Genre Study

Comedy:
Comedies are intended to incite laughter within their audiences, typically using everyday situations for plot but with greatly exaggerated aspects. These films usually take the seemingly normal situation they portray and use it as a means of communicating the filmmaker's observations about it. Comedies, as per their meaning in ancient Greek theatre, tend to have happy endings with exceptions coming in more cynical and sardonic works. As aforementioned, the plots of comedies vary enormously, and as such may include a wide multitude of characters, settings, and aesthetic looks--a multitude as wide as that found in real life. The more notable subgenres of comedy include slapstick comedy, verbal comedy, screwball comedy, and black or dark comedy.

Horror:
Horror films are designed to frighten their audiences, preying upon peoples' innermost fears: of the unknown, the forbidden, the disturbing... the evil. More often than not, these are heavily reliant on manipulation of the most instinctual and deeply-ingrained fear of all--the fear of death--gaining wide audiences by granting accessibility to such a thrill without actually posing any danger. Such films typically introduce a clear division between protagonist/s and antagonist/s, with the latter often depicted as a predator of the former and with the former infinitely more relatable than the latter (so as to create a what-if scenario in the minds of the audience). As with comedies, horror films can take place in any setting and with any characters that could collectively pose some potential semblance of danger--meaning essentially that any scenario is open to be depicted in a horror film. Unlike most other genres of film, horror films always wield tricks of lighting (or create a lack thereof) to magnify the sense of the unknown. Some of the most popular subgenres of horror are the creature feature (including aliens!), the slasher film, the ghost story, and, to an extent, the thriller.

Science Fiction:
Science fiction, not just in cinema but in literature as well, are created to evoke a sense of awe, specifically in wonder at the limitlessness of the human imagination. It would not be much of a stretch to say that 90% of sci-fi movies take place in the future, a setting with which the filmmaker is free to do as he or she pleases. Even those that don't usually are placed in alternate versions of the past or present. Should the film be set on a dystopian Earth, with flying cars, robot servants, and tyrannical rulers in charge of dictatorships thinly veiled as perfect utopias? Or should those robot servants have somehow achieved sentience, and rebelled against their oppressors, creating a post-apocalyptic planet? Or... does the setting even have to be on Earth? Why not create the same scenario on a distant planet in a galaxy far, far away, or on a stellar vessel lost in the endless space that is the last frontier? Such are the questions posed by the creators of science fiction films. They operate with unrestrained speculation, which they use to mold a film that details their perceptions, criticizes and comments on society, or simply entertains. As stated, most science fiction works take place in the future, and even those that don't (remember, Star Wars takes place "long, long ago") use decidedly futuristic aesthetics such as implausibly advanced or massive machines and striking light effects.