Genre

Genre

Media Factsheet 03 - Genre: Categorising texts 

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

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

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

4) What are the different ways films can be categorised according to Bordwell?
5) List three ways genre is used by audiences.
6) List three ways genre is used by institutions or producers.
7) What film genre is used as an example of how genres evolve? What films and conventions are mentioned?

1) Visual iconographies are so important as this can make the film and TV genres             recognisable through the code and conventions that is displayed through the film. The example that is used is Westerns. Film Westerns and TV Westerns share the same codes and conventions which makes the genre identifiable. 

2) Narrative is important in identifying genre as it makes it clear what the aim of the narrative is to the audience. Genres and narrative share characteristics which makes them identifiable. The examples provided is in soap operas the story line might take long to develop as it will be one of many story-lines to develop and therefore could be easily identified. Also, sit-coms will have humour in the situation and therefore can be identifiable. 

3) The difference between character representation in action movies and disaster movies is that in action movies the hero normally is working alone to fight villains or save the world. Whereas in disaster movies the hero is normally within a group of people.

4) The different ways films can be categorised accorded to Bordwell is 

    Period or Country eg - US films of the 1930s 

    Director / Star eg - Ben Stiller Films

    Technical Process eg - Animation

    Style eg - German Expressionism

    Series eg - Bong

    Audience eg - Family Films

5) -They use prior knowledge to anticipate what they will feel towards the text. 

    -They compare a text to another through its shared characteristics. 

    -They use their knowledge to reject a text - may dislike genres.

6) Genre is used by institutions or producers - 

    - Production

    - Attracting an Audience

    - Marketing Texts 

7) The film genre that is used as an example of how genres evolve is the gangster genre.         The genre focuses on groups of criminals, often romanticises the gangster lifestyle and         the texts within the genre of violence and conflict between police and criminals. They also     focus on the gangster community. 

Read Media Factsheet 126 - Superheroes: A Genre Case Study
1) List five films the factsheet discusses with regards to the Superhero genre.
2) What examples are provided of how the Superhero genre has reflected the changing values, ideologies and world events of the last 70 years?
3) How can Schatz's theory of genre cycles be applied to the Superhero genre?

1) - Avengers Assemble

    -Scott Pilgrim

    -Chronicle

    -Super

    -Guardians Of The Galaxy

2) The examples used to show how the Superhero genre has reflected the changing values, ideologies and world events over the last 70 years are Superman, Batman X-Men and Spiderman. 

3) Schatz's theory of genre cycle is applied to the Superhero genre as the codes and conventions are first established and where there is a narrative of the typical superhero genre and therefore this is innovation. After this, the conventions are repeated and it becomes classical for example in Spiderman, Spiderman TV programmes and games are made and these products copy the conventions of the original Spiderman film. The film then becomes a where parody there is humour presented and the codes and conventions become more cliche which slightly deters from the actual Superhero genre. The genre then goes through the deconstruction part of the cycle where the genre is experimented with to establish new or different conventions by making things like comics/ other films and exploring dis-similar conventions to be presented in that particular product.   

Own genre analysis using the model provided by media theorist Daniel Chandler. 

Film I am analysing: Ouija - Origin Of Evil

General
1) Why did you choose the text you are analysing?
2) In what context did you encounter it?
3) What influence do you think this context might have had on your interpretation of the text?
4) To what genre did you initially assign the text?
5) What is your experience of this genre?
6) What subject matter and basic themes is the text concerned with?
7) How typical of the genre is this text in terms of content?
8) What expectations do you have about texts in this genre?
9) Have you found any formal generic labels for this particular text (where)?
10) What generic labels have others given the same text?
11) Which conventions of the genre do you recognize in the text?
12) To what extent does this text stretch the conventions of its genre?
13) Where and why does the text depart from the conventions of the genre?
14) Which conventions seem more like those of a different genre (and which genre(s))?
15) What familiar motifs or images are used?

1) I chose this text to analyse as I have watched this film recently. 

2) I encountered it this film in the cinema. 

3) The influence that this context has on my interpretation of the film is that it would be         scarier than if it was watched at home and there will be more of a scary environment.

4) I initially assigned this film to being a thriller.

5) The experience with this genre is normally fear and paranoia. 

6) The subject matter is revolved around the Devil and the theme is a young girl getting possessed and causing havoc. 

7) This content is typical of the genre that this film is in (horror) this is normally orientated around abnormalities due to devil activity. 

8)The expectations that i have about texts is this genre is that it is going to be scary, shocking and unanticipated. 

9) There is formal generic labels where something that will make you jump happens and you are prepared for it but not sure when it is going to happen - a lead up. Also, a character in the film acting out of the ordinary.

10) Other have given the text the generic labels of fear in characters, escaping and non human entity. 

11) The convections that are recognisable in the text is the type of setting - somewhere gloomy, normally a house, dark colours like red and black, Supernaturalness, weapons and terror. 

12) This film does not stretch the conventions of this genre very much. It sticks to the main objectives of a horror film. 

13) The film departs from the conventions of a horror where a character in the film develops romance with the another character. 

14) The conventions that seem more like those of a different genre (comedy) is a bit of humour in the film where the mother enters the room and a character screams for a long period of time making it quite humorous. 

15) A familiar motif that is used is the ouija board. 

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)?
2) How does the text address you?
3) What sort of person does it assume you are?
4) What assumptions seem to be made about your class, age, gender and ethnicity?
5) What interests does it assume you have?

1)  The audience that this film was aimed at is young adults and adults. This is typical of the drama as there is scenes that are inappropriate for young children. 

2) This does not address to me but went to see this film for entertainment purposes. 

3) By me going to view this film it assumes that i am a person that likes risks and seeks thrills.

4) The assumptions made about middle class is that they have money, are well - off, comfortable and educated. The assumptions made bout my age is that we are trouble-makers, rude, noisy and carefree. The assumptions made about my ethnicity is that we are aggressive, assertive and uneducated. 

5) The interests that this film assumes that i have is that i like watching movies, enjoy paranormal activities. 

Relationship to other texts
1) What intertextual references are there in the text you are analysing (and to what other texts)?
2) Generically, which other texts does the text you are analysing resemble most closely?
3) What key features are shared by these texts?
4) What major differences do you notice between them?

1) The intertextual reference that are in this films are books, music and television shows. 

2) Television shows that are horrors like the ghost inside my child and resembles this film closely as they are both to do with supernatural things overtaking a child. 

3) They key features shared by these texts are ghost, unnatural events and the need to restore the child that is possessed. 

4) The major differences between them is that they the supernatural entity in the film does evil and mimics the personality traits of other people for a greater bad cause whereas the TV show explores a child that can obtain other people's memories that is not for a bad cause.