Basics of genre analysis
Genre
• Scholars continue to debate what the nature
of genre is
– “Some film genres tend to defined primarily by
their subject matter (e.g. detective films), some by
their setting (e.g. the Western) and others by their
narrative form (e.g. the musical).” (Chandler)
• Rather than wander into a rather esoteric
controversy, let’s accept a definition that
squares with most people’s understanding and
then flesh out the implications
Genres as categories
Music
Country western; rap; classical;
rhythm & blues
Television
Game shows; news; reality tv;
detective shows; fantasy
Movies
Romantic comedies; slasher films;
action-adventure; science fiction
Video games Sports games; first person
shooters; MMORPGs; educational
games
• Most genre study has been based on an attempt
to identify categories of literature, film, tv, etc.
and then to show how particular texts fit into a
given genre or extend that genre
• While this is useful, it is probably not as valuable
as trying to identify:
– What is the meaning of the basic or ideal generic text?
– How are generic rules constructed, broken, and/or
applied? What is the effect?
• What is the meaning of the basic or ideal
generic text?
– Ideology—the underlying set of assumptions
about the world, people in the world, etc.
• What visions of peoples/cultures/social structure are
presented and ‘naturalized’?
• What visions are presented as problematic?
• How conservative/oppositional are generic texts?
– Narrativity—what kinds of stories, plots, etc. make
sense within the genre?
• Is a ‘heroic quest’ appropriate? A “Cinderella story?”
Values
– What values are held dear and which are
seen as less important or portrayed as
harmful?
• When values are in conflict, which are
presented as ‘better’ or more effective?
– Love v. honor
– Responsibility v. caring
Enjoyment
• How does the genre influence the
pleasure experienced by the audience
member?
– Uses and gratifications
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Fantasy/imagination
Emotion/identification
Knowledge/awareness
Need for dominance
Sadism/masochism
What characteristics seem to
determine genres?
• narrative - similar (sometimes formulaic) plots
and structures, predictable situations, sequences,
episodes, obstacles, conflicts and resolutions;
• characterization - similar types of characters
(sometimes stereotypes), roles, personal
qualities, motivations, goals, behaviour;
• basic themes, topics, subject matter (social,
cultural, psychological, professional, political,
sexual, moral), values . . .;
• setting - geographical and historical;
• iconography (echoing the narrative,
characterization, themes and setting) - a familiar
stock of images or motifs, the connotations of
which have become fixed; primarily but not
necessarily visual, including décor, costume and
objects, certain 'typecast' performers (some of
whom may have become 'icons'), familiar
patterns of dialogue, characteristic music and
sounds, and appropriate physical topography;
• and filmic techniques - stylistic or formal
conventions of camerawork, lighting, soundrecording, use of colour, editing etc. (viewers
are often less conscious of such conventions
than of those relating to content).
– Daniel Chandler “Introduction to Genre Theory” at:
http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/intgenre/intgenre.html
• “Less easy to place in one of the traditional
categories are mood and tone (which are key
features of the film noir).
• “mode of address, which involves inbuilt
assumptions about the audience, such as that
the 'ideal' viewer is male (the usual categories
here are class, age, gender and ethnicity);”
• “As already noted, in addition to textual
features, different genres also involve
different purposes, pleasures, audiences,
modes of involvement, styles of interpretation
and text-reader relationships.“
• Chandler
What do genres do?
• Genres provide a form of implied contract
between the producer of content and the
audience
– An audience member that goes to see a slasher film
does not want to sit through lots of dialogue about
problems in school or worry about the detail of
forensic evidence in the case
• The audience member expects to see lots of brutal
sadism and bodies chopped up
– When producers provide a film with these features they can
expect members of this audience to show up
Guide for production
• Audience expectations and existing genre
texts provide a guide for the production of
new narratives within the genre
• New texts within a genre always play off of and
against existing characteristics of the genre
• While adhering strictly to the rules of the genre
tends to generate boring content, breaking all the
rules leads to confusion and a negative viewing
experience
• Shared genre knowledge allows producers to
draw on content from related texts without
extensive exposition.
– Efficiency of presentation
• Audience members can enhance their experience
by supplementing the immediate viewing
experience by recalling content they found
enjoyable in the past. The interrelations of the
prior and current content may generate even
further enjoyable experience through imaginative
recombination.
– Intertextuality
Genre and culture
• Genres may rise and fall with change in
cultures
• Others may live on, but in a changed form
• Some scholars would say that the production
of every new artifact (book, film, painting,
etc.) changes the genre it is said to fit into in
some way—perhaps minute or imperceptible
but nevertheless real
Changes in the heroic adventure
• Gender roles
– Earliest adventures were undertaken by
men
• Exceptions were exceedingly rare
• Women were the prize won through heroic
deeds or else evil forces arrayed against the
hero (temptress/sorceress)
– More recent adventures included females
who were partners in some form of
adventure
• Usually in a secondary role, but significantly
contributing
– The most recent changes provide for female
heroes who may have a male partner or
may act as the primary heroic protagonist
• Female heroes remain in the minority
Changes in the hero character
• Though ancient heroes often had some
unsavory characteristics, Mediaeval heroes
were often paragons of virtue
• Beginning in the late 1800s and increasingly
since the 1960s, ‘antiheroes’ or protagonists
of questionable character have become
common
– “Postmodernism”
Action-adventure
• A modern variant of the mythic hero’s quest is
the action/adventure
– May have no magical powers or mythic characters
– Common use of anti-heros
– Quest may not be a boon for humankind
– More emphasis on action/physical conflict for its
own sake
• Exciting, entertaining
Sources of concern
• Can promote a ‘great man’ vision of the
appropriate form of social control
• Authoritarian, if not monarchic, implications
– Lose patience with debaters, lily-livered liberals
Sources of concern
• Portrayal of a world split into warring factions
– Archetypal good and bad groups lead to a
portrayal of ‘the other’ in extremely negative
terms
– Archetypes applied in the real world can quickly
lead to harsh stereotyping or demonization of
groups or individuals
– Argues against subtlety and nuance
– Argues against compromise and negotiation
Sources of concern
• Conflict based in religion, klan, nation
– Can easily slide into some rather unpleasant
representations
• Nazi use of Wagner’s epic heroic opera
• Teaches us to make decisions, etc. based on
tribal loyalties, heated passions rather than
dispassionate, rational debate
Sources of concern
• Emotional rather than rational goals and
reasoning
– “Words that succeed while policies fail”
– Irrational traditionalism
• Can justify extreme, uncompromising actions
– Brutality
– War
– Enslavement
– Torture
Sources of concern
• Preaches violence and brinkmanship as a strategy of
dealing with conflict/competition
– Demonization of other side leads to escalation
• Strengthens position of extremists
– No actions are mutually beneficial
• Life as a ‘zero-sum game’