Contributor's Corner: Favorite Film Genre

During the dawn of Viddy Well, we asked each interested contributor to fill out the same questionnaire. The questions spanned from grave to goofy, but the replies were nearly always unexpected. This week we'll take a look at the following question: 

What is your favorite film genre, and what makes it resonate with you?

Brenda Torres: 

Sci-Fi. Whether it involves aliens, post-apocalyptic worlds, natural disasters, robots, you name it, I love it all. There's something incredibly humbling about sci-fi movies to me. The idea that we may not be alone out there, and if that's the case, whatever is out there can obliterate us, or the idea that our planet can fall apart and we all die as a result kind of keeps you grounded. Is that depressing? Well, at least I see it positively, haha.

Anthony Cleveland: 

Favorite genre?! Romantic period dramas, of course. No, I'm fucking with you. Horror all the way. It's like punk music; it can be cheap and anyone can do it. Like punk, it's also embedded in societal fears and angsts. At times, it can be a great genre to shake people up from their foundations.

Alex Swartzentruber: 

I have no idea; that's tough to answer. The best movies for me are the ones that are cerebral AF, but can also make me laugh. Two most important things in a person and in a work of art: can we mindfuck and can you make me laugh? 

Blake Haughton:

I think Sci-Fi/Fantasy are the genres that resonate with me. I enjoy the constant feeling of adventure and being in a new world. Also, these types of films always tend to be focused on characters completing some grand quest. There’s almost always a universal pull towards characters and their motivations, so as long as the writers spent more than ten minutes on the plot, it’s usually at least passable.

Jake Bottiglieri: 

Crime and/or western. Walter Hill has this great quote about how westerns are fun because they operate on a moral plane where the normal modes of social alleviation to problems don’t exist. If you’re in one of these films, you can’t call the police when things go wrong. You need to take up the gun yourself. Something about this has always captured my attention and admiration. Crime is similar. The characters in The Friends of Eddie Coyle or John Wick do not solve their problems the way I do or would. That’s why I’m watching a movie about them. This moral landscape cements the reality that’s worthy of a cinematic portrayal. It’s different enough to warrant taking 2hrs out of your day, but still human enough to relate to.

Dave Mcdermand: 

I like experimental or avant-garde films, like El Topo, because of how they break these universally decided rules of storytelling, which show you that these rules can be bent and broken if it feels right. I also like that they take risks. 

Aaron Haughton: 

I think I fall more in line with the arthouse genre, in a general sense. Whether it's a horror, drama, noir, comedy, you name it, if it has an arthouse aspect, I'll probably be enticed. I like it when films take risks and try something new, when they go all in on the art side of things. When it's done right, it can be really good, but if it's done poorly, it can come off pretentious or masturbatory. 

What do you think? What's your favorite film genre? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and, as always, remember to viddy well!