Main genres of Hollywood films

Golden Fleece
This genre is named after the myth of Jason and the Argonauts and his quest for the golden fleece. In this genre the hero/protagonist goes "on the road" searching for something but along the journey tend to discover more than they originally thought, for example find "themselves". A few examples of these films would include The wizard of Oz and Star Wars produced many years ago, however more recent films could be The Hobbit: An unexpected journey released in December of 2012.

Rites of Passage 
Films in the genre of Rites of Passage follow the transitions in life that everybody goes through, such as puberty and mid-life crises, which usually poses a problem. This could be in the form of a relationship break-up or old age etc. The central protagonist must face this "unseen monster" throughout the film. The circumstances that the character is placed in tend to be relatable to the audience who will have gone through may of these positive or negative circumstances themselves. The rites of passage genre films tend to be comedies or dramas a lot of the time, for example Bridesmaids, Napoleon Dynamite, Moonrise Kingdom and The perks of being a Wallflower ( a more recent example made into a film from the classic book).

Out of the Bottle
This genre follows a main character who is experiencing unordinary occurrences and the film follows the character dealing with these happenings. These can be in the form of "magical" traits. An example would be a film that followed a similar structure to Cinderella, in the sense that the audience both expects and wants the main protagonist to find happiness, however, in the end the character must learn that this "magic" that they believed brought them happiness does not mean everything in life, and so most of the time, the film tends to finish with a moral message for the audience to take away with them. The audience will hopefully then take away with them the feeling that it is better to be like we are as people. Examples of films of the "out of the bottle" genre include Liar Liar and Yes Man (both starring Jim Carrey).

Monster In the House 
A 'monster in the house' type film plot consists of literally a 'monster' (something which the protagonists must escape from) and a 'house' (a confined area in which the whole story takes place). The characters are usually threatened in some way by the monster, meaning they have to kill it, or hide from it throughout the film. A 'sin' is also usually created, which provokes the monster in some way (for example, in Jurassic Park, the greed of the park owners led to the creation of the dinosaurs, which, by nature, are a danger to the human characters). There are many famous examples of this genre such as Alien, Jaws and The Exorcist, but more recent examples would be the Paranormal Activity films (the fourth recently released in October 2012), where the ghosts terrorise the families from within their own homes.

The Fool Triumphant
These types of films from this genre usually consist of main protagonist that is seen as an "Underdog" which other characters see as unequipped for life to be able to succeed and so doubt their journey in life. This doubt usually transfers to the audience who visually see this, however, throughout the film the character grows in their abilities and by the end of the film, triumph in their goals, despite the negativity that surrounded them. Famous example of these film types are Forest Gump (starring Tom Hanks) and School of Rock (starring Jack Black), two well known actors.

Buddy Love
Buddy Love films are typically centred around 2 characters and the problems they face together. These problems usually bring them closer together and they realise that they can't live as well without each other. This love can take many forms from love including pets, animals or even fantasy creatures such as Free Willy or Paul (March 2011), to romantic love such as the nation wide phenomenon the Twilight Saga (2008-2012 including 5 separate films).

Dude with a Problem
These type of films start off with an average man who finds himself in 'extraordinary circumstances', whether it be rescuing his wife from bad guys, or rescuing a huge group of people from a natural disaster. Most of the time, the main character has to overcome a personal issue to conquer the bad guys and triumphs over evil. Examples include things like Titanic, but more recent examples could be Taken (2008) and Taken 2 released in October 2012.

Superhero
This genre is the complete switch to the "Dude with a problem" genre. This is where the central protagonist is an extraordinary person in an ordinary world.  In this circumstance the character is usually misunderstood in some respect by other characters and can sometimes be an outcast from others, leading to sympathy from the audience. The character has to deal with those who are jealous of his abilities, and those who do not understand his mind or his point of view. The point of identification from the audience can usually only come from them sympathising for him for being misunderstood - the audience normally never fully understand the main character. The obvious films under this genre are the typical marvel heroes such as Batman and Spider man.

Institutionalised 
Films in the "institutionalised" genre nearly always consist of a group of characters and the story usually unfolds to either honour the institution or present the problems of being lost when being a part of it. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is a very famous institutionalised film and even films that you wouldn't normally think to put in this genre such as Disney's Pocahontas and Avatar.

Whydunit
The play on words for the title of this genre is quite self explanatory and basically means that the films within this genre, focus more on why a complex protagonist commits the evil doing rather than who actually did it and trying to figure this out. It is the total opposite of the character trying to discover themselves and more places the audiences in the role of detectives throughout the film and keep them thinking. Examples of these films include The Silence of the Lambs, Blade Runner and Seven.