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John Fraim
Genre: Category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter.
Of all the aspects of storytelling, the one I’m most interested in is story genres. Or, story types united by the symbols of form, style and subject matter. In effect, congregations of symbols pulled together by a particular type of story. This has great interest to me as I’ve been researching, writing and publishing about symbols for many years.
In the early days of modern screenwriting, there was just the three-act structure applied to all genres. There were great screenplays to learn from such as Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard (1950). Yet, the structure was never really put down into a simple structure that any would be screenwriter could understand.
The paradigm for structure for screenwriters in the 1980s appeared in the 1979 book by Syd Fields titled Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting. Although there were some scholarly papers on screenwriting at the time from places like USC and UCLA, the simplicity of writing screenplays was the true appeal of the Fields book. And, to tremendous success as it seemed that screenwriting was an art and craft obtainable even by hacks in Indianapolis or Kansas City.
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In the book, Field outlines the paradigm to which he says most successful screenplays adhere. In Field’s view, successful screenplays are made up of three distinct divisions. He calls these setup, confrontation, and resolution, and each of them appears in its own act within a screenplay.
- Act I contains the setup. It is approximately the first quarter of a screenplay, and reveals the main character, premise, and situation of the story.
- Act II contains the confrontation. It lasts for the next two quarters of the screenplay, and clearly defines the main goal of the protagonist.
- Act III contains the resolution. This is the final quarter of the screenplay. This answers the question as to whether or not the main character succeeded in his or her goal.
Between each of these acts, the paradigm states that there is a plot point – an event that spins the plot into a new direction, and transitions into a new act of the screenplay. Screenplay is noted as the first book to identify the three-act screenplay model. At the heart of Field’s explanation of how his screenplay model worked was the paradigm.
What could be easier to create an instant screenplay than this formula?
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Lots of water under the old storytelling bridge since Fields and screenwriting and storytelling today.
Perhaps one of the major changes in storytelling and modern screenwriting has been the movement away from Syd Fields’ “one structure fits all genres” to each genre has its own structure. Different obligatory scenes. Certain rhythm and feel to a story. In perhaps – as Marshall McLuhan said – the “unseen” environment (medium) of the story.
A key new direction in modern storytelling and screenwriting is to connect genre, structure, form, style and subject matter in an artistic symbiotic relationship. In effect, the old formula of Fields that one structure fits all is no longer the paradigm. Genre is expressed by its own structure. Story types have difference structures. While drama still possesses much of the charts in Syd Fields’ books, genres of stories have become the key aspect of storytelling.
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Many experts attempt to define the changing genres of stories today. Some in the storytelling business. Others in related fields like advertising or politics.
Yet it is not up to any expert to define story genre. Story genres today are defined by the expectations of an increasingly sophisticated media savvy audience. They know the type of story they want, and they expect storytellers to supply them with what they expect. These expectations continue to evolve like everything in culture.
It’s an important point to make. Once, audiences simply wanted/needed pure entertainment. The 20thcentury broke up desire for pure entertainment into forms, niches and genres. As a famous rock star once said, “500 channels and nothing on.” With all of this, there has come the expectation of the audience to watch a version on their favorite story type. Story genres develop their own fans almost like the fanzine phenomena years ago.
Content might matter less if the genre meets expectations. Conversely, great writing might not be able to rescue the poor version of the genre story.
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There are many ways to think about story genres today. Perhaps they are the major symbols of our times? Come together for a moment in time to tell a particular story? What could be a better purpose for symbols?
A congregation of symbols. as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter. Symbolism would call this drawing together through its law of correspondence. And the drawing together of the symbols of the genre at a particular point in time, another aspect of symbolism in synchronicity.
In effect, there is a particular congregation of symbols put together in a genre that the modern viewers desire. A story that doesn’t wander off the genre path. And introduce the audience to a new genre. The horror of this.
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The congregation of symbols at times. Representing needs of segments in culture for a genre/type of story. No need for a great writer. But rather a great type of writer.
Our genre divided culture, looking more and more like departments at a university, continues to make stories for their audience. The more they make, the greater expectations of their audience that they get more reinforcement in their story genre needs.
Maybe it is a type of person that captures the type of story of the time? Type and genre in alignment. Perhaps a force that pulls the genre symbols to it. By correspondence and synchronicity, as Jung might say.
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John is the author of Spirit Cather: The Art & Life of John Coltrane and Battle of Symbols: Global Dynamics of Advertising, Entertainment and Media. He’s a graduate of UCLA and Loyola Law School. He is the author of Hollywood Safari: The Dangerous Journey Through Screenwriting Theory (2025). The most comprehensive comparison of screenwriting theories yet created. Holding on publication and checking copyright. It might reveal too much to be published.