Genre Typecasting

Genre Typecasting - A Short Movie, by Mitali and Sonia

Sonia: (picks up a pen and notebook) So, Mitali, which actors usually appear in our chosen genre?

Mitali: Well, looking at IMDb's website, it seems that most actors known for starring in psychological thrillers are white, middle aged men.

Sonia: (raising an eyebrow) However, you do have to take into consideration the age they were when they starred in the movie.

Mitali: (defensively) I know! I looked at the two movies Memento and Insomnia and the main characters seem to be 30 years plus.

Sonia: So why do you think this is?

Mitali: Because of the target audience?

Sonia: Ah yes, because older characters are stereotypically wiser and therefore make the movie seem more "intellectual". Psychological thrillers play with the audience's mind and so they need actors who can intellectually challenge them, and this becomes especially effective if the main character(s) are of a similar age to the target audience, which, for us, is 20 to 40 years old. This allows the audience to relate more to them, as this helps to play with the audience's mind as the similarities make the movie more realistic.

Mitali: (enthusiastically) YES, SONIA! But how will this help us in our casting for our film opening?

Sonia: Well, this certainly tells us what age the actors we cast should be.

Mitali: But what about ethnicity and gender?

Sonia: (looking baffled) Erm...

Mitali: To be honest, I think that the reason white males are usually cast as main characters is due to the inequality between genders and ethnicities in the film industry...but that'll lead to a whole new discussion...