So, the last time I did a Breaking Genre post, I looked at Star Wars and considered whether it fit more as a Science Fiction or Fantasy series. This one won’t be as easy, in no small part because Halloween movies and Christmas movies aren’t quite genres? I mean, they are, but they aren’t. You wouldn’t say that A Christmas Carol is the same type of story as Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, but they’re both “Christmas movies”. And that’s not to mention the huge gulf between Halloweentown and John Carpenter’s Halloween. What makes something a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie has almost more to do with the setting than most other genres, save historical fiction.
Just to recap, here are the categories I use to help define genre:
Who? — Characters and character archetypes. This is both generic stuff like “The Hero” and “The Mentor”, as well as more genre specific stuff, like “The Evil AI” and “The Hard-boiled Detective”.
What? — Plot. This covers the structure of the story itself, but also what other stories or ideas that the plot is based on.
Where? — Setting, or the place and time where the plot happens. Keep an eye on this one, it’s going to be a bit more tricky this time.
Why? — Themes or messages. It asks both why the plot happens, as well as why the story is being told.
How? — This covers some of the more technical aspects of the film-making process, but also the tone of the movie itself. How you tell a story is almost as important as why.
To help, I’ll be bringing in examples of both genres to help compare and decide, ranging from the traditional Universal Monster movies, to the classic Rankin-Bass specials. The film actually runs the gamut on that front, which is part of the reason it’s so hard to classify.
So, would you like to see something strange?
12/24/2016
5 Adaptations of A Christmas Carol You Should Check Out This Season
valeriemclean1919 A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, Christmas, Disney, Henry Winkler, Patrick Stewart, Star Trek, The Muppets About Film, About Writing 0 Comments
(Another month, another hiatus, I know. But I wanted something out by Christmas, so here it is. I’ll get back on schedule soon, I promise!!)
A Christmas Carol more or less invented the modern idea of Christmas, at least in the English-speaking world. I’m not making this up– after the Jacobians were deposed during the English Civil War, the Puritans took over England, and the Puritans hated Christmas. Between its Pagan roots and associations with the Catholic church, it wasn’t exactly the most popular holiday. It was the American writer and essayist Washington Irving who kicked off the Christmas revival by detailing the Christmas traditions of rural England, as they hadn’t really had Christmas in any of the major metropolitan areas. A Christmas Carol took these new ideas and traditions, and brought a Puritan main character to understanding why these traditions and why Christmas can be a force for good.
It’s also one of the most adapted Christmas stories of all time– either tied with or just edging out It’s A Wonderful Life. Everyone from Jim Carry to George C. Scott to Barbie have played variations of Ebenezer Scrooge to… varying effects. Here are some that are worth looking at.
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