Blake Snyder’s 10 Genres

Analysis, Education, Storytelling

July 8, 2024
Miquiel Banks

Monster in the House

Requirements

Monster
House
Sin

Techniques

Half Man – This is a survivor who has run into the monster before – or has prior knowledge of the evil – and come away damaged because of it. From a practical screenwriting point of view, the Half Man allows us to reveal the myth of the monster – and give the hero a hint about what dealing with the monster entails. Many of these Half Man characters wind up dying at the “All is Lost” moment on page 75 and are the “flawed mentors” of each story, warning us by their deaths. . . about the horror that awaits.

Must See

1979 – Alien
1987 – Fatal Attraction
1996 – Scream
2002 – The Ring
2004 – Saw

Golden Fleece

Requirements

Road
Team
Prize

Techniques

Road Apple – That thing that kyboshes the plan just when victory is in sight.

Must See

1976 – The Bad News Bears
1987 – Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
1998 – Saving Private Ryan
2001 – Ocean’s Eleven
2004 – Maria Full of Grace

Out of the Bottle

Requirements

Wish
Spell
Lesson

Techniques

The Rules – So when we screenwriters come up with magic, we need to create a set of boundaries called The Rules.
Double Mumbo Jumbo – This is a menace and it happens when we pile one empowerment on top of another and makes the story fuzzy.
Confidant – An ally whom the hero can trust with his secret. There is a practical screenwriting reason for this: the hero has to tell someone – and US – what’s happening.

Must See

1976 – Freaky Friday
1985 – Cocoon
1996 – The Nutty Professor
2000 – What Women Want
2004 – Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Dude with a Problem

Requirements

Innocent Hero
Sudden Event
Life or Death Battle is at Stake

Must See

1975 – Three Days of the Condor
1988 – Die Hard
1991 – Sleeping with the Enemy
1998 – Deep Impact
2004 – Open Water

Rites of Passage

Requirements

Life Problem
Wrong Way (to attack the mysterious problem)
Solution that involves “acceptance” of a hard truth

Must See

1979 – 10
1979 – Kramer vs. Kramer
1980 – Ordinary People
2000 – 28 Days
2004 – Napoleon Dynamite

Buddy Love

Requirements

Incomplete Hero
Counterpart
Complication

Techniques

Two-Hander – If both characters change and grow, it’s called a Two-Hander, meaning that each of the buddies has a set-up and a pay-off.
Three-Hander – The Three-Hander includes leaving the wrong guy or gal for the right one, as in most Triangle movies (Sweet Home Alabama, Bridget Jones’s Diary, His Gal Friday).
Four-Hander – This dissects two couples.

Must See

1979 – The Black Stallion
1987 – Lethal Weapon
1989 – When Harry Met Sally
1997 – Titanic
2005 – Brokeback Mountain

Whydunit

Requirements

Detective – secret of the case is so strong it overwhelms the hero – we gots to know!
Dark Turn where detective breaks the rules, even his own – often ones he has relied on for years to keep him safe – the pull of the secret is too great

Techniques

Turning Over Cards – This movie is only concerned with turning over cards, those “reveals” writers use to explode like time-bombs all along the trail.
Case within a Case – At the end of the line, the trail doubles back on itself and onto those investigating the crime. This is why the set-up of many detective stories involves one case that seems to end and then has a reappearance as a new case with new players that brings the hero back to the initial escapade in a way we know will address the real problem. This whydunit feature is called the case within a case, and often reveals the theme. By returning to the first caper, and discovering what it means to the detective, we learn what the real story has been about all along.

Must See

1976 – All the President’s Men
1982 – Blade Runner
1996 – Fargo
2003 – Mystic River
2005 – Brick

Fool Triumphant

Requirements

Fool
Establishment
Transmutation – Fool becomes someone or something new. Fool has a “name change” that’s taken on as either by accident or as a disguise

Techniques

Insider – Matched against the Fool; this is the “jealous brother” who “gets it,” who knows the Fool has magic powers, sometimes ones that – in the beginning – threaten him. These are the “smart guys” who often pay for their insight by getting the karmic backlash from trying to compete with the fool.

Must See

1979 – Being There
1982 – Tootsie
1994 – Forrest Gump
2001 – Legally Blonde
2005 – The 40-Year-Old Virgin

Institutionalized

Requirements

group
choice

brando / naif vs. company man

sacrifice must be made

join the group

burn it down

commit “suicide”

Techniques

Brando – This character stands opposed to the system by his very nature. This character stands opposed to the system by his very nature and reveals its flaws.
Naif – may be the hero – eventually! The character the audience identifies with most because we know nothing of the rules
Company Man – An automaton entrenched in the system; usually suffers from dysfunction, sexual dysfunction, and/or insanity.