When people say that something is a deconstruction of its genre, what does that mean?
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So, every genre has certain assumptions or tropes. For example, in slasher movies there might be the assumption that sexually active teens will be among the killer’s first victims, and the virgin girl will survive to the end. These aren’t necessarily realistic assumptions, but we suspend our disbelief to enjoy the genre.
Now imagine that someone points out the strings keeping our disbelief suspended—that’s deconstruction. In Scream, Randy explains the rules of surviving a horror movie. In Galaxy Quest, Gwen questions what logical purpose a corridor of crushing pistons could serve on a starship. In Austin Powers, Scott constantly points out the flaws in Dr. Evil’s plans, like not killing Austin when he has a chance and instead just leaving him in a room with one inept guard.
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