In 800 to 1200 words * Explain genre theory and thoroughly describe the conventions and attributes of your selected genre. 3. Adding on to other answers, if you're interested in studying it, I think one of the most interesting parts of genre theory is the life-cycle of a genre. When we speak of the western we know that within this collection of films we may expect to find gun fights, horses and indians, the solitary cowboy and to some degree the actors and directors of such films. Following by narratives, fall under Wright’s (1977) four plots, Shane (Steven 1953) as classical plot and The Searcher … Genre theory also questions how we define genre, and whether it is in fact limiting and generalising. Genre theory is a structuralist method of literary criticism, is reliant on the structure, or characteristics, of a work of literature to determine the genre under which it falls. Genre are dependent on various factors such as story line, whom the director is, what are the audience expectations et cetera. Abstract Genre is a concept used in film studies and film theory to describe similarities between groups of films based on aesthetic or broader social, institutional, cultural, and psychological aspects. More recent inquiry in genre criticism centers on the bias often inherent in genre criticism such as its latent (or overt) racism and sexism." What is bell hook's theory on inequality. Ultimately, one can see how genre is often used by filmmakers and studios to create expectation from its target audience - genre can be used as a tool to communicate to the audience what the film will contain. Core values which would seem unimportant to us when watching certain films may be of prime importance to the people whom are contemporary to the film's. Subscribe Today! Genres are dependent on many influences, such as story line, what the audience expects and who the director is. In this video I explain how genre can be defined, and how it changes over time. Theory and practice The goal of the setting the context stage is to explore the communicative purpose (e.g., to persuade readers to care for the environment) of a particular genre. How to use genre in a sentence. Genre theory is a way to classify films into a general category to give viewers an idea of what type of film they will be watching, as well as what to expect from the film. A type of genre theory concerned with studying genre conventions as a range of typified responses to a rhetorical situation that in turn create social action. This speaks of how genres evolve over time and develop into something new, while still recognising its routes. Did You Know? Firstly the setting, Shane (Steven 1953) located in an isolated western alley and The Searcher (Ford 1956) in Northern Texas. One to one online tution can be a great way to brush up on your Media Studies knowledge. Genre will often be divided by observing characteristic features exhibited within a film, using recurring symbols and motifs within the film to place it within a genre. What film studios can do is use genre - familiarity - as a tool to grab audience attention, and then incorporate the new and/or unfamiliar into the film, as genre indicates pleasure to the audience. or the narrative elements. However, when it comes to creating films using this same set of rules and conventions, boredom will always factor in as it does when repetition occurs. A filmmaker may create a film of a different genre but may incorporate a scene where the characters sing as they would in a musical, and it would be refreshing, enjoyable, and pleasurable to the audience member. This protagonist will, at some point, suffer a downfall entailing either death or some form of disgrace. Daniel C h a nd l er . Unfortunately though it is far more complicated than this. Genre Theory is a collective term used to describe theoretical approaches that are concerned with how similar situations generate typified responses. The basic genres include fiction and documentary, from which subgenres have emerged, such as docudrama. How to analyse the win of Donald Trump in election from the view of communication theory? As we look and analyze various films we find that although they have similarities in other aspects they are very different. Genre Theory Daniel Chandler: Conventional definitions of genres tend to be based on the notion that they constitute particular conventions of content (such as themes or settings) and/or form (including structure and style) which are shared by the texts which are regarded as belonging to them. Genre theory revolves around the ideas surrounding how we define and distinguish genres, and how we categorise films into genres based on usually conventional factors. Genre theory is used in the examination of films in order to enable the classification of films. Genre Theorists David Buckingham – Genre in Constant Process of Negotiation and Change: “Genre must respond to socio-economic and cultural change e.g. Genre theory is how we describe films; it is the method of shortening literary works. 1. Some of the plot keywords are second chances, summer love, and promise. Altman, and many other theorists, help us understand and acknowledge the consequences of defining genre and what it means not just for film, but for audiences and the film industry. (10 marks). It has become a logo of sorts marking which films certain people may want to see. Genre theory offers a way of thinking about how language depends on context. This is particularly important when considering what technology was being used. Classification of a group of films in which individual films share similar subject matter and ways of organizing the subject through narrative and stylistic patterns. Martin (forthcoming) explains that "[h]istorically the main antecedent for SFL work on genre is Firth’s theory of context, influenced by Malinowski (Firth 1957/1968), and its exemplification by Mitchell in his article on buying and selling encounters in a Libyan marketplace." Secondly the characters types, Shane and Ethan both were heroes in the movie meanwhile the rest were townspeople and civilization of savage. An Introduction to Genre Theory . An important part of Genre theory is knowing at which period a film was made. Genre theory revolves around the ideas surrounding how we define and distinguish genres, and how we categorise films into genres based on usually conventional factors. The audience whom go to those films expect to see zombie, were wolves,werewolvess and more. In particular we may notice this with the teen movie genre. One will ask whether genre is ultimately defined by audience expectation, when someone else might propose that genre means something different between different people and bodies; genre means something different to the audience than it does to the distributors, than it does to producers. They also expect certain content and a certain style of film making. Carolyn Miller describes genre as a social construct and social action, providing the writer with a socially recognizable way to make his or her intentions known (157-58). Drawing heavily from the theories of literary-genre criticism, film genres are usually delineated by "conventions, iconography, settings, … Alternatively, it is important to understand the six conventions of western genre portrayed in the movie aforementioned earlier. High or epic fantasy. Quick revise A film genre is a motion picture category based on similarities in either the emotional response to the film (namely, tragic, comic, etc.) Genre and Science Fiction Genre, as defined by the Oxford dictionary (2010), is “a style or category of art, music, or literature”.It is a term that is easy to define but hard to understand. When we speak of a horror film, we know everyone will die except one. The prob l em of definition . Genre studies often focus on the characteristics, structures, and conventions attributed to different forms of literature, e.g., the novel, short story, poem, drama, film, etc. In particular we may notice this with the teen movie genre. It creates the need for genre theory to continually re-define itself according to the technology, the audience, the political message among many other variables. Genres a sort of label or class something people can establish what topographic point outlooks or derive a general thought of what the movie is about. Altman even suggests a third approach which acknowledges the wider societal context of films, that they exist in an industry which aims to cater to audiences, ultimately, for the goal of profit and audience gratification. Perhaps this in itself is proof enough that genre cannot be easily defined, and is to an extent, subjective. Traditionally, genres (particularly literary genres) tended to be regarded as fixed forms, but contemporary theory emphasizes that both their forms and functions are dynamic. It is a genre which is … The rhythm and pacing of the film may have been altered with editing. In using genre theory we create a short cut in how we are to describe films. Genre theory is used in the study of films in order to facilitate the categorization of films. Genre studies is an academic subject which studies genre theory as a branch of general critical theory in several different fields, including art, literature, linguistics, and rhetoric. Welcome to the Genre Theory Blog! According to Rick Altman, there are two ways to define a genre - an inclusive or semantic way, and an exclusive or syntactic way. People will state that a particular movie had a good plot or an intriguing story. An audience member might not see a musical film due to their preferences and believing they cannot derive pleasure from seeing such a film. Genre is a concept used in film studies and film theory to describe similarities between groups of films based on aesthetic or broader social, institutional, cultural, and psychological aspects. Genre theory through it's use is a method of shortening academic works. The audience expects certain content and a certain mode of filmmaking. However, these decisions are made based on specific iconography within films, and this in turn cannot be ignored. Situation/context + form = genre —Janet Giltrow, Academic Reading However most genres will probably hold a bomber genre Harmonizing to Goodyknootz. It is a genre which is divided into many sub genres such as spoof etc. The movie The Notebook is a romance drama movie. Classical tragedy, using the tenets of genre theory, is a type of fiction that should have a protagonist who is in a high position based on wealth, power or societal influence. Have a Free Meeting with one of our hand picked tutors from the UK’s top universities, Evaluate the relevance of Baudrillard's theory to LFTVDs. David Buckingham argues that 'genre is not... simply "given" by the culture: rather, it is in a constant proc- ess of negotiation and change' (Buckingham 1993, 137). Film genre shares similarities in form and style, theme, and communicative function. Set in a magical environment that has its own rules and physical laws, this … It has become a logo of sorts marking which films certain people may want to see. Most theories of film genre are borrowed from the literary world. As a type of rhetorical action, genre conventions can also be critically interrogated, resisted, and recreated according to the needs of the rhetorical situation ( Bawarshi & Reiff, 2010 ; Devitt, 2004 ; Miller, 1984 ). http://bit.ly/1P4GcrE Book Recommendation https://amzn.to/2XZynKwWhat is it about films that draw us to them. Genre Theory refers to theoretical approaches to various genres, which facilitates the study, understanding and approaches to films. and will be like. With today's high speed films (shorter exposure times) films may be shot with very different lighting from those of twenty years ago. During the course we will look at genre theory from a rhetorical perspective and examine how genres influence… Genre theory is a very good way of marketing a film both for the producers, secondly for the audience. If all films were exactly the same then genre theory would be easy to study and defining which type of film it is would be easy. Literary genre studies is a structuralist approach to the study of genre and genre theory in literary theory, film theory, and other cultural theories. Genre Theory Genre Theory definitions of genres tend to be based on the notion that they constitute particular conventions of content and/or form which are shared by the texts which are regarded as belonging to them. When marketing and studying cinema it is important to know whom the intended audience are. When it comes to categorising films into genres, often one will look to the characters, settings, the plot, sounds and star persona, and even technical elements such as specific camera shots, cinematography, and styles of editing; the same way an audience might have expectations from a specific director, they will also have expectations for a film based on its designated genre. The mere division of what one genre is compared to another has been … We know that it was created after the Second World War and that the role of the woman was changing and this was an important element to the audience of the time because it was re-defining the fabric of the society. What this also indicates is that genre classification can very well be a limiting thing, and we must acknowledge that no genre can reserve a theme, symbol, or feature for itself as they can be found across a wide variety of media, regardless of genre. Genre: A set of conventions and formulas developed and repeated through film history. In order to understand Genre we may look at several examples. Another example would be when looking at the horror film where we know everyone will die except one. We have to understand that even if we wish to define genres clearly, that it is fluid in its nature and revisionism will occur, as it has in the past, often due to sociological factors and changes in traditional ideology. (Gangster) * Identify a feature-length film that fits this genre and provide a basic summary of the movie. Learners can read a text and discuss its communicative purpose with their classmates. Genre will often be divided by observing characteristic features exhibited within a film, using recurring symbols and motifs within the film to place it within a genre. A film genre is a motion-picture category based on similarities either in the narrative elements, aesthetic approach, or the emotional response to the film. A number of perennial do u b ts plague g e n r e the-ory. This is also known as hybridism. Genre theory is a method of literary criticism. Genre theory through its use is a method of shortening academic works (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014). Are genres really 'out there' in the world, or are. What people are actually referring to is that they enjoyed the characters, the problems/conflict the characters got into, and how the characters got out of the problems and conflict.People love a movie because they like to For example when studying the classics such as Gilda we must take into account at what time the film was made and for which audience. Genre theory is a very good way of marketing a film both for the producers, secondly for the audience. As you develop this summary, remember the differences between a film’s story and a film’s plot and […] What may have been typical of a genre at one time may evolve other time as the audience evolve in such a way that an action film from the a few years ago may be a very slow paced film by today's standards, compare for example the Western with the action film. 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