Theory and Theorist On Genre

They key concept of genre relates to the codes and conventions shared by texts and the generic features they share. A text is classified in a genre through the identification of key elements which occur in that text, and also in other text of the same genre. These elements are referred to as ‘Padigrims’; (they way something is done). The targeted audience recognise these padigrims and they have expectations, predictions and they anticipate whilst viewing the text.

An example of this would be in a romance based film, one of the characters is expected to find love at the end of the film.

Theorist such as:

Richard Dyer (1973) says that "Genres are pleasurable because they offer escapist fantasies into fiction worlds that remove the boredom and pressures of reality."

Steve Neale: says “Genre are instances of repetition and difference” he also adds that “difference is essential to the economy of genre” - audiences like to feel safe with the genre they are familiar with, but sometimes they can welcome a little change.

David Buckingham (1993): says “Genre is not simply given by the culture: rather, it is in a constant process of negotiation and change”

For my production the theorist I will take into consideration will be ‘Graeme Burton and his six elements’.

One of Graeme Burton's theory is of horror films, it states there are formulaic key elements of the horror genre which the audience expect to see' applied to movies.

Burton suggests that each text shares particularly key elements to make up the generic formula, these formulas include:

Ø      Protagonists

Ø      Stock characters

Ø      Plots and stock situations

Ø      Icons( mise en scene)

Ø      Background and Décor- the setting (for example if it’s a comedy film the atmosphere will be bright and jolly)

Ø      Themes

These padigrims are grouped, and the groups include:

Ø      Iconography- these sometimes help to define the genre. They include things such as; the main signs and symbols that is seen or heard. Iconography doesn’t always involve looks and symbols, it is also applied to people especially the actors/stars for example Angelina jolie, she is a famous well know actress, celebrities that are known world wide and have made an impact in the film industry are also known as ‘Screen icons’. Iconography runs through different media output, it varies from Magazines such as ‘Hello’ and it runs right through MTV into film and television.

Ø      Structure- this involves the way the text is put together and the shape it takes.

Ø      Theme- this relates to the ideas the text deals with.