Working With Genres
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Working with genres for photographers, authors, designers, film makers, and other creatives.
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Working With Genres
- 2. A bit about me @thomasgronfeldt #LSUgenres
- 3. What is a genre?
- 4. Two Tales of One Genre
- 5. Where do genres come from?
- 6. How many genres are there?
- 7. How are genres created?
- 9. Inherited from older media
- 14. “For sale: Baby shoes – never worn”
- 15. Why do we tell stories?
- 16. We don’t identify with facts
- 17. We identify with THEMES, CHOICES, SITUATIONS, CONFLICTS, and DRAMAS
- 18. We identify with stories
- 19. The thing about stories and circles
- 21. Some genres of stories
- 23. Rags to riches
- 24. The Quest
- 26. Comedy
- 27. Tragedy
- 28. Rebirth
- 30. Genre rules of crime fiction
- 31. Everything you need for good crime fiction is a good beginning and a telephone book for the right names - Georges Simenon
- 32. The most important recipe for crime fiction: the detective must never know more than the reader - Agatha Christie
- 33. There are no criminal, but rather regular people becoming criminal - Georges Simenon
- 34. In case of doubt, let two guys with guns come in - Agatha Christie
- 35. Raymond Chandler's rules for crime fiction 1. 2. 3. It must be credibly motivated, both as to the original situation and the dénouement It must be technically sounds as to the methods of murder and detection It must be realistic in character, setting and atmosphere. It must be about real people in a real world 4. It must have a sound story value apart from the mystery element; i.e., the investigation itself must be an adventure worth reading. 5. It must have enough essential simplicity to be explained easily when the time comes. 6. It must baffle a reasonably intelligent reader --> Ideal Reader! 7. The solution must seem inevitable once revealed 8. It must not try to do everything at once. If it is a puzzle story operating in a rather cool, reasonable atmosphere, it cannot also be a violent adventure or a passionate romance. 9. It must the criminal in one way or another, nor necessarily by operation of the law - if the detective fails to resolve the consquences of the crime, the story is an unresolved chord and leaved irritation behind it. 10. It must be honest with the reader.
- 36. Obey the rules of a genre?
- 40. • It Why did the Casino Royale (2007) succeed?
- 41. The Buddy Movie Revisited
- 42. Do's and don'ts of playing with genre
Editor's Notes
- Name: Thomas GrønfeldtSengerOccupation: Professor of media and communication, and media consultantPreviously worked as a consultant in the IT and communication sector, former PR and spokesperson for Google.Has lived in the US (pardon the accent) and London (yay!), and can pick a pair of handcuffs behind my back with a hairpin in 30 seconds flat.
- Genre is a term weusewithoutreally knowing it'splaceA categoryA set of expectationsA agreed-upon set of rulesthatapply to a topic or narrative styleA form of narrative
- Typical Bond movie trailer (”The World Is Not Enough”): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCFB1GdCjbUCasino Royale (1967) trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEnoKqiGJFICasino Royale (2006) trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LozaiZBdji0In a bit, we’ll talk about why one succeeded, and the other one failed.
- Genrescome from theatre, and the first genres wereestablishedduring the Ancient Greek period, where theatre was a popular form of entertainment.Later on, the genres of theatre foundtheirway to literature, then to radio and TV.”Genres” wasfirstusedabout fiction.In Greek theatre, therewereonlythree genres: Comedy, whichcenteredaroundmocking the men and women of power (later on focusing on ordinarycitizens as well, preempting the sitcom). An example is Aristphanes’ ”Lysistrate” about the women of tworivalingtownsbringingpeace by denyingtheir men sex until a peace is reached. Tragedy, whichfocused on the grand emotions of love, hate, loss, abuse of power and man’spowerlesness in the face of fate and Gods. An example is Oedipus, about a man whofinds his fate on the veryroad (literally) thathetakes to avoid it. And finally, Satyricalplays (from whereweget the word ”satire”), whichwere more absurd, and oftenperformed in the breaks in otherplays. Few of thesesurvive to thisday.Tragedywasconsidered the highest genre, as it wasbelieved to ”cleanse the spirit” throughcartharsis, the sharing of others’ suffering.Genres arecreated in informalcollaborationbetween the actors of the field, both the creators and the users. Today, more and more, genre rulesarecreated by users and non-corporatecreators.Genre rules in new media or new media forms areofteninherited from the media that go beforethem.Examples:The genre rules of TV wherebased on radio at first - more spokenwordthanvisual, focusing on talk and musicInternet media inherited the genre rules of print media, especiallynews media and magazinesGenres, especially new genres, have different interpretations acrosscultures
- Classical Greek theater of course lists three, comedy, tragedy and satireMost theatertheorists list threemainones, comedy, tragedy and dramaWriter Robert McKeenames 25 genresGerman screenplaywriter and lecturer Martin Thau counts 160Wikipedia lists 108
- Genres arecreated in informalcollaborationbetween the actors of the field, both the creators and the users. Today, more and more, genre rulesarecreated by users and non-corporatecreators.
- Genre rules in new media or new media forms areofteninherited from the media that go beforethem.Examples:The genre rules of TV wherebased on radio at first - more spokenwordthanvisual, focusing on talk and musicInternet media inherited the genre rules of print media, especiallynews media and magazinesGenres, especially new genres, have different interpretations acrosscultures
- A receipe is a classic example of a genre.
- Genres are essentially stories, or rather, story frameworks, that helps us set a scene, create and align expectations.
- The genre of short stories is one example. An example which Hemingway mastered.
- Facts are good, and they are the basis of convincing people. But facts alone do not create engagement. Facts do not sell products. And facts do not build brands. Stories do.
- "By sharing our stories, we define who we are and what we stand for. The stories we share are the building blocks for any human relationship. Stories place our shared experiences in words and images. They express what we stand for. The struggle between good and evil communicates the narrators pov, expressing their values. This struggle is expressed through choice. “From Klaus Fogs “Storytelling – Branding in practice”.
- One model of story-telling, typical of most epic stories. Try plotting in The Lord of The Rings, Star Wars (in particular episode IV), or The Hobbit into this. This is essentially the genre rules of the Epic, or the Journey Story.
- Christopher Brooker claims in his book “The Seven Basic Plots” that there are really only 7 plots in the world, everything else is simply a variation or combination of these 7.
- In this story line, something terrible, or at least unwanted, needs to be defeated. Greenpeace makes good use of this.A subset of this is the “David and Goliath” storyline, in which a seemingly unmatched hero must go against a giant. Apple has used this, as has many Silicon Valley tech companies, pitting themselves as David against the conglomerates of traditional media.
- In this story form, the focus is on achievement, with the hero having or trying to overcome their place in society to become something more (not necessarily rich, can be other “treasures, too). Disney’s “Aladdin” has used this, as does many self-help book authors and motivational speakers, even presidential candidates, as this was a big part of the Obama Campaign 2008 narrative.
- Here, a grand deed needs to be done. Typical in companies or organizations that look to use a sense of purpose as the motivation for employees. Think Google, that is on a quest “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful for everyone”, or Apple, who set out to make the computer personal and accessible for everyone, not just IT-bosses in big companies. In Denmark, we have Novo Nordisk, who utilizes this story very well, aiming at “wiping out diabetes”.
- Here, a status quo needs to be re-established. The Hobbit is a great example (even being titled “There and back again”). A corporate example is in many advertisements for fast moving consumer goods, especially cleaning products. Harmony is the clean home, that is “soiled” by dirt appearing suddenly (when the dirty dog runs through the kitchen), but the hero, the cleaning product, comes to the rescue and harmony is restored.
- Comedy needs no introduction as a narrative genre. But it is also one of the most used in advertising, especially in mature markets such as the Nordics and the UK.
- Easily recognized, not least in the classics such as Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Often used in news and news photography, as tragedies and conflicts make for strong news elements. As an old editor of mine once said, “if it bleeds, it leads”.
- But genres of stories aren’t limited to fiction. Something like corporate stories use genres as well.NASA’s story of putting a man on the moon was so powerful, that for decades after, the term “used by astronauts” was used to sell anything from velcro, to watches, to pillows.The elements of the story are very strong, too: the message, that man can do anything and we as a society can transgress even the most amazing of barriers. The conflict is of course the quest to leave our world, the dangers of venturing into the unknown, and the competition with the Russians. The characters are Kennedy as the inspirator, the scientists of NASA as the ones who make it happen, and the brave astronauts as the ones who make the leap into the unknown. The plot is one of trial and error, of sacrifice and triumph that reaches a crescendo when the astronauts step on to the moon’s surface, and finds it conclusion when they return to Earth.
- Crime fiction is one of the most popular genres in popularcultureDates back to 1841, when Edgar Allen Poe wrotewhat is considered the firstcrime fiction short story, ”The Murders of Rue Morgue”The story, which features the first ”whodunnit” plot, takesplace in Paris, and deals with the solving of a mysterious and brutal massmurder in a ParisianappartmentThe genre rules of crime fiction hasdeveloped over the past 150 years
- Genre rulesaresometimesbroken to createeffectHumor or surpriseInnovation to catch attentionInnovation to re-invigorate a genre that is loosingpeople'sinterestSometimes, thishappens with a lot of success and it maymove the genre forward and redefine the genre rulesOther times, it bombs and the genre rulesare in effectreinforcedWhen genre rulesarebroken due to lack of knowledge of them, it rarelygoeswell
- Genre rulesaresometimesbroken to createeffectHumor or surpriseInnovation to catch attentionInnovation to re-invigorate a genre that is loosingpeople'sinterestSometimes, thishappens with a lot of success and it maymove the genre forward and redefine the genre rulesOther times, it bombs and the genre rulesare in effectreinforcedWhen genre rulesarebroken due to lack of knowledge of them, it rarelygoeswell
- Sometimes, it goesverywell and the experiment is a success. If it workswell, it often sparks a lot of creativityinto atired genre. Genres arelikeclichés, theybecometired. But ifsomeoneplays with themwell, it breatheslifeinto the genre. And sometimes sparks a whole new genre (think animation moviesbefore and after Dreamworks/Pixar vs. after)Like with Shrek, whichchallenged the genre of animation movies by being made 100 % via computer animation (as one of the few at the time), but also by having a much more grown up humor than most animation movies. It alsochallenged the traditionalfairytale genre (oneoftenused by animation movie producers such as Disney) by introducingmodern, and very human traits to the story lines and characters.
- With more than 20 films, manyactors and directors, a slew of related media, and a hugecultural and cinematicimpact, James Bond is almost to beconsidered a genre in itsown right.But eventhis genre has beenchallenged.
- The World is Not Enough, opening scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg13T8GZymUCS (2007) opening scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNvzNWuzI9YVodka Martini scene, original: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLTFJ2DcG0oVodka Martini scene, CS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mQpFS0bhNkBond, James Bond (CS): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKysEIVJfBsRespected the genre enough to not alienate fans, whilecreating new fansIt played with humor to show that the producers wereaware of their ”violation” of the ”rules”It still containedenoughstyle elements to keepaudienceshappyIt made references to previousentries in the genre, to indicatethat it wasaware of genre rulesAlso, it had an advantage in the Bournemovies, which had already set a new genre tone for spy thrillers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4t8J2wUNJg&feature=related
- Thelma & Louise: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrkX8axRMTgButch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ck6vqsOt-PcFinal scene, Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0UzG-Gc7II&feature=relatedFinal scene, Thelma & Louise: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z88U915uq8Thelma and Louise is a retake on not just one, but threeclassicmovie genres: the buddymovie, where the focus is on the cameraderiebetweentwoguys; the roadmovie, and the western.The classic version of all of these genres is Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid.
- Some do it well: George Lucas and QuentinTarantinoDon'tdisrepect the genre.Don'tplay with a genre youare not extremelyfamiliar with.Don’talienate the genre’s fans.Do it from a place of love, not dislike. If youdislike a genre, youareunlikely to succeed in playing with it.Do consider the age of the genre - older genres are more suitedDo make references to establish and conveyyour genre knowledgeDo use it for a purpose,frivolous genre play is rarely a goodidea