Focused Topic-Revised

I am defining a film genre that I call “boys’ school.”  These are films in which the narrative and cinematic action is centered on boys at single-sex educational institutions, wherein the primary characters and the primary relationships are all male.  As an only girl between two brothers, and having grown up in a community where all-male spaces are clearly defined, I have long been interested in the all-male experience; in this way, the boys’ school film is an antidote to my female innocence.  Beginning with Boys Town [1938] and culminating most recently with History Boys [2006], the boys’ school has been represented in film as a space in which conflict and camaraderie grow among the men and boys, as do systems of surveillance and discipline, at the hand of a penetrating, all-male gaze (there is a noticeable absence of female characters in these films).  These are the prominent propellants of the films’ narrative and emotional engagement with audiences.  Certain secondary commonalities exist among some of the films (i.e. Catholic, religious instruction, or the presence of an eccentric or “cool” teacher figure who relates to the students) and bolster genre resemblances among the films.

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As of yet, there has been no previous formal grouping of these films, and I intend to characterize some sort of category for them.  The issue of genre is heavily debated, from its definition to its merit, but what remains is that people have a natural tendency to classify and to organize.  Film scholar Daniel Chandler provides a solid survey of genre theory in a chapter entitled “An Introduction to Genre Theory,” explaining the types of groupings and the motivations for them.   Chandler sets out various film theorists’ approaches to genre, and explains the importance of genre analysis, which is basically contextualization.  In turn, this allows for a broader understanding of whatever the material is.

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I will assess whether what constitutes this genre is intrinsic or extrinsic.  In other words, is this a genre defined by setting, subject matter, plot, or emotion?  Or is it a grouping delineated for critical purposes?  My tendency is towards a fluid definition of genre, and towards a synthesis of internal and external markers for boys’ school films.  I believe that the physical setting (though not relegated to a geographical or historical place) of the boys’ school film— its hallways, classrooms, and grounds— creates specific opportunities for interactions, activities, and relationships unique to this environment, particularly intense moments of fighting and of friendship.  I also maintain that there are certain common elements among the plots of these films that elicit certain emotions from audiences (i.e. the absence of females; some kind of punitive abuse, whether physical or psychological, that draws forth pity, anger, and frustration).  Ultimately though, I am outlining this genre for a critical purpose: through studying the filmic representations of these all-male institutions, I want to bring attention to the construction of male relationships in society and how certain patterns of behavior are perpetuated and portrayed.

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Beyond investigating genre theory, I will watch the films which seem to fit this proposed genre (watching as many films as possible, that may or may not be exact fits will help inform my genre criteria).  I will compare the employed narrative and filmic devices which emotionally engage viewers.  Other relevant literature that I will examine includes film critiques, theory pieces, and philosophical works on these specific films; on the all-male gaze operating in the films; on the emotional impact of film in general; and on relevant pedagogic and disciplinary traditions.  Though I am embarking on this research with a Foucauldian slant (with an eye towards issues of surveillance and discipline as brought forth in Discipline & Punish and issues of boys’ amorous relationships as explored in the History of Sexuality, specifically the “Boys” chapter in Volume III), I am not sure if that will continue to inform my specific genre study.

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Through this examination of boys’ school films, I would like to bring forth both a personal and a public understanding of the gendered space that is a boys’ school.  While the genre study will help group together a family of similarly set films, it will also help contextualize the individual works within larger issues of male-male interactions— both positive (supportive) relationships and negative (punitive) ones.  The basic question to be answered is: how do certain features of these environments (as shown to us in narrative films) perpetuate certain patterns of male behavior?  I hope that we will gain a broader understanding of these patterns in a way that provides some sort of corrective— if not in behavior, then at least in thought— to negative patterns.