So the NYT has another good article about another good Asian film festival, and they use the phrase “genre-bending” which raises my hackles. As always. Asian cinema–itself a sloppy distinction, as if all of Asia can be lumped together–is frequently referred to as “genre-bending” meaning they aren’t afraid to combine different “genre” elements into one narrative.
Really? This approach to storytelling is worth a label? Sadly, yes. Marketers too often treat audiences like sheep. Notice I didn’t use “children” because children have an innate sense of what makes a story good and don’t give a damn about what genre it falls under. A stew of horror, fantasy, romance, and mystery suits them just fine, provided it all works well together. Ideally all art is genre-bending; why confine one’s self to any particular genre, especially since we didn’t invent the labels (mystery, sci-fi, etc.) nor did we agree on their parameters.
Allow me to lump. Asian cinema is, on the whole, more creative and interesting than American cinema precisely because the writers/directors are not restricted by some arbitrary strict adherence to genre rules. Over there it’s called good film making. Here? Genre-bending.
Rant over. Here’s an excellent start for the curious:
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