For this assignment, you will study the evolution of a genre, in the way that we have been studying
the horror film in class. Working with two thematically linked films in your genre from different
periods and outside research from at least three sources to help you identify the genres history,
myths, conventions, and iconography, you will develop a thesis about the genre and how it works
across time and in an ever-changing culture. Your paper should consider how genre creates meaning
in these two films and how this reflects a larger argument about the genres relation to the culture in
which it is produced.
This is, first and foremost, a paper about genre. Your films are illustrative examples of the genre
within a historical/cultural context that will help you understand how and why it has changed over
time. They will also help limit your focus, as not every generic myth, convention, or icon will be
relevant to your films and your thesis. You are not simply discussing your films similarities and
differences. Your argument and analysis must demonstrate a historical understanding of the genre
and how your films work within the genre. You should examine the generic myths, conventions, and
iconography at work in the films, as well as the ways in which the style (or formal elements)
influence how audiences understand and interpret these various generic elements. For example:
How is the convention of the zombie different in a classical versus a modernist horror? How is this
difference indicative of the broader changes in the genre between the two periods?
