Genre blog tasks

 Genre blog tasks

Task 1: Genre factsheets

Read Media Factsheet 03 - Genre: Categorising texts and answer the following questions:

1) What example is provided of why visual iconographies are so important?

Iconographies are enough to act alone, e.g. the mise en scene of deep space, usually indicates the genre of sci-fi. Sometimes, however, the iconographies work together to indicate the genre. Someone sitting behind a desk is not genre specific. However, add high key lighting, a modern mise en scene and a screen behind the character at the desk and the combination of media language choices creates an image we associate with a news broadcast.

2) What examples are provided of the importance of narrative in identifying genre?

For example, DVD sellers use categories to group their products to help purchasers locate what they want to buy. Many TV listings descriptions begin with an identification of the genre of the text. Grouping and categorising enables the audience to have a broad general idea as to what the content and style of a media text will be.

3) What is the difference between character representation in action movies and disaster movies?

In an action film, the protagonist is usually the one fighting the bad guys or saving the world on his own, outside the backing of a group. In contrast, the hero in a disaster film typically assumes the position of hero among a group of people. They collaborate as a team and each contributes to the resolving issues process.  

4) What are the different ways films can be categorised according to Bordwell? 

• Period or Country
• Director / Star
• Technical Process
• Style
• Series
• Audience

5) List three ways genre is used by audiences.

• They use their prior knowledge of the genre to anticipate whether or not they are likely to enjoy a text.  
• They are able to compare a text through its shared characteristics with another. 
• They also use their knowledge of genre to reject a text. 

6) List three ways genre is used by institutions or producers.

• Production
• Attracting an audience
• Marketing Texts

7) What film genre is used as an example of how genres evolve? What films and conventions are mentioned?

The genre used as an example is Gangster Genre. 

The two images below show how much the iconographies of the Gangster genre have altered over time.

Despite their differences, there are many similarities between conventional gangster films and the modern equivalents: the genre focuses on groups of criminals, often romanticising the gangster lifestyle and the texts within this genre are violent and deal with conflict between the police and the criminals. They also focus on conflicts within the gangster community such as rivalry between opposing gangs or internal power struggles. These themes are the same whether the text is Scarface, Reservoir Dogs or The Sopranos. Over time, the iconographies have changed so the genre has not become stale and uninteresting for the audience. but the basic conventions of the genre remain. New gangster films share codes with the traditional ones but create more modern approaches to the subject matter to stay up to date with modern audience’s interests and changes in culture.

Read Media Factsheet 126 - Superheroes: A Genre Case Study and answer the following questions:

1) List five films the factsheet discusses with regards to the Superhero genre.

• The X Men Franchise
• The Avengers (and its franchise)
• Spiderman
• Guardians of the Galaxy
• Agents of Shields

2) What examples are provided of how the Superhero genre has reflected the changing values, ideologies and world events of the last 70 years?

In the 1940s, Superman was shown needing to battle European bad-guys who threatened the peace and security of Metropolis. Even though he only wanted to live a quiet life, he was forced into conflict for the greater good. WW2 began in 1939 and the US people saw it at first as a European issue. As the war got underway, the US government saw that they might have to get involved – even if many of their population did not want to. Episodes of the early Superman serials can often be seen reinforcing the need for America to be prepared to fight to protect its culture and values.

3) How can Schatz's theory of genre cycles be applied to the Superhero genre?

Innovation: The visual codes for the superhero genre were largely established via the comic books. As soon as film and TV began to use the comic book characters other codes and conventions regarding the presentation of the genre in moving image were set. This can be seen in the early superhero shorts of the 1940s.

Classical: By the 1950s the superhero genre could be seen to be in its classical stage with the codes and conventions being replicated in the film and TV programmes of the time.

Parody: Batman (1966) was intentionally funny and camp and wouldn’t let its audience take the superhero too seriously. It had an ironic tone that flagged up the daft nature of the genre and allowed the audience to enjoy the awareness of that. After Batman, the classical and parodic versions of the genre were largely located in children’s animation, from Spider-Man whose animated adventures were on TV from the late 1960s, to the less than serious versions of the genre in Mighty Mouse (a perennially popular cartoon first made in the 1940s), Atom Ant (from the late 60s), Captain Caveman (from the late 70s) amongst many, many more.

Deconstruction: Superman (1978) started a new cycle in the superhero genre with technology leading the innovation with special effects creating more realistic visual ‘miracles’. Both the Superman series and Tim Burton’s Batman franchise treated the fantastic world of the superhero seriously as in the classical era but they also used the camp comedy and a tongue-in-cheek approach of parody showing how the

genre had been deconstructed and repackaged in an attempt to revitalise the genre and help it find a new audience - successfully in the case of these two franchises. This brings the genre back to a period of innovation when new ideas and new developments create interesting new ideas within the genre

The Cycle Continues: After 1997’s Batman and Robin received a less than positive reception, the genre again needed to deconstruct and re-innovate. The next stage of the genre’s development was the rise of Marvel Studios with The X Men (2000) and Spider-Man in 2002 and DC’s return with Batman Begins in 2005 and Superman Returns in 2006. These series have themselves been deconstructed once again.

DC’s X-Men: First Class (2011) introduced a new generation of X-Men and offers a different tone to the first three films. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) recast Peter Parker and changed his love interest whilst Chris Nolan’s Batman offers a much darker, visceral superhero than the one in the 60s and the 90s. Perhaps the parody and deconstruction of indie superheroes has moved the genre on more quickly than

in the past although Marvel can be seen to be playing it safe with its relatively conventional and classical Avengers series - particularly the Captain America films – but they also offer some parody within Iron Man (2008) and Guardians of the Galaxy (2014).

Task 2: Genre analysis case study

Carry out your own genre analysis using the model provided by media theorist Daniel Chandler. Choose a film or TV text and answer the following questions - brief answers/bullet point responses are fine:

General
1) Why did you choose the text you are analysing? 

I chose an American television series called Pretty Little Liars.

2) In what context did you encounter it? 

I encountered it when using Tiktok and saw a video where it gave an insight on what this tv series is about. I found it very intriguing therefore I watched it. I also got recommendations from my friends to watch this tv series.

3) What influence do you think this context might have had on your interpretation of the text?

After seeing one video, I checked multiple other videos to see other snippets, and I found this very interesting so I watched it. 

4) To what genre did you initially assign the text? 

I would assign this tv series to multiple genres; adolescence, suspense, thriller, teen drama, mystery.

5) What is your experience of this genre? 

I usually enjoy watching mystery and drama shows/movies so I knew that this tv programme would be to my liking. I found this very entertaining and interesting as there's a lot of suspense and mystery so it would make me question what will happen next.

6) What subject matter and basic themes is the text concerned with? 

This shows basic theme of mystery and teenage drama as this tv series has a lot of suspense and thriller.

7) How typical of the genre is this text in terms of content?

The genre seems typical as there is someone unknown threatening the girls in the tv show and typically this links to the mystery and suspense genre, however the story line has many plot twists that would surprise the audience and this suspense carries on for a full 7 seasons. There are also spin offs that are linked to Pretty Little Liars.

8) What expectations do you have about texts in this genre?

Typically the mystery plot is always a dead body or a missing person and a mystery has to be solved.

9) Have you found any formal generic labels for this particular text (where)?

The main generic label for PLL is mystery and I have seen this on websites and Tiktok videos. We can infer this genre just by looking at some of the film posters for each season, which gives of the mysterious aura.

10) What generic labels have others given the same text?

Crime thriller, romance, horror, melodrama

11) Which conventions of the genre do you recognize in the text?

A girl goes missing and a lot of drama and suspense goes on in the tv series, so this is generally seen in the mystery genre.

12) To what extent does this text stretch the conventions of its genre?

It expands the idea of the enigma of the four main characters. The four young girls are thrust into a world of mystery, criminality, passion, and secrets when their "Queen Bee," Alison, vanishes.

13) Where and why does the text depart from the conventions of the genre?

A year after their clique leader, vanished, four former best friends get back together and start getting threatening messages from an unknown person going by the name "A" who knows all of the mistakes, lies, and secrets they have amassed before and after their clique broke up. Over the course of the series, the protagonists learn more about the events that transpired on the night Alison vanished, including how "A" came to be. Subsequently, five years after the initial "A" is made public, new antagonists assume control of the identity, resulting in fresh plot points and difficulties.

14) Which conventions seem more like those of a different genre (and which genre(s))?

Pretty Little Liars has many genres in the tv series but follows the main genre mystery teen drama and suspense.

15) What familiar motifs or images are used? They have multiple posters for each season. Most of the images portrays darkness (coffins associated with death).

Mode of address
1) What sort of audience did you feel that the text was aimed at (and how typical was this of the genre)?

This show is aimed towards teenagers (specifically girls as main characters are girls) that enjoy watching mystery and thriller. This may interest the teenage audience due to the show being 7 seasons long which may intrigue the audience and make them think about what the story line is and why the show is carried on for a long time. 

2) How does the text address you?

This text shows that your patient as you have watched all 7 seasons, and have seen all the plot twists of the show. This shows that your interested by the enigma.

3) What sort of person does it assume you are?

This could assume that I'm an individual that loves mystery, crime and horror genres as the plot twists and thriller keeps your adrenaline flowing. This could make me good at problem solving as watching mystery can help you use your initiative more when the scene is suspenseful.

4) What assumptions seem to be made about your class, age, gender and ethnicity?

The assumptions could be that I'm a teenage girl, middle class and assumptions may vary for ethnicity.

5) What interests does it assume you have?

It assumes that I am investigative due to me having interest in watching mystery genres.

Relationship to other texts
1) What intertextual references are there in the text you are analysing (and to what other texts)? Intertextuality is when a media product references another media text of some kind.

There are spin offs of Pretty Little Liars and in the spin offs there are references to the tv show.

2) In terms of genre, which other texts does the text you are analysing resemble most closely?

13 reasons why, riverdale, the vampire diaries, gossip girl

3) What key features are shared by these texts?

The key features that are shared by these texts are that they are all teen dramas and they all have more than 4 seasons.

4) What major differences do you notice between them?

The differences are that each of the other texts have their own plot twists and story line. They also are more drama based, still including the mystery and suspense elements, however more focused on the drama genre.