm thinking of the forerunners - without whom, later, more well recognised efforts simply wouldn't exist.
To me genre defining means something excellent which contains all the elements of the genre.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sylar
Something you'd look to if you wanted to understand what a film genre was about.
For example, there are thousands of war films, but I'd suggest that the comparitively recent Apocalypse Now was a candidate for that genre's defining title.
Anyway, unless you can offer a specific title to usurp it, The Godfather gets the nod. (G1 definitely, probably G2 but maybe not the third.)
I've also heard Weekender described as era defining.Quote:
Originally Posted by HUTCHYHIBBY
It's the era just before mine so I wouldn't really be able to comment but it's probably the era I most wanted to be part of and wasn't a million miles from mine so it was still reasonably familiar.
Even the bit at the start with the radio on...
I love it. Absolutely love it.
Funnily enough re Britpop - I'd say Pulp and Different Class have ended up being era defining. Or genre defining.
Fair enough, I'd accept that under your definition! I was thinking along the lines of films like The Public Enemy, or Angels with Dirty Faces, but I can see your point :agree:Quote:
Originally Posted by Hibbyradge
Getting really academic now :greengrin....Quote:
Originally Posted by Sylar
One could say "without the blues, no Stones", "without black soul, no Beatles"... "without gospel, neither" and......"without God, none of the above" :greengrin
I HATE the term "genre". It smacks of upyererse NME journalists from the 70's and 80's, many of whom went on to become upyererse "commentators" in the 21st Century. Not that I'm bitter......
Godfather is definitely genre defining for mafia movies (as The Sopranos is for the tv series).Quote:
Originally Posted by Hibbyradge
For me, genre defining is anything from best-in-class to first one of think of or most associated with, to groundbreaking.
Thriller is definitely a genre-defining video in terms of music videos as well (though there will be others that fit the bill as well).
Not a 'genre' as such but Jurassic Park set the standard for CGI when it came out as did Toy Story for animated films.
I can't profess to have seen every gangster movie which preceded the Godfather, the ones I have seen, like Angels with Dirty Faces, White Heat etc, weren't really about the Mafia. They were about crime or the individuals responsible for it.Quote:
Originally Posted by matty_f
Both the productions you highlight, aren't about crime. They're about relationships, honour, betrayal, Family and family, and power.
Coincidentally, I spent the weekend watching G1 and G2 with Mrs R because she'd never seen them before. They're still awesome. Apart from maybe being a bit slower than you'd expect nowadays, they've not really dated.
What's the name of that filming style which was popular in the 60s and 70s when it's more observational than character focused? In the group scenes in the Godfather, like the weddings and funerals, it's used perfectly.
I know. I know. I should start a Godfather thread.
Good subject Matty 👍
I would have thought the genre defining Punk record was London Calling, by The Clash.
I realise lots of punk rockers (like our very own Iggy) would have songs they prefer, but for the general public, that really defined the whole era.
Has to be Never Mind The Bollocks. London Calling was issued over 2 years later and for me, punk was over by then.Quote:
Originally Posted by Keith_M
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hiber-nation
Fair enough, I have no problem admitting that other people know punk a lot better than me.
:aok:
I'm not sure I think it was over, but it was changing and that was inevitable.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hiber-nation
You could argue that The Clash (1) was genre defining, you could certainly make a case for it, but even that was probably too eclectic.
Never Mind the Bollocks still gets my vote. Even the title tells you what you need to know.
Nevermind - Nirvana. IMO (and I realise that there would be queues the size of cities to argue otherwise) it's a 7/10 album but it captured the mood of a movement. The likes of Pixies, Mudhoney etc. were far better bands, but Nevermind is the one on all the posters.
Arctic Monkeys debut album, Tracey Emin's unmade bed (an artist who I admire, but that has defined the whole genre of what she does.
2020 is the first year since the early 2000's that I've not been to a music festival and although I've been six or seven times, Glastonbury is the defining festival in the UK and it's brilliant, but it's no longer the best. The last ten years have seen too few new acts coming through with the potential to headline a large festival and as the festival has grown, the possibility of someone like Foals or Elbow or someone like that to headline has diminished. Stormzy managed it without anyone else pulling out and that was a great show, the sort of thing that makes or breaks artists and festivals reputation, but it's becoming too reliant on the past to fulfil its future. Similarly, if you want to book a big act it's not uncommon for the demand to be "If you book this, this and this act we want to get more exposure and give them a spot on a big stage, then we'll listen" and you end up with an unbalanced line-up.
As Spotify changes the landscape of popular music (look at how long something like Mr. Brightside was in the streaming charts, over a decade after it was originally released) it becomes harder for good, talented new acts to become "huge". As such I genuinely think there is more of what makes a festival great - giving a big stage to lesser known acts, discovering new artists from new genres you'd not heard before and the like in the smaller festivals in the UK. For the larger scale acts something like Bearded Theory has a great depth in variety, and up here something like Doune the Rabbit Hole is fabulous. They're less reliant on pleasing record labels so the main stages generally have more thought put into them too.
Iron Man
There were plenty of superhero movies before this and some of those are arguably above Iron Man in terms of quality (The Dark Knight, Spiderman 2 for example) but the whole shared universe aspect of the Marvel movies, starting with Iron Man is something that has defined not just the superhero genre but has also influenced entertainment media as a whole with every other franchise from Harry Potter to Star Wars trying to emulate that format with spin-offs and interconnecting stories across multiple films / TV shows / Books etc.
Modern Scottish literature: Lanark by Alasdair Gray. Pretty much everything, good and bad, is in there one way or another.
Not sure exactly which Genre these films fall into exactly but The Green Mile and Shawshank Redemption would be categorised simply as Prison movies, but I think that does them a disservice they were also epic stories.
Run DMC by Run DMC (obviously) ushered in the era of 'new school' rap. I'd argue It Take a Million To Hold Us Back by Public Enemy surpassed it in quality a couple of years later. In the same vein The Chronic by Dr Dre for gangsta rap and the later G funk. It got rid of excessive drum machines and sampling and replaced it with studio recorded music.
Music Video - Duran Duran, Rio
Electronic Music - Violator by Depeche Mode
Olympic Games Opening Ceremonies - Los Angeles ‘84
80’s Brat Pack films - Breakfast Club
Horror Film - I Spit on Your Grave
Jinx busting sports teams - Hibs 2016
Western - The Good The Bad & The Ugly
Police Thriller - Dirty Harry
Buddy Cop - Lethal Weapon
Not necessarily the first in their genres but probably genre defining IMO.
Children's literature has to be Harry Potter for the last few generations at least.