MEDIA THEORIST CARDS

genre as ‘convenience’ for producers and audiences – this means commercial success is underpinned by the conventions of genre in terms of what audiences expect.

there are infinite genres. Basically here, Stam is advancing an A2 concept that there is an argument that genre no longer exists and we do not have to analyse text in terms of genre.

'the boundaries between genres are shifting and becoming more permeable' we are getting more hybrids and sub-genres as texts cross between categories to maximise audience appeal. He also suggested that ‘We derive pleasure from observing how the conventions of a genre are manipulated’.  Knowing what to expect in a text makes us enjoy the unexpected.

genre break rules and commonly hybridizes.

"Genres should not be understood as rules or restrictions” Jenkins express’ his ideas that many see genre as a classification or barrier that should not be crossed. However he clearly demonstrates he’s beliefs that this should not be the case as it limits creativity due to the ideas that exploring mixed conventions of different genres together may seem unnatural

genre is interpreted culturally e.g. Coronation Street or Eastenders could only be understood in terms of the conventions of UK soap operas, American television dramas tend to have a slightly different set of conventions to British television dramas.

 'the same text can belong to different genres in different countries or times' as genres evolve, older texts can be reclassified.  Cultural values position audiences differently also.

Genre is too restricting and presents audiences and producers with a creative ‘straightjacket’.

How we define a genre depends on our purposes. Conventional definitions of genres tend to be based on the notion that they constitute particular conventions of content (such as themes or settings - iconography) and/or form (including structure and style) which are shared by the texts which are regarded as belonging to them.

Genre as repetition and difference

 ‘Difference is absolutely essential to the economy of genre'

 Mere repetition would not attract an audience – a USP is needed.

genre in constant process of negotiation and change

 “Genre is not simply given by the culture, rather, it is in a constant process of negotiation and change.” As society changes, so to do the genres to reflect culture of that time.

genre offers audiences a ‘set of pleasures’

• Genres are defined by the film industry and recognized by the mass audience.

• Genres have clear, stable identities and borders.

• Individual films belong wholly and permanently to a single genre.

• Genres are trans-historical. lifting the production values of the time and setting can ***** away differences in which movies/texts can find similarities

Christian Metz - Genres go through stages:

• the Experimental:This is where the genre is established and experiments which different sceneries and scenarios.

• the Classic:   An original piece of work which is developing the initial codes and conventions of the genre. 

• the Parody: In the 90's the development stage reached a phrase where thriller scenes and movies incorporated comedic effects watering down expectations of the film. 

• the Deconstruction: The thriller genre has now evolved into a stage where hybrids are evident. The thriller has now fused with several other genre creating sub-catergories the most established being sci-fi/thriller or horror/thriller hybrids.

Industries use genre to sell products to audiences by offering:

• familiar codes and conventions

• cultural references to society + other texts

considers the 'repertoire of elements' that work in combination to suggest a media text belongs to a particular genre or mix of genres.   Lacey does not see genres as fixed but as dynamic and changing over time.  He breaks a text down into these five areas:

• Setting

• Character

• Narrative

• Iconography

• Style

intergroup discrimination, useful for studying Identities and the Media and the idea of a collective group.

Social identity theory proposes that a person’s sense of who they are depends on the groups to which they belong.

Categorization. First, we categorize people in order to understand and identify them. Some examples of social categories include black, white, professor, student, Republican, and Democrat

Social Comparison. After we categorize ourselves within a group and identify ourselves as being members of that group, we tend to compare our group (the ingroup) against another group (an outgroup). 

post feminist icon theory suggesting female character are determined, strong, independent and in control but also utilize their sexuality

most of her research done into the magazine industry 

stereotyping has elements of truth and are based on repeated representations, both in society and within the media.

  stereotypes can change and even be positive

Perkins also argues that stereotypes are not simplistic, they contain complex understanding of roles in society. Not always negative and often contain truth

stereotyping is shorthand for identification.

"One way that texts like Waterloo Road and Skins for example allow for audience identification is through stereotyping and giving characters an extreme representation".

stereotype legitimize inequality by marginalizing certain individuals and social groups.

A way to ensure unequal power relations are maintained is to continually stereotype

Producer as Consumer (Prosumer): "Media Studies students regularly make their own short film productions but are also regular consumers of the media - in doing so they are both producer and consumer blurring the boundaries of traditional media consumption"

In many horror films, like Halloween typically the last girl that survives is pure, chaste and virginal while all of her friends with looser morals have been killed. Even the name of the last girl is often unisex e.g. Sidney, Teddy or Billie and has elements of androgyny and sometimes also a shared history with the killer".

Primary, Secondary, Tertiary audience engagement:

"watching films in a cinema involve a primary mode of audience engagement as the spectator is immersed with the narrative while watching a programme at home on television may involve eating a meal at the same time or texting, using social media or other additional activities (secondary ). Tertiary audience engagement is using the text as background media like music radio

Moral panics: the media play a massive part in moral panics even if it is just reading the news.

the media over react to an aspect of behaviour which may be seen as a challenge to existing social norms

moral panic sends society in to a mass hystreria over a particular issue or events that occurs.

post modern A2 theory against meta narratives, pro micro narratives and fragmentation suggesting that traditional ways of thinking about narrative are flawed

Representations are hyper real, often copies of copies and have lost meaning as a result

Social Class is constructed by Cultural taste (and in turn by education)

opposes media censorship and the vulnerability stereotype- sees youth as active and literate compared to vulnerable and needing protection

Youtube as cultural phenomenon the value of youtube is being acknowledged with the availability and access to resources it provides being taken for granted despite it origination in recent history, 2006

Blurred boundaries representation of 'the real' Brooker is suggesting that many texts and their availability on a number of interactive platforms has made people question what is real and what is not.