By Ashley Joseph

2. Genre is a flexible concept and culturally dependent so
genre expectations and codes and conventions can
vary.

3. John Fiske describes genres as ‘attempts to structure
some order into the wide range of texts and meanings
that circulate in our culture for the convenience of both
producers and audiences’. Therefore genre is a way of
categorising texts in our media-saturated culture.

4. Genre Is:
A way of categorising texts
A way of defining codes and conventions for a
category of text
A way of setting up audience expectations
Different from form – form means the shape of a
particular text, genre refers to type of text.
Culturally dependent – Different cultural groups
construct different expectations.
Constructed through a series of signs which are
associated with that genre or through use of generic
narratives and ideologies.

5. CULTURE AND GENRE
Genre is a dynamic concept, which changes over
time and in different cultural contexts. Because
these changes and culturally dependent you may
not realise that the change has taken place.
It is easier to be aware of generic codes and
conventions when looking at genres which you
are less familiar with. For example, many western
audiences are able to identify clearly the generic
elements of a typical Bollywood musical, even on
first viewing.

6. BACKGROUND TO GENRE THEORY
Andre Basin was the first to explore the very
significant advantages of genre from an
institutional perspective. Genres make film more
efficient by allowing the re-use of plots and sets
as well as more marketable by using generic
conventions as a way of ‘selling’ the film to the
audience.