Screenwriters Taxonomy

In the broadest sense, Williams contends that all narrative fiction films can be broken down into two types: Comedy or Drama.  The difference between these types is simply based on whether or not the film is more serious (drama) or humorous (comedy). There are ten different brands of drama, and a dozen brands of comedy.[10]

Williams argues that there are only eleven true genres, which he calls “Super Genres”. [11]  Super genres are defined by three elements (each consisting of specific components):

• Character (consisting of the types of central characters, those characters’ goals, and stock characters that support the story)
• Story (consisting of central themes, the rhythm of how the story is told and the classic tent pole scenes that the audience expects)
• Atmosphere (consisting of locations, costumes, props and visceral experiences for the audience)

According to Williams, the eleven super genres are:

1. Action
2. Crime
3. Fantasy
4. Horror
5. Life
6. Romance        
7. Science Fiction
8. Sports
9. Thriller
10. War
11. Western

The super genre “Life” is further divided into

• Day in the Life (where the main character's daily struggles are the central conflict in the story)
• Slice of Life (stories focused on how community copes with every day issues).[6]

While there are a limited number of super genres, there are at least fifty macro genres.  A macro genre contains interchangeable elements that pair with super genres to create a more detailed story.  By pairing a macro genre with a super genre, more specific expectations emerge within a story.  For example, “Time Travel” is a macro genre.  It can be paired with a variety of super genres to create a time travel fantasy story, or a time travel romance.  Multiple macro genres can be used for a single story. The fifty macro genres identified by Williams are (although he contends that there are probably more):[12]

An example of how the “mystery” macro genre would pair with each super genre:

• The Usual Suspects is a crime mystery        
• Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a fantasy mystery
• The Blair Witch Project is a horror mystery
• The Hangover is a slice of life mystery
• Vertigo is a romance mystery
• Minority Report is a science fiction mystery
• Eight Men Out is a sports mystery
• The Silence of the Lambs is a thriller mystery
• The Manchurian Candidate is a war mystery
• The Hateful Eight is a western mystery

Macro genres can be paired randomly with any given super genre.  Micro genres work differently.  Each micro genre is particular to a given macro genre – providing even more specificity and nuance to the story, characters and atmosphere. Therefore, each macro genre has its own set of possible micro genres.  For example, the “biography” macro genre has at least six possible micro genres:[13]

1. Biography of the rich and/or famous (The Social Network or Malcolm X)
2. Biography of an entertainer or athlete (Ray or Cinderella Man)
3. Biography of a politician (The King's Speech)
4. Biography of an unknown person doing something remarkable (Schindler's List)
5. Biography of a group or organization (Remember the Titans)
6. Biography of a newsworthy or historical event (Apollo 13 or The Imitation Game)

The micro genres for each macro are as follows:

“Voice” does not address the genre traits of story, characters and atmosphere.[14]  Instead, voice concentrates on how the story is told.  A traditional Hollywood story is told:

1. as a linear narrative
2. made using modern filmmaking techniques
3. written for a broad audience
4. with live-action, human characters
5. that speak their dialogue
6. as oblivious participants in the screenwriter's story.[15]

According to the Screenwriters Taxonomy, within this definition of how a Hollywood story is told, six questions can influence the screenwriter's voice:

1. Will the story be told linearly, or will there be an alternative voice that uses:

• Flashbacks (e.g.: Slumdog Millionaire)
• Intercut time periods (e.g.: The Hours)
• Parallel realities (e.g.: Atonement)
• Repetition (e.g.: Groundhog Day)
• Time travel (e.g.: 12 Monkeys)
• Reverse chronology (e.g.: Memento)

2. Should the filmmaker expect to use modern filmmaking techniques, or will there be an alternative voice such as using:

• Black and white film (e.g.: Raging Bull)
• Silent film techniques (e.g.: Gravity)
• Longer takes (e.g.: Gerry)
• Few camera moves (e.g.: The New World)

3. Is the story being written for a broad audience, or will there be an alternative audience addressed with this voice, for example:

• Adult audience (e.g.: 9 ½ Weeks)
• Child audience (e.g.: Clifford the Big Red Dog)
• LGBTQ audience (e.g.: Blue is the Warmest Colour)
• Minority audience (e.g.: Barber Shop)
• Female audience (e.g.: Little Women)
• Religious audience (e.g.: Killing Jesus)

4. Will the story be presented with live action, human actors or will there be an alternative voice that uses techniques such as:

• Stop Motion Animation (e.g.: Fantastic Mr. Fox)
• Live Action Puppets (e.g.: The Muppet Movie)
• 2D or 3D Animation (e.g.: Big Hero 6)

5. Will the characters speak their dialogue, or will there be a different approach to communicating, for instance:

• Musicals (e.g.: Hamilton)
• Silence (e.g.: The Artist)
• Voice Over (e.g.: Goodfellas)

6. Are the fictional characters oblivious that a film is being made, or will there be an alternative technique in play, for example:

• Breaking the fourth wall (e.g.: Fight Club)
• Mock-u-mentary approach (e.g.: Borat)
• Internal Monologues (e.g.: A Clockwork Orange)

Pathways describe the trajectory of how the audience will move through the story.  Regardless of genre, each story sends their protagonist(s) along a specific trajectory (or pathway).   The pathway becomes a subconscious roadmap for the audience – a tool to guide them through the story. There are twenty different pathways, including the traditional pathway with which American audiences are most familiar. The traditional pathway has five elements:

1. A single protagonist goes through a change.
2. The audience and protagonist generally learn information at the same time.
3. The protagonist follows the Hero's Journey.
4. The central pay-off for the audience is the protagonist battling an antagonist character.
5. In the end, our hero is victorious and is rewarded.

These five elements take an audience through a film in a familiar way. As an example, in the 1991 Academy Award Winning film Silence of the Lambs, the audience joins Clarice Starling on her metamorphosis from fledgling to experienced FBI agent.[16]  They go through the story with her. What she learns, they learn.  She starts in the world of law enforcement, makes her way into the world of the criminally insane, and eventually returns, victorious, to her home at the FBI. The visceral pay-off for the audience comes from her mental battle with Dr. Lecter and Buffalo Bill.  In the end, Agent Starling is rewarded for the battle that she waged.

In addition to the traditional pathway, there are nineteen others:

These nineteen pathways diverge from the traditional pathway in one of seven ways:[17]

From the outset of any story, the screenwriter must decide how much information the audience will have.  Point of View (POV) as a decision tree with three central questions.

1. Will the storyteller limit what the audience can see, or will storyteller allow them to be omniscient?
2. Will the story be told from a primary or secondary character's perspective?
3. Is this story being told objectively, or is there a subjective element to the events?

By finding the answers that best help to tell their story, screenwriters determine a POV for their screenplay.[18]  The Screenwriters Taxonomy boils the answers to these questions down into the five most common POVs:

As with the Linnaean taxonomy, Williams claims that each “narrative Hollywood film” utilizes each category: type, super genre, macro genre, micro genre, voice, pathway, and point of view.  Each category further defines the film and allows for more specific discussion, analysis and/or creative decision making.

An example of eight films and their categorization according to the Screenwriters Taxonomy:[21]