1. Question 1B - Genre
Key Theories to refer to
Analysing your own work

2. Basic Definition of Genre - Daniel
Chandler
• Conventional definitions of genres tend to be
based on the idea that they are made up of
particular conventions (such as themes or
settings - iconography) and/or form
(including narrative structure and visual
style) and all text of the same genre will
share these conventions.
• Think about the common elements of Thriller
films and Music Videos

3. Think about the common elements of
Thriller films and how you used them
• Themes and Iconography
• (plot info/props/characters...)
• Structure and Style (camerawork and
editing)
Themes and Iconography
(Plot info/Props/Character ….)
Structure and Style
(Narrative Structure/Micro Element)

4. Think about the common elements of
Music Videos and how you used them
• Themes and Iconography
• (plot info/props/characters...)
• Structure and Style (camerawork and
editing)
Conventions – Goodwin/ Music Genre/
Representation
Form – Performance/ Narrative/ Concept

5. Rick Altman argues that genres are usually defined in terms of media
language and codes (in the Thriller, for example: guns, urban
landscape, victims, stalkers, menaced women or even stars, like Leonardo
Dicaprio or Jack Nicholson) or certain ideologies and narratives (
Anxiety, tension, menacing situation)
Jonathan Culler – generic conventions exist to establish a contract
between creator and reader so as to make certain expectations
effective, allowing compliance and deviation from the accepted modes.
We understand films because we understand the generic conventions
Steve Neale (1990) argues that Hollywood’s generic regime performs two
important functions: i) to guarantee meanings and pleasures for
audiences ii) to offset the considerable economic risks of industrial film
production by allowing Institutions be make films they know will be
popular (cognitive collateral against innovation and difference.)
But he also said 'genres are instances of repetition and difference'
Genre Theorists

6. Your own films
• Can you apply these theory to your own films?
• Have you challenged the conventional thriller
genre at all by adding subtle differences in
character, plot, setting etc... (Neale)
• Or are you conforming to genre by following
expected conventions in style and
iconography? (Chandler, Culler, Altman )

7. What about Music Video
• How did you conform or challenge form?
• How did you conform or challenge Goodwin?
• How did you conform or challenge
representation?
• How did you conform or challenge music
genre conventions?

8. Genre and Narrative
• Propp – Character types
• Todorov – Equilibrium – disequilibrium- new
equilibrium
• Strauss – Binary Oppostions
• Bordwell – The Classic Hollywood Structure
(Three Act Structure – esp Set Up)
• Will be covered in the Narrative Session.

9. Reasons for Genre
1. To the producers of films, genre is a template for what they make.
2. To the distributor/promoter, genre provides assumptions about who the
audience is and how to market the films for that specific audience.
3. To the audience, it is a label that identifies a liked or disliked formula
and provides certain rules of engagement in terms of anticipation of
pleasure
4. When genres become classic, they can exert tremendous influence:
production can be come quicker and more confident because film-
makers are following tested formulae
5. Viewers become ‘generic spectators’ and can be said to develop generic
memory which helps the in the anticipation of events, even though the
films themselves might play on certain styles rather than follow closely a
clichéd formula. Film is a post-modern medium in this way, because
movies make sense in relation to other films, not to reality.
6. It is the way genre films deviate from the clichéd formulae that leads to
a more interesting experience for the viewer, but for this to work
properly, the audience must be familiar with generic conventions and
style.

10. The Changing nature of Genre
• Genres change over time as society changes
'genre is not... simply "given" by the culture:
rather, it is in a constant process of
negotiation and change' (think hybrid) – Key
David Buckingham

11. Makes notes on how you would
answer these questions
• What is genre and why is it important to audiences and to
institutions? What other texts in this genre did you study?
What did you observe about the conventions they used /
subverted / played with? How did this impact your
decisions and your production?
• What genre / sub-genre did you work in? What
conventions did you use / subvert? Identify specific aspects
of your production where you have used / subverted or
played with conventions. How has this impacted your
work? Is there any theory you could apply here, for
example, Goodwin’s analysis of the conventions of music
video? What has postmodernism taught you about genre
and conventions? How has this impacted your own
production? Give specific examples.