AS MEDIA RESEARCH

LESSON 1 - GENRE

THE KEY CONCEPTSIN MEDIA STUDIES, WE LOOK AT TEXTS THROUGH A SET OF ‘LENS’. THESE ARE THE KEY CONCEPTS:• GENRE• NARRATIVE• REPRESENTATION• AUDIENCE• MEDIA LANGUAGE• INSTITUTION

THE KEY CONCEPTSIN MEDIA STUDIES, WE LOOK AT TEXTS THROUGH A SET OF ‘LENS’. THESE ARE THE KEY CONCEPTS:• GENRE - SME• NARRATIVE - SME• REPRESENTATION – SME (COURSEWORK)/SOA (EXAM)• AUDIENCE - SME• MEDIA LANGUAGE - SOA• INSTITUTION – SOA (EXAM)

1 - GENRE•THE WAY FILMS ARE BROKEN DOWN ACCORDING TO THE

CONVENTIONS THEY USE – IN TERMS OF HOW THEY ARE FILMED AND WHAT IS FILMED. •FILMS REPEAT THE CONVENTIONS OF OTHER FILMS IN THEIR

GENRE, BUT AT THE SAME TIME ‘SUCCESSFUL’ FILMS WILL CHALLENGE AND DEVELOP THOSE CONVENTIONS. •LIST AS MANY GENRES AS YOU CAN THINK OF.

1 – GENRE AND INSTITUTIONWHAT IS THE POINT OF CATEGORISING FILMS IN THIS WAY?• FOR THE AUDIENCE• FOR PRODUCERS• FOR DISTRIBUTORS

THRILLERSWHAT DO WE ALREADY KNOW?

THRILLERSWHAT DO WE ALREADY KNOW?• MYSTERY/ENIGMA• CRIME• POLICE/MILITARY CHARACTERS• SOME ACTION• EVERYMAN CHARACTER• MISTAKEN IDENTITY•SURVEILLANCE

GENRE THEORY – STARTING POINTEDWARD BUSCOMBE (1970) – GENRE CAN BE DEFINED IN TERMS OF ITS ICONOGRAPHY, DIVIDED INTO FOUR AREAS:•LOCATION (SET DESIGN/LOCATION)•APPEARANCE (COSTUME, MAKE UP, PEOPLE)•TOOLS (PROPS, MACHINES, WEAPONS)•MISCELLANEOUS (ANYTHING ELSE)IS THIS ALL THERE IS TO IT?

GENRE THEORY

Traditional models

Contemporary models

TRADITIONAL MODELSRICK ALTMAN (1984) – GOES ONE STEP FURTHER THAN BUSCOMBE AND ARGUES THAT GENRES ARE USUALLY DEFINED IN TERMS OF MEDIA LANGUAGE/CODES (SEMANTIC ELEMENTS), FOR EXAMPLE: GUNS, URBAN LANDSCAPE, VICTIMS, STALKERS; OR CERTAIN THEMES, IDEOLOGIES AND NARRATIVES (SYNTACTIC ELEMENTS], SUCH AS: ANXIETY, TENSION, MENACING SITUATION).

TRADITIONAL MODELSDANIEL CHANDLER (1997) – CONVENTIONAL DEFINITIONS OF GENRES TEND TO BE BASED ON THE IDEA THAT THEY ARE CONSTRUCTED FROM FIXED CONVENTIONS OF CONTENT (SUCH AS THEMES OR SETTINGS - ICONOGRAPHY) AND/OR FORM, STRUCTURE AND STYLE, WHICH ARE SHARED BY THE TEXTS WHICH ARE REGARDED AS BELONGING TO THEM.

TRADITIONAL MODELS - EXAMPLE

WHAT EVIDENCE IS THERE THAT THIS FILM TEXT SUPPORTS NEALE AND BUCKINGHAM’S THEORIES?HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=YEBQF6BYZAK

CONTEMPORARY MODELSSTEVE NEALE (1980) – GENRES ARE A RESULT OF THE TENSION BETWEEN REPETITION, GIVING THE AUDIENCE THE GRATIFICATION OF SOCIAL INTEGRATION THROUGH SHARED RECOGNITION, AND DIFFERENCE, WHICH CREATES INTEREST IN NEW TEXTS AND IS DESCRIBED AS “ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL TO THE ECONOMY OF GENRE.”DAVID BUCKINGHAM (1993) – ARGUES THAT 'GENRE IS NOT... SIMPLY "GIVEN" BY THE CULTURE: RATHER, IT IS IN A CONSTANT PROCESS OF NEGOTIATION AND CHANGE' (BUCKINGHAM 1993).

CONTEMPORARY MODELS - EXAMPLEWHAT EVIDENCE IS THERE THAT THIS FILM TEXT SUPPORTS ALTMAN AND CHANDLER’S THEORIES?HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=2ETRUIDD5LQ

Now compare The Bourne Identity (2002) to a more up-to-date Bond film, Skyfall (2012) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHRLX8jRjq8

In what way did cultural rejection of Bond lead to Bourne? How did Bourne in turn influence Bond and create a new set of conventions for the spy thriller,

repeating but adapting some traditional tropes?

HYBRIDISATIONCONTEMPORARY MODELS SEEM MORE REALISTIC WHEN WE SEE HOW TWO OR MORE GENRES ARE OFTEN HYBRIDISED IN THE MOST SUCCESSFUL MOVIES.THIS IS NOTHING NEW: LOOK AT THE WAY THE FILM ALIEN SUCCESSFULLY BLENDS TROPES FROM HAUNTED HOUSE TYPE HORROR MOVIES AND ELEMENTS OF SCIENCE FICTION.HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=3YTIMGMZUR4

HOMEWORKCARRY OUT THE SECONDARY RESEARCH DETAILED IN THE COURSEWORK GUIDE – EXPLORE THE CURRENT TRENDS AND MARKETS OF THE THRILLER GENRE VIA THE BFI WEBSITE. USE BETWEEN 3 AND 6 EXAMPLES YOU FIND TO SHOW MOVIES THAT CONFORM TO THE TRADITIONAL MODELS AND MOVIES THAT CONFORM TO THE CONTEMPORARY.THESE CAN BECOME THE SOURCE TEXTS FOR YOUR POSTER ANALYSES AND OPENING SCENE ANALYSES.YOU CAN COPY CHARTS AND DIAGRAMS FROM THE WEBSITE BUT USE YOUR OWN WORDS.DUE MONDAY 26TH SEPTEMBERAND SET UP YOUR BLOGS, THEN COPY AND PASTE THE URL IN AN EMAIL TO ME. EITHER ONLY TWO OF YOU HAVE SET THEM UP OR ONLY TWO OF YOU HAVE TOLD ME!

OPTIONAL FURTHER READING

TRACK DOWN A COPY (IT DOESN’T NEED TO BE THE VERY LATEST EDITION) OF ‘THE FILM GENRE READER’ – EDITED BY BARRY KEITH GRANT