Genre Typecasting

Genre is a way of categorising a particular media text according to its content and style. Films with the same genre have a comparable narrative and style. We can easily recognise the genre of a movie by seeing the iconic member of the cast who repeatedly works in this genre of film. This is recognised a star association and using actors who are well known for acting in this genre can increase revenue. The public will be willing to go and watch the film despite it being a repeated plot, as they believe it will be good due to the fact that a certain actor/actress is starring in it.

Vin diesel is a good example of this, as he is well known for his acting in fast and furious. He has a very deep voice and is very built making him looks very strong and dominant. The genre that is linked to him is action and so when we see an action film starring Vin Diesel, we automatically want to go and see it even if is a recurring plot because he is in it. This is very favourable for a type cast however it also comes with a disadvantage. Actors are so well known for acting in certain genres that they are unable to move out of it and work in films of dissimilar genres. We would be less excited to watch a comedy film with Vin Diesel starring in it because we associate Vin Diesel with the action genre.

A good example of this is Dwayne Johnsons role in Pain & Gain alongside Mark Wahlberg. We have seen Dwayne Johnson as a wrestler in WWE where he is known as the rock. He is very well built and strong who looks like he is fearless. His role in the movie Scorpion King justifies his physique as he plays the role of an assassin, Mathayus. His role here makes him look very strong and undefeatable, as he is there to kill people on command. His role in the movie pain no gain as Paul Doyle differs significantly from what we would normally expect. We normally see Dwayne Johnson as a very dominant and strong guy who is not scared to do anything. However, his role as Paul Doyle has a genuine innocence that shines through sometimes. Paul Doyle may be willing to do bad things to help his new friends, but he's pretty far from being a bad guy, as he has too much fear and that may simply be by virtue of how Johnson plays him.

From this research, we have learned what types of characters are used in action movies. This will help us choose what types of actors we could use in our own film opening to make our opening look like a professional action film opening. The two actors are shown together in the movies Fast and Furious 5 and 6, this tells us that Fast and Furious is an action movie