GENRE

A way of categorising compositions/ texts based on a certain criteria - a check-list of expectations and conventions.

"Are genres really 'out there' in the world, or are they merely constructs of analysts?" (Stam, 2000)

STEPHEN NEALE

Genre is... "repetition with and underlying pattern of variations."
- Mere repetition would not attract the audience

Genre is used...
i) to guarantee meaning s and pleasures for audiences
ii) to offset the considerable economic risks by providing cognitive collateral against innovation and difference

How is genre important?

- Organising huge amounts of texts that are available - set of expectations for the audience
- Creates a relationship between audience and producers
- A structural framework that can be adhered to or played with

JANET STAIGER - HOW TO IDENTIFY GENRE

Genre can be identified using the following methods:

Idealist: judging texts py predetermined standards
Empirical: comparing texts ot texts that are already assumed to be part of a certain genre
Social conventions: using an accepted cultural consensus
A priori: using common generic elements that are identified in advance

e.g. a priori applies most strongly to my work as I have taken conventions applied to crime thrillers, such as Layer Cake and The Usual Suspects

JANE FEUER - HOW GENRES ARE CREATED

"A genre is ultimately an abstract conception rather than something that exists empirically in the world." (Feuer, 1992)

Feuer's article, 'Genre study and Television' states that "genres are no organic in their conception - they are synthetic: artificial creations by intellectuals."

A retrospective way of categorising texts by identifying trends and patterns in media.

Established by creators repeating what is successful or by the expression of shared experiences (social factors)

e.g. flashbacks, shown by the black and white colouring, were successful when looking at Flight Plan adding to the convention of an uneasy atmosphere.

HOW GENRES EVOLVE

- Ensure they give the audience 'what they want'
- Refresh and ensure the audiences are not continually being part of the same experience
- 'Repetition and variation' - repeating what is successful but adding enough variation from preventing it seeming stale (done through creating hybrids)
- "...filmmakes working within a genre need to walk a line: expand, develop, elaborate of the specific genre umbrella." - Charley McLean paraphrasing Thomas Schatz

LIMITATIONS OF GENRE

- Very subjective
- Some texts are too sophisticated to fit into a specific category
- Seen as a tool rather than an absolute
- Constantly evolving so there is no such thing as 'typical'