genre theory: Steve Neale

Concept 1:repetition and difference

• genre based categories are not commodities, they can change and sub-divide: they can fuse and die

• there are no fixed list of ingredients that determine genre

• genre driven products create audience appeal through repetition of same ingredients some of the time

• products by necessity, have to adapt genre-based formulas to maintain their commercial viability and maximise audience engagement

• the growth of sub-genres and the recognition of defined genre hybrids has made the process of genre classification more complicated than ever

• Neale suggests that, in order to diagnose the genre of a product, we might look towards the following

1) levels of verisimilitude

• the extent to which the product references the real world

• texts with high levels of verisimilitude refernce the real world with accuracy: news, broadcasts, biopics, documentarie

• texts with low levels do not refernce the real world accuratley: science fiction, fantasy

2) narrative similarities

• identification of defined story structures of formulaic narrative devices

• specific presentation techniqyes eg: summary opening paragraph

• style and pace of narrative delivery

3) charachter driven motifs

• audiences expecr some genres ti deliver explicit charachter types

• secondary charachter inclusion might be heavily defined by genre

4) iconography

• mise-en-scene expectations: setting, costume, makeup, camera

5) audience targeting

specific genres are crafted to appeal to particular audiences

6) representational effects

genres might be recognizable through gender specific representations

concept 2: industry effects on genre-driven media

• genre-driven output is shaped by auteurs and is also subject to the effects of industrial mediation

• genre labeling is widely practiced by media producers to creare a narrative image for a media product

• promotion and marketing and materials (intertextusl relay) can fix the genre of a product

auteur effect

related to the input that individual producers have a genre-driven products

high/low culture remixing

a common form of hybridisation in which products mix pop culture genre forms with motifs from more serious genres

hybridisation

using the styles, narratives or other motifs from multiple genres in one product

iconography

the visual compenents of a media product. iconography might refer to mise-en-scene elements (setting, costume and acting styles) or to other sylistic devices (camera work, editing treatments, layout or typography)

institutional mediation

the effects of institutions in shaping genre-driven products. institutions might shape genre output as a result of their company type/ ethos