PP on Media theory

1. Media Theory
Genre – Steve Neale
Andrew Goodwin – Music Video
Narrative – Todorov and Propp

2. Steve Neale’s Genre Theory
• Steve Neale’s theory of Repetition and Difference. Steve Neale states that genres all contain instances of
repetition and difference, difference is essential to the to the economy of the genre.
• Neale states that the film and it’s genre is defined by two things:
• How much is conforms to its genre’s individual conventions and stereotypes. A film must match the genre’s
conventions to be identified as part of that genre.
• How much a film subverts the genre’s conventions and stereotypes. The film must subvert convention
enough to be considered unique and not just a clone of an existing film.
• Neale states that Hollywood’s generic regime performs two functions:
• To guarantee pleasure and meaning for the audience.
• To offset financial risks of film production by providing collateral against innovation and difference.
• Popular cinema relies on audiences finding pleasure in difference and repetition i.e. recognition of familiar
elements and the way those elements are linked in an unfamiliar way or the way that unfamiliar elements
might be introduced.
• Genre is constituted by specific systems of expectations and hypothesis which spectators bring with them to
the cinema and which and which interact with the films themselves during the course of the viewing
process.
• To the film’s production team (producer, director etc) genre provides a template.
• To the film’s distributors genre provides assumptions about which audiences they should be marketing to.
• To the film’s audience genre identifies a liked of disliked formula and provides certain rules of engagement
in terms of anticipation of enjoyment.

3. Andrew Goodwin’s 6 Features of Music Video
• “Dancing in the Distraction Factory” is a book where Andrew Goodwin
points out the characteristics and features found in music videos:
• 1. Music Videos demonstrate genre characteristics.
• 2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals.
• 3. There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and
atmosphere of the visual reflects that of the music.
• 4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close
ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their
work (a visual style).
• 5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within
screens, mirrors, stages, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the
female body.
• 6. There are often intertextual reference (to films, tv programmes, other
music videos etc).

4. Tzvetan Todorov’s Theory of Narrative
• Todorov suggested that conventional narratives are structured in five
stages:
• 1. a state of equilibrium at the outset;
• 2. a disruption of the equilibrium by some action;
• 3. a recognition that there has been a disruption;
• 4. an attempt to repair the disruption;
• 5. a reinstatement of the equilibrium
• This type of narrative structure is very familiar to us and can be
applied to many ‘mainstream’ film narratives.

5. Vladimir Propp’s Theory of Narrative
• Vladimir Propp suggested that characters took on the role of narrative
'spheres of action' or functions. From a comprehensive study of folktales
Propp came up with seven different character types:
• The hero
• The villain
• The donor
• The helper
• The princess
• The dispatcher
• The false hero
• Characters can fulfil more than one sphere character type, for example; a
princess may also be a helper