Thomas Schatz is a leading genre theorist associated with a structuralist approach to film. He views film genres as mythic narratives within popular culture, shaped by recurring story structures, character types, and ideological oppositions. In his influential book Hollywood Genres, Schatz introduces a key distinction between genres of order (such as the western) and genres of integration (such as the melodrama).
He argues that genres function as symbolic responses to social tensions, offering cultural resolutions through familiar narrative forms. Schatz’s structural analysis reveals how genres reproduce and manage ideological conflicts—such as individual vs. community or nature vs. civilization.
His work emphasizes that genres are not only entertainment formulas but cultural systems of meaning. By examining westerns, gangster films, and musicals, Schatz shows how Hollywood cinema reinforces or challenges dominant values. His theory bridges narrative structure, cultural studies, and ideological critique, and remains a foundational influence in genre scholarship today.
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