Rethinking genre studies through distribution analysis: issues in international horror movie circuits Ramon Lobato (Swinburne University of Technology) Postdoctoral research fellow Swinburne Institute for Social Research Swinburne University of Technology Hawthorn VIC 3122
[email protected] Tel: +61 411 588456 Mark David Ryan (Queensland University of Technology) Research fellow Creative Industries Precinct Queensland University of Technology Musk Ave, Kelvin Grove QLD 4059
[email protected] Tel: +61 400 757968 May 2010 Draft only – not for citation 1 Rethinking genre studies through distribution analysis: issues in international horror movie circuits Abstract The existence of any film genre depends on the effective operation of distribution networks. Contingencies of distribution play an important role in determining the content of individual texts and the characteristics of film genres; they enable new genres to emerge at the same time as they impose limits on generic change. This article sets out an alternative way of doing genre studies, based on an analysis of distributive circuits rather than film texts or generic categories. Our objective is to provide a conceptual framework that can account for the multiple ways in which distribution networks leave their traces on film texts and audience expectations, with specific reference to international horror networks, and to offer some preliminary suggestions as to how distribution analysis can be integrated into existing genre studies methodologies. 2 Distribution, often considered a neutral technology of transmission linking production and exhibition, is a relatively unpopular topic of research in film studies. Far removed from the drama of the set and the glitz of the red carpet, distribution is imagined as a purely logistical space of transportation, warehousing, inventory, stocktaking, and market research.