Genre Theories and Tasks

'Genre' is a critical tool that helps us study texts and audience responses to texts by dividing them into categories based on common elements.
Within my coursework, I produced a pop genre music video; chosing the pop genre placed my video within a certain 'category' with conventional elements and ideas.

Daniel Chandler (2001) - the word 'genre' comes from the French (and originally Latin) word for 'type'. - Therefore genre defines the 'type' of text that the media product is.

Steve Neale (1980) - "genres are instances of repetition and difference"
- it is essential for genres to deviate ocassionally in order to attract an engage audiences
Within my coursework, I challenges conventions in order to add a 'different' element to my music video; however, I also conformed to ideas that would make sure my media product was distinctly part of the intended genre. For example, the use of bright colours (coventional) and 50's/60's style clothing (unconventional, not 'on-trend', retro).

Andrew Goodwin - Peformance, Illustrative, or Disjuncture?
What generic conventions did you apply?
The media product that I produced at A2 featured the artist in a performance style music video; due to this many of the generic conventions I applied to my texts were related to the artist's performance. For example, the use of lip-syncing, close-up lip-syncing, repetition of chorus shots to add 'repeatability', first person mode of address (directly engaging with the audience), and star image.

Genres are recognisable through the repeated use of generic codes and conventions.

Tom Ryall - suggested that the types of conventions found within genres can be grouped into the four following categories:
Iconographies (symbolic forms associated with the genre)
Narrative (structure, opened/closed)
Representations (characters/stereotypes)
Ideologies (beliefs and ideas of the 'ideal' concept, themes)

Within my coursework, I used elements from all four of these convention categories, in both challenging and conforming ways. I used narrative structures to open and close my music video, however I did not have a strong narrative theme. I also used representations to present the artist in a stereotypical pop star 'glamourous' way, however, some elements of the artist were not stereotypical to the genre (e.g. her 50's clothing, and smoking within her video as this could be seen as controversial). Smoking within the video would be against the normal representation of a pop genre artist, however, it did represent the glamour of the 50's, and as it was acceptable then, this was not put in an encoraging light. This does however also link to ideologies, as many people within the audience may see this as a controversial thing to include, but it is justified by the video being based within the 50's era; this was a comment about glamour of the time. My video also had ideologies about the wealth aspect of glamour, featuring lavish furniture and clothing, as well as expensive items such as 'chanel no.5' perfume. Some iconographies do appear within my video, however, I think that these were related more to the era than the genre, for example, the clothing, the perfume, the idea of smoking, the setting, and other props. There was, however, some iconographies that linked to the conventional ideas of the pop genre such as the use of bright colours.