The Theory Behind the Genre.

 

What is 'genre'?

 

Genre involves characteristics which all audiences can identify and recognise. Genre can also be looked at as a 'formula'. This 'formula' is repeated and used over and over again across all media platforms. For example in a pop music video you would find all the same styles of location, costume, colour pallet and iconography. In a Horror film as an audience we'd recognise it as it's genre from the same atmospheres, the music choices, locations, costumes and props.

 

(Iconography of 'pop genre')

These elements create a certain expectation and the artist and directors need to fulfil these assumptions. The audience may even find a sense of pleasure in predicting these outcomes.

Despite the fact the audiences know all this and grant themselves some satisfaction of guessing correctly, audiences, including myself are open to slight alterations and unexpected genre elements - to keep things fresh. With this in mind it keeps things from being boring and unsatisfactory; thus making it a combination of both familiar and unanticipated.

 

An example of this would be Miley Cyrus's - Can't Stop music video. In this it features lots of elements of a pop genre, the close ups, the bright colours, dance sequences and upbeat tempo; however it is very alternative and unexpected and someone 'disturbing' to watch. This to me is bringing forth a new 'era' of pop videos to the scene.

 

(Miley Cyrus - Can't Stop)

 

But to actually identify a genre as something can cause to be quite problematic. How do we know how to differenciate pop from it's sub categories e.g. electro-pop, dance-pop, synth-pop ect? As an audience we can only hope to successfully identify and disect these problems by approaching it with theory.

Rick Altman has propsed a theory from his book 'Film/Genre' and has called it the semantic and syntactic approach.

 

 

 

 

Now, what is semantic and syntactic mean I hear you cry? Well, semantic is only concerned with the conventions of the genre that communicate to the audience with things such as location, props, music, camera and artists/stars. For example in a Rock video we'd expect to see:

• Guitars
• Skinny jeans
• Long hair
• Dark locations
• Close up of instruments
• Close ups of main singer
• Head banging
• Abandoned builds ect

Syntactic revovles around the relations of these elements and how the structure narrates the song/film. For example in a film or music video a protaganist could start off as a 'nerd' and soon work their way, through out the film/song, into becoming 'popular'. But during this narration a series of enigmas (problems) which get in the way of success.

To put it simply, Altman suggest that genre can be read through these steps:

• Production (the blueprint)
• Text (the structure)
• Exhibition (the label)
• Consumption (the contract)

Blueprint: Genre can be seen as a blueprint, as a formula like previously mentioned, that programmes and patterns the industry production.

Structure: Genre can also be seen as a type of structure, as the formula framework on which individual films/songs are founded.

Lable: Genre as a lable names the category central to the decisions and communications of distributors and exhibitors.

Contract: The viewing position required by each genre film/song of its audience.

If we, the audience, are able to look at film and music genres in this way, we can begin to understand and depict what each one is. Providing a sophisticated approach to reading into genres.