Genre

Genre is a category or type of text including; art, music and film.

Some examples of genre in music

• Classical

• Pop

• Rap

• Folk

• R&B

• Dance/electronic

• Rock

• Indie

• Country

• Jazz

• Musical

• Reggae

'Genre' is critical tool that helps us study texts and audience responses to texts by dividing them into categories based on common elements. Daniel Chandler (2001) argues that the word genre comes from the French (and originally Latin) word for 'kind' and or 'class'. The term is widely used in rhetoric, literary theory, media theory to refer to refer to a distinctive type of 'text'.

All genres have sub-genres (genres within a genre). This means that they are divided up into more specific categories that allow audiences to identify them specifically by their familiar and what become recognisable characteristics (Barry Keith Grant, 1995). However, Steve Neale (1995) stresses that "genres are not 'systems' they are processes of systemisation" - i.e They are dynamic and evolve over time.

Paradigm - a pattern, structure or model.

Costumes, Location, Props, Narrative, Transport, Temporal/Geographical Location, Characters and Weapons are used when defining a genre. Most genres can be borken down into binary opposition (Levi Strauss) e.g the good and the bad. When genres are mixed together like the film 'Cowboys and Aliens' these genres are called hybrids. Films reflect the ideology of the time that they were created.

Generic characteristics across all texts share similar elements of the below depending on the medium...

• Typical mise-en-scene/visual style (iconography, props, set design, lighting, temporal and geographical location, costume, shot types, camera angles and special effects)
• Typical types of Narrative (plots, historical setting and set pieces)
• Generic types, i.e typical characters (do typical male/female role exists and archetypes?)

Jason Mittell (2001) argues that genres are cultural categories that surpass the boundaries of media texts and operate within industry, audience and cultural practices as well.
In short, industries use genre to sell products to audiences. Media producers use similar codes and conventions that very often make cultural references to their audience knowledge of society, other texts. Genre also allows audience to make choices about what products they want to consume through acceptance in order to fulfil a particular pleasure.

           << >> codes &conventions << >> Institution << >> Text
Genre << >> codes & conventions << >> Text << >> Institution + Audience
           << >> codes & conventions << >> Audience << >> Text

Pleasure of genre for audiences - Theorist Rick Altman (1999) argues that genre offers audiences a 'set of pleasure'.

• Emotional Pleasure
• Visceral Pleasure
• Intellectual Pleasure

The Strengths Of Genre Theory

The main strength of genre theory is that everybody uses it and understands it - media experts use it to study media texts, the media industry uses it develop and market texts and audiences use it to decide what texts to consume. 

The potential for the same concept to be understood by producers, audiences, and scholars make genre a useful critical tool. Its accessibility as a concept also meant that it can be applied across a wide range of texts.

Genre Development and Transformation

Over the years genres develop and change as the wider society that produce them also changes, a process that is known as generic transformation. Christian Metz in his book Language and Cinema (1974) argued that genres go through a typical cycle of changes during their lifetime;

1. Experimental Stage
2. Classic Stage
3. Parody Stage
4. Deconstruction Stage