1. Jason Mittell -
Five Cultural Categories
1. ‘Genre analysis should account for the particular attributes of the medium’ - This is
applied to the medium functionalities, the audience and the nature of reception.
Genre should have particular attributes such as conventions, have a specific target
audience.
2. ‘Genre studies should negotiate between the specificity and generality’ - reflecting a
tension between the two threads. Genre can be analysed in terms of its textual and/or
thematic components or alternatively how the specific text abides or hybridises genre
elements.
Genre should find a balance between aiming specifically at a target audience and
appealing to a wider demographic in orderto be successful.
3. ‘Genre histories should be written using discursive genealogies’ - As a cultural product,
genre develops within interrelated sites of audience, industrial and cultural practices. To
understand them, we need to approach texts broadly.
Genres shouldn’t be set in stone and may always be subject to change as time goes
on.
4. ‘Genre should be understood in cultural practice’ - Mittell links to literary critic, Tzvetan
Todorov’s distinction of historical and theoretical genres, reflecting the boundary
between cultural and predetermined categories. While each genre does exhibit a
recognisable structure, individual texts become influenced by their specific situation
within the broader category. ‘
Cultural differences can affect how genre is interpreted in different geographic
locations. I.e. An Indian audience may not enjoy an American horrordue to their
different expectations.
5. ‘Genres should be situated within the larger systems of cultural hierarchies and power
relations’. - This references how genres are produced and read within different
contexts. This can be applied to the varied adaptations of reality television show Big
2. Brother across international production teams, with particular aesthetic or narrative
components succeeding in one country while failing to entertain in another.
Genre should be specific to the audience it is targeting depending on culture, country
and class as everyone has different needs of entertainment.
Mittell arguesthat industriesuse genre to sell products to audiences.Mediaproducersuse
familiarcodes and conventionsthat oftenmake referencestotheiraudience’sunderstanding
of societyand other texts.
