What's in a Genre

Editorial

Last night I saw a new Australian film, Surviving Georgia. It’s a mostly independently-funded feature starring Pia Miranda, Holly Valance, Spencer McLaren, Caroline O’Connor and Shane Jacobson, and tells the story of two sisters, abandoned as teenagers by their carefree mother, and their return to the country town they grew up in to take over the milk bar their mother had won in a card game. It’s something of a joint effort between writer and co-director Sandra Scibberas, co-producer and co-director Kate Whitbread and co-producer and actor McLaren, and while it’s not going to set the world on fire, or reach the box office heights of Red Dog, it’s a testament to the tenacity and commitment of these three, and proof that a film doesn’t need a huge budget to work.

What concerns me though is that the film is described on its website as a ‘heart warming romantic comedy’, and at the Q&A after the film, Scibberas explained that she thinks it is, because it’s romantic, and it’s funny. And it certainly is both of those things at different times, but it’s also dramatic and moving. The trouble is, when most people think of Romantic Comedy as a genre, as Pip Mushin, the host of the Q&A, pointed out, they think of Hollywood Rom-Coms, with ‘Boy Meets Girl, Boy Loses Girl, Boy Runs To The Airport To Get Girl Back’. Sleepless in Seattle is the archetypal Rom-Com. And that kind of definition tends to dictate people’s expectations of a film.

For me, labelling Surviving Georgia a Romantic Comedy does it a disservice, because it is much more than that. Don’t get me started on the term ‘heart warming’ again though; I’ve had my say on that already. But in a market where such labels are required to sell a film not just to an audience, but to distributors, cinemas, investors and advertisers, they are a necessary evil.

What other options are there? Dramedy is a particularly loathsome term, but probably comes closest. It’s not a coming-of-age film, it’s not whimsical, or quirky, or off-beat. It’s not even mainstream or feel-good, and it’s definitely not a chick-flick. Essentially, it’s the story of a difficult mother-daughter relationship, with a couple of romantic subplots along for the ride. Like many Australian films, Surviving Georgia defies strict genre categorisations. And for me, it’s a better film for it.

So, I propose that we banish all genre labels. Away with you, Psychological Thriller! Begone, Sci-fi/Fantasy/Horror. I don’t want to see you again, Family Action Adventure. Gross-out Comedy, although you’re relatively new, your time is up. And Romantic Comedy, your Use-by Date has definitely expired. It’s time we started treating films – and audiences – more respectfully, and not sticking Easy-to-Define labels on everything. It’s time to embrace and celebrate ambiguity and the indefinable. Otherwise, we’ll end up with Self Aware/Occasionally Funny/Mostly Bleak/Autobiographocal/Existential Romantic Thrillers flooding the market. And we don’t want that…

Tim Hunter, Citysearch