LO3

Genre- Conventions and howe genres are used by media institutions.

Genre theory 1- Steve Neale (1980)

“All contain instances of repetition and difference, difference is essential to the economy of the genre”. 

Neale states that product and it genre is defined by two things:

1. How much it confirms it’s genre Individual conventions and stereotypes. A product must match the genres conventions to be identified as part of that genre.

2. How much a product subverts the genres conventions and stereotypes. The product must subvert convention enough to be considered unique and not just a clone of an existing product.

Genre theory 2- Rich Altman(1999)

Rich Altman states that genres “have different pleasures that entertain the audiences through familiarity how they respond to them”.

Emotional pleasures, Intellectual pleasure, Visceral pleasure.

For example, Friends is a comedy so the audience experiences laughter. It makes the audience laugh because of the cross cutting editing techniques between two areas. Friends is mainly set in the same area therefore it is familiar to the audience throughout. Also, facial expression are often used in friends for comedic effect so there are multiple medium close up shots so the audience can clearly the characters facial expressions.

Genre theory 3- Jason Mittell (1999)

Jason Mittell states that genres are “exploited by media producers so that products are financially successfully”

“Genre is a way of exploiting an audience who enjoy certain types of representations and content” e.g. look at reality TV shows. 

For example, The MCU Showcases multiple different superhero’s throughout the franchise which means it wont be repetitive for the audience to watch.

Genre theory 4- David Buckingham (1993)

David Buckingham suggests that “genre must respond to socio-economic and cultural change”

E.g. Brokeback mountain has elements of the western (setting, objects and props, dress code) to develop an emotive romance about two men and their love for each other.

Also, females were usually the protagonist and males the antagonist in horror films But now there are multiple female villains in horror films that kill male protagonists. 

Narrative- How stories are structured 

Narrative theory 1- Claude-Levi Strauss (1958)

Strauss suggests that binary opposition and the idea that things/objects/qualities that are directly parallel and opposite help to understand and fuel each other.

This idea can be applied to media products and the characters within them. For example, a protagonist could be incredibly kind and thoughtful, directly contrasting an antagonist who could be heartless and horrible, e.g. Batman is the protagonist going against the Joker who is the antagonist. 

Narrative Theory 2- Pam Cook (1985)

Pam Cook argues that traditional narratives “have a linearity of cause and effect, with an overall trajectory of enigma situation”.

Basically, this means something happens and it causes effects for the characters, A problem will be solved at the end. For example, Thanos’ plan in Avengers infinity war is to wipe out half the universes population, he succeeds in infinity war but in the following movie (End game) it is all solved. 

Narrative theory 3- Tzvetan Todorov (1977) Conventional structure 

An example for this would Star Wars as the protagonist want peace but the dark side keep disrupting the hero.

Narrative theory 3- Unconventional narratives

Non linear narratives and circular narratives have a structure that is not so straightforward.

A non-linear narrative can move backwards and forwards.

Narrative theory 4- Roland Barthes 

Roland Barthes came up with denotation and connotation said that narratives can be understood through code.

Representation- Mediation (re-presentation) of age, gender, sexuality, class, ethnicity, regional identity, and understanding of stereotypes.

Representation theory 1- Laura Mulvey (1975) Male Gaze

Women are objectified and represented from a masculine, heterosexual perspective.  For e.g. black widow

Representation theory 2- Manuel Alvarado (1987) Racial representation

Representation of ethnic minorities 

Exotic 

Pitied 

Dangerous 

Representation theory 3- Stuart Hall (1997)

Institutions thorough ideology or by stereotyping.

Any time a producer tries to fix a meaning of a person or event which will eventually reveal viewpoints and bias

Representations theory 4- David Newman (2006)

When the media represents the working class as a problem e.g. welfare cheats, drug addicts or criminals