Genre: blog tasks

 1) What example is provided of why visual iconographies are so important?

"Someone sitting behind a desk is not genre specific. However, add high key lighting, a modern mise en scene and a screen behind the character at the desk and the combination of media language choices creates an image we associate with a news broadcast."

2) What examples are provided of the importance of narrative in identifying genre?

"example, in a soap opera it would not be unusual to see one of the story-lines follow a family having to deal with a domestic situation such as a member of the family having trouble with their boss at work. This type of story may also appear in a sit-com but the way the story develops and is dealt with will be different."

So in a soap opera, it would be dealt with in a serious and practical way, but in a sit-com it would be dealt with light-heartedly and comically

3) What are the different ways films can be categorised according to Bordwell? 

• Period or Country, e.g. US films of the 1930s

• Director / Star, e.g. Ben Stiller Films

• Technical Process, e.g. Animation

• Style, e.g. German Expressionism;

• Series, e.g. Bond;

• Audience, e.g. Family Films

4) List three ways genre is used by audiences.

1. They use their prior knowledge
2. Compare it through shared characteristics to another 
3. Use their knowledge to reject a text

5) List three ways genre is used by institutions or producers.

1. Attracting an audience
2. Marketing texts
3. Production

Read Media Factsheet 126 - Superheroes: A Genre Case Study and answer the following questions:

1) List five films the factsheet discusses with regards to the Superhero genre.]

1. Green Lantern
2. Spiderman
3. Batman
4. X men
5. Guardians of the Galaxy

2) What examples are provided of how the Superhero genre has reflected the changing values, ideologies and world events of the last 70 years?

One example of this is mentioned in the article : the change of  the superman movies , which exists inside of the superhero genre. Since the 1930/40s the values represented in the movie have changed significanly, for example WW2 had significantly influenced superman, where he must fight against a European enemy even though he does not want to. This is reflective of USA during these times, since many were afraid the US would have to be involved with the war in europe. Again,. in superman 1930's he attles against lex luther a wealth businessman. This is reflective of the great depression

3) How can Schatz's theory of genre cycles be applied to the Superhero genre?

His genre cycles can be applied to the genre. Innovation: The visual code were established by comic books, when film began to use them as interpretations we can see them use the books codes and conventions regarding the presentation of the grnre in moving image were set. This can be seen in the early superhero shorts in the 1940s.

Classical: By the 1950s the genre could be seen as in its classical stage since the codes and conventions were being replicated in the film and tv programmed of the time 

Parody: Batman (1966) was intentionally funny and camp, did not let the audience take him too seriously. Used an ironic tone and allowed the audience to enjoy the awareness of that.

Task 2: analysis case study

Carry out your own genre analysis using the model provided by media theorist Daniel Chandler. Choose a film or TV text and answer the following questions - brief answers/bullet point responses are fine:

TV SHOW: Snowfall
General
1) Why did you choose the text you are analysing?

I chose this text as I enjoy it a lot as I am currently watchig it 

2) To what genre did you initially assign the text?

Crime drama
3) What is your experience of this genre?

I have watched a few crime dramas before for example breaking bad
4) What subject matter and basic themes is the text concerned with?

Structual racism, crack cocaine epedemic, survival, community and abandonement
5) How typical of the genre is this text in terms of content?

Some of the themes are typical, e.g: survival, however the intergration of deeper themes are not very typical in crime dramas
6) What expectations do you have about texts in this genre?

Hard headed tough protaganist with a typical linear storyline
7) Have you found any formal generic labels for this particular text (where - try imdb.com if unsure)?

8) Which conventions of the genre do you recognize in the text?

I recognise a crime, protaganist , flashbacks etc
9) To what extent does this text stretch the conventions of its genre?

This stretches the conventions of its genre, the progaonist being witty and smart ocmpared to being tough and slow.
10) Where and why does the text depart from the conventions of the genre?

During the end the show focusses on Franklin Saint as a character, his psychological values etc, to show how he changed as a character
11) Which conventions seem more like those of a different genre (and which genre(s))?

Psychological drama: The protganonist begins to become blinded by greed and selfishness, and loses his original meaning. 
12) What familiar motifs or images are used?

Mode of address
1) What sort of audience did you feel that the text was aimed at (and how typical was this of the genre)?

I think the audience was aimed to a young/ adult adience 


Relationship to other texts
1) What intertextual references are there in the text you are analysing (and to what other texts)? Intertextuality is when a media product references another media text of some kind.
2) In terms of genre, which other texts does the text you are analysing resemble most closely?

Breaking Bad
3) What key features are shared by these texts?

Both characters begin dealing with drugs as a source of money, but begins to continue due to the feeling of power, both then become greedy and leads to their evenutal downfall
4) What major differences do you notice between them?

The major difference is that snowfall shows the struggles of structual racism, and breaking bad does not