Genre

What is genre?- codes and convention that enable audiences to sort texts into groups
A french word meaning kind or sort
Hybrid genres- a mixture of different genres



Media Theort
Buckingham (1990) argues that genre is a contant process of negotiation and change


"Genre is no longer a fixed set of elemets"

What are these media theorists arguing?
How far do you agree with their ideas? What evidence can you find to support your views?

Genre impacts conventions- different musicl genres create different music promos

Genre- is a repertoire of elements that an audience expects to see in a media text of a specific genre

History of genre

Punk- 1976 ish when it first became popular

• influenced by american underground bands
• a reaction to the pompous stuff that was around at the time
• Themes were mainly of rebellion, anarchy, rejection of authority
• Target audience- mainly teens/early 20's

Why is the concept of genre attractive/useful to an audience?

• Allows the audience to explore different types of music and different forms
• Gives the audience something to relate too
• It can catagorise people and allows differences within your audience
• Gives audiences differnet bands to listen to
• Fulfills audience expectations
• Predictable
• Create a shorthand means of communicating to the audience
• Allows a quick set up f character/plot
• Yet needs a twist/innovation to avoid chiche/boredom
• Mixes familiar and unfamiliar

Institutions like genres because-

• It is constructed for a known audience with predictable responses (a garanteed hit?)
• Allow for repeated use of stock storylines and characters (easier to produce)
• Reuse of sets,props,actors (saving time and moey)
• Budget and financial reurnes easier t predict
• A clear product and audience segmentation (targeting a specific audience demographic group)

Audiences like genre because-



Verisimilitude- how real something is

• some need to be more realistic than others (a cop show needs to be more realistic than a musical)

Pop genre-
Camera work-

• Close ups
• Pans and tracking shots
• Movement- makes it a more dynamic video
• Zooms, from face to body
• emphasises their more desireable features

Editing

• Cuts to the beat
• Brighntess- filters, contrasts dark and light
• high exposure
• Saturated colours
• Quick paced cuts
• CGI 

Mise-en-scene
Setting

• grand/luxurious
• Elaborate
• Exotic

Costume

• Spectacular
• Over the top
• Elaborate
• Evening dress
• Works of art

Lighting

• Bright
• High key

Props

• Phallic imagery
• Sexualised
• Glamorous

Actors

• Promoting an image of perfection

Performance

• Abstract
• Sining and dancing
• Not to bothered about showing off musical talent
• Over the top and stylised

Narrative

• Disjuncture
• But without artistic meaning