REDIRECTED: Introducing New Genres

Soap Opera

The database could define the Soap Opera this way:

Soap Operas are defined by IMDb primarily, but not exclusively, as daytime serial melodramas that run more than once a week. Exceptions will be made for certain weekly, prime-time shows, but only if they are identical to the typical daytime serial in style and content. TV series only.

It's important to emphasize that weekly, prime-time shows are the exceptions to the rule. That way IMDb can still include series such as Dallas and Dynasty, while excluding shows that no one considers to be soap operas but would still fit a weak definition. Any looser definition of the genre would have people submitting the label to St. Elsewhere, Hill Street Blues, The Sopranos, etc.

1756 titles have the keyword soap-opera (though not all of them should).


...Justin

Erotica

The Erotica/Softcore genre needs to be introduced primarily because there is a huge number of titles on the IMDb that are currently unclassifiable going by existing genres. These are the types of films I am referring to:

* early 60's nudie cuties
* sexploitation films
* nude model features from the likes of Playboy, Fiona Cooper, Electric Blue, etc
* most films by auteurs like Russ Meyer, Jesus Franco, Jean Rollin, Andy Sidaris, etc

Furthermore, there are a number of films that can only be classified under Softcore/Erotica. The softcore nude model videos being a prime example (unsurprisingly most of these have no genre tag at all at the minute). Currently the IMDb classifies some of the Playboy model profile titles under Documentary, the new genre will allow this ridiculous situation to end. While there are some films such as The Immoral Mr Teas that are currently tagged with Comedy, it does have to be said that in films such as this the comedy element is easily secondary to the erotic content. The film is primarily designed to titillate. Although I think it is important that the genre should be able to co-exist with other genres when appropriate, e.g. Vampyros Lesbos is Erotica/Horror, for example.

We can rule out the use of the Adult tag as this is quite rightly reserved for hardcore pornography. The introduction of this new genre would also help prevent non-hardcore erotic films being incorrectly tagged with the Adult genre.

Definition : A non-hardcore film whose primary purpose is to titillate. This cannot co-exist with the Adult genre except in cases where there is a hardcore alternate version. Subjective.

Link to previous thread on this subject - http://www.imdb.com/board/bd0000042/nest/128941653

I have already compiled a 500+ list of films suitable for the new tag. It was a tough job but someone had to do it.

Aww just like Sister Ray said...

Thanks a lot buddy. Appreciated.

Aww just like Sister Ray said...

I'll second that excellent suggestion, but I can see a potential problem. A small one, admittedly, and maybe not even one worthy of much consideration, but I'll throw it out there anyway: Some of the movies in question do have some hardcore material, which the "softcore" part of it would seem to exclude. Jess Franco's FEMALE VAMPIRE, for example, would certainly fall under the category, and it was originally a softcore film, but even its softcore version featured at least a scene or two of hardcore fellatio. There are a lot of movies like this, and tons of movies (from the '70s in particular) that were simultaneously shot with both hardcore and softcore variants, which could prove a headache when it comes to classification.

---
"The Dig"
http://cinemarchaeologist.blogspot.com/

You know what mate? That very example had occured to me after I posted the above suggestion. You are quite right to point it out. I too have seen Female Vampire but only in it's softcore version. I think the solution would be that in the cases of alternate versions such as this it would be allowable to add both Erotica and Adult. Common-sense should prevail. Thanks for taking the time to point this out.

Aww just like Sister Ray said...

I too have seen Female Vampire but only in it's softcore version.

The hardcore material in question isn't part of any alternate version. The R1 DVD release of the softcore version is incomplete--Image took out those few hardcore parts I mentioned. They're in the actual film, though. My concern with solving this by also adding "Adult" is the same problem as arose with the MPAA and the X rating--"Adult" misrepresents the overall film, the fleshly explorations of which are overwhelmingly softcore. To make it worse, there's also--as with so many other films--an actual alternate hardcore version of the film. And FEMALE VAMPIRE is far from the only example of both such situations (Laura Gemser's EMANUELLE movies, to name another, all--or nearly all--featured two simultaneously-filmed versions of certain sex scenes, one hard and one soft).

I don't know. I think this problem is quite a bit bigger than hair-splitting, but quite a bit smaller than epic scale. There probably isn't any simple solution. There definitely needs to be a genre of the sort you suggest, though.

---
"The Dig"
http://cinemarchaeologist.blogspot.com/

I think that the answer to this question is simply to make a judgement call on such films, i.e. it's either Adult or it's Erotica (I do think it's essential that these genres are mutually-exclusive). I did mention that Erotica is a subjective genre and this situation is an example why, i.e. does one fellatio scene in a film made up otherwise of softcore fumblings make it an Adult movie? I think you do have to judge these situations on their individual merits. It is a problem that in the main will be limited to 70's era productions where 'proper films' had hardcore scenes - since the video age, examples of this are few and far between.

Aww just like Sister Ray said...