An unfamiliar genre

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  • An unfamiliar genre

    In one of John Truby's articles, he stated that "myth" is a popular genre category. He defines it as to go on a journey, ultimately leading to oneself.

    I'm not familiar with the myth genre. Are you guys? If I use this in a query letter or discussion with Hollywood types, would they be familiar with this term?

  • #2
    Re: An unfamiliar genre

    I have never heard of the "myth genre", but when I said it outloud, Miss Piggy peeked from behind the wall at Starbucks and said "Yes?"

    - Bill
    Last edited by wcmartell; 11-02-2009, 08:18 PM.
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    • #3
      Re: An unfamiliar genre

      Never heard of it either. Seeing 'myth' and 'journey' so close together makes me wonder if he's talking about The Hero's Journey?

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      • #4
        Re: An unfamiliar genre

        He may be thinking of Fairy Tales. Sometimes in English teacher texts you'll run across lesson plans about teaching myth, which usually boils down to a fairy tale lesson. And example would be The Princess Bride, something with a clearly defined good and evil and a happy ending.

        I could also be talking out of my behind.
        Chicks Who Script podcast

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        • #5
          Re: An unfamiliar genre

          I've never seen a "Myth" sign above an aisle at Blockbuster... I don't think this is a real genre.

          Is there a "Myth" Channel? (Or would that be "Mith"?)

          (Sorry, Miss Piggy, wasn't talking about you. Is it cold outside? You cheeks are a little reddish...)

          - Bill
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          • #6
            Re: An unfamiliar genre

            Yeah, I think it's a made up genre-- a Truby-ism. It's his way of saying "mythic"... or Hero's Journey- like. He's the only one I've ever run across who calls Myth a genre.

            Most of the these guru-type guys make up some of their own terms or coin new names to call old things. They do it to set themselves apart. To make you think this isn't the old stuff everyone else it teaching, THIS is new & different.

            Part of the reason I could never get into McKee was b/c he used so much jargon I could never understand what the hell he was getting at. My head hurt trying to decifer it.

            Snyder even made up completely new genres with completely new criteria. He wrote an entire book about his new genre classifications.

            "Trust your stuff." -- Dave Righetti, Pitching Coach

            ( Formerly "stvnlra" )

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            • #7
              Re: An unfamiliar genre

              A nonse-word, most likely; don't take it too literally.
              Cufk, Tish, Sips.

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              • #8
                Re: An unfamiliar genre

                I think he's talking about the kinship of many (action) movies to classic myth and legend, the lone or outnumbered hero, the journey, the battle against evil or inequity or even the growth from adolescence to adulthood. All themes of anceint and modern myth

                Think about say a western, lone gun slinger against a bunch of black hats, thematically how is that different to the 300 spartens?
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                Last edited by Southern_land; 05-13-2011, 06:23 AM.
                I heard the starting gun


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                • #9
                  Re: An unfamiliar genre

                  Myth is not a genre any more than non-fiction, film noir or surrealism.

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                  • #10
                    Re: An unfamiliar genre

                    Hmmm... except Film Noir *is* a genre, since it come from "roman noir" - a genre of fiction that existed before the film genre. Noir (in fiction) has a specific story type, with specific types of characters not usually found in other genres. Goes back to the Woolrich "Black" series of novels, which spawned the Seire Noir publisher's imprint a few years later. Seire Noir was a brand long before the phrase "Film Noir" was coined. Woolrich, Cain and McCoy are the three "founding fathers" of Noir fiction - and their stuff was in print long before the first movie labeled "Film Noir" (all were writing "Noir" in the early 1930s).

                    The genre began with fiction - and fiction labeled "Noir".

                    Film academics who say otherwise ought to read a book. May I suggest POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE or one of the Woolrich "Black" series?

                    The thing is - if you were to tell any producer your script is in the "Myth" genre, they'd have no idea what you were talking about. If you said you were writing an action script or a western or a noir script - they'd know exactly what you were talking about.

                    - Bill
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                    • #11
                      Re: An unfamiliar genre

                      That's why I asked you guys; I don't want any unfamiliar terms in my query letters.

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                      • #12
                        Re: An unfamiliar genre

                        wcmartell's post delivers!
                        Cufk, Tish, Sips.

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                        • #13
                          Re: An unfamiliar genre

                          @WcMartell: Really appreciate the Cornell Woolrich ref. 'Rendezvous in Black' is my favorite of his novels, and it's being made into a film! Now I remember why I like your blog posts...thanks.

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                          BLACK

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                          • #14
                            Re: An unfamiliar genre

                            Originally posted by wcmartell View Post
                            Hmmm... except Film Noir *is* a genre
                            FILM Noir is not a genre. We're not talking about novels, here. If film noir was a genre, it should be able to stand on the merits of the FILMS themselves.

                            The closest film noir comes to being a genre is the fact that it is merely a highly-stylized depiction of genres that had existed previously, such as the thriller and gangster film (or crime drama, if you will).

                            What makes a film noir a film noir and not a crime drama or a thriller? Style.

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                            • #15
                              Re: An unfamiliar genre

                              Academics & film buffs have gone back & forth about the Film Noir issue for yrs, so saying that FN is a genre is a legitimate position.

                              Unlike calling "Myth" a genre, which is something only Truby does, as far as i know.

                              I would classify FN as a sub-genre of the Thriller.

                              I would classify Horror as a sub-genre of the Thriller too, but since most people put it in its own category, I do too, to save confusion.


                              "Trust your stuff." -- Dave Righetti, Pitching Coach

                              ( Formerly "stvnlra" )

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