Time Loop games or plots, where the player or characters have to learn some kind of valuable lesson or reach an epiphany or solve a problem to break out of a comical-but-also-terrifying time loop, are often categorized as their own genre. To me, this is because the plot device of the time loop is so intrinsic to the story, its reception for the viewer, and the delivery of the themes that it is indivoraceable from the story so much so that it is forced to become its own ~thing~ .
That said, the variability in time loops makes them immensely different from one another, to the point where the genrefication of the time loop mechanic seems more hindering than helpful. In one of the more famous depictions of the time loop mechanic/dilema, the movie “Groundhog Day” tells the quasi-agonizing tale of Bill Murray, a Pennsylvanian weatherman, who, after being trapped in a time loop by unknown circumstances, must learn how to not be an asshole, and also get the girl! Wahoo! After learning French, killing himself and Punxsutawney Phil, going on a few successful dates, and committing a few robberies, Murray eventually successfully isn’t terrible to women and other people and breaks the loop.
So what genre is this movie? It could be a rom-com, with all the will they finally get together nonsense that doesn’t pay off that much. It could also be a straight up comedy, that just has stark moments of dark metaphysical content and sadness? But it does just boil down to being a movie about time loops.
Disimmialrly, the video game “12 Minutes”, which centers around a man reliving the same 12 minute scene and time loop where he tries to solve the crime his wife was accused of and learn their shared past, while centrally dealing with a time loop as a mechanic, does not feel hung up on its usage as being its main message. It’s a mystery, it’s arguably a family drama (?) and it has a lot to say about agency and memory and morality, while still having a time loop mechanic.
Does this mean Groundhog day is simply not as strong a piece of media? Or is it about how time loops, while a viable plot device, are not important enough to render every piece of media that utilizes them in the same genre? To me it seems similar to shows/games that revolve around “one big heist”. These movies, which are often called just plain old heist movies, still get placed often into action genres, rather than heist films as a genre, which are just thought of as a common plot aspect of the movie.
How does genre help or hinder viewers in their selection of new media to consume? Are time loops important enough in the stories they are a part of to warrant their own genre?
One line from your post that really stuck with me after my first read was your discussion of whether time loop plots can fall within larger genres like comedy or romcoms. In my mind, time loops are specifically a horror-based genre; they can invoke a feeling of helplessness and loss of control among decision-makers (whether that be players in 12 minutes or Phil in Groundhog Day). That being said, I think that horror can have elements of dark comedy. Plus, the repeated experience of trauma can lead to character growth as seen between Phil and Rita. Therefore, I think that Groundhog Day is a psychological horror film, even if the tone of the piece may not seem as such.