LITR 4533:
TRAGEDY

Genre Presentation 2000

Tanya Pedersen

CULT CLASSICS

"It’s a hop to the left, a step to the right, put your hands on

your hips and your knees in tight, and do the pelvic thrust."

"One, two, Freddie’s comin’ for you. Three, four better lock your

door. Five six, grab your crucifix. Seven, eight gonna stay up late.

Nine, ten, never sleep again…"

Definitions:

    • Cult An exclusive group of persons sharing an esoteric, usually artistic or intellectual interest. Literary terms: A Dictionary
    • Classic Adhering or conforming to established standards and principles. www.dictionary.com 
    • Cult Classic A film for television or movie screen that has stuck with its audience and grown in popularity over the years. These films usually contain elements of goth, horror, fantasy and/or dark comedy, but can cover any subject matter.

Related genres: gothic, horror films, black comedy, fantasy, sci-fi movies

Representational genre: film = narrator + dialogue

Narrative genre: any and all… comedy, tragedy, romance, satire

Highlights of example: Somewhat gothic and dark but contrasted by comedic song, dance and costume.

Additional examples of genre: see attached

Research sources: see definitions above, see attached, plus

http://horrorhilm.about.com/en…rtainment/horrodfilm/mbody.htm

Questions:

  1. What are some recent movies that you feel will become part of this genre in the future?
  2. Why do you fee that cult films have such a following?
  3. Since cult classics are defined by their audience, what elements do you feel makes a movie a cult classic?