This document discusses genre theory and defines genres as groupings of texts that share conventions of content, form, themes, and style. While genres have common identifiable elements, the boundaries between genres are fluid as they evolve over time and individual texts can blend elements of multiple genres. Genres aid communication between creators and audiences by establishing expectations, but allow for new interpretations within traditional frameworks. Key components used to define genres include settings, characters, narratives, iconography, and stylistic elements.

2. GENRE MEANING
The word genre means 'kind' or 'class'. And is used as a
way of grouping texts together.
Genre is not fixed and there are fuzzy distinctions
between different genres and several texts will be
hybrids that contain elements from one that one
genre.

3. IMPORTANCE
Follow market trends – cash-in
Easier when talking to others- fund raising because they know what youre taking
about
Easier to write and construct film because you already have the formula
Easier to choose actors
Easier to make because you aleady have experience in that genre
Easier to manage budget and plan, and minimise risk.
Easier to market because the audience have a good idea of what they are getting.
Easier for audience because they have a good idea of what they are getting.
Easier to market because genre signifiers can be used on posters

4. GENRE THEORY
Conventional definitions of genres tend to be based on
the notion that they constitute particular conventions
of content (such as themes or settings) and/or form
(including structure and style) which are shared by the
texts which are regarded as belonging to them.

5. GENRE THEORY
Genre may be considered as a practical device for
helping any mass medium to produce consistently and
efficiently and to relate its production to the
expectations of its customers. Since it is also a
practical device for enabling individual media users to
plan their choices, it can be considered as a
mechanism for ordering the relations between the two
main parties to mass communication. (McQuail 1987,
200)

6. DEFINITION - ALMOST
…Genre can be defined as patterns/styles/structures
which transcend individual art products, and which
supervise both their production by the artist and their
reading by audiences … ( Ryali 1975)

7. GENRE THEORY
Robert Stam
While some genres are based on story content (the war
film), other are borrowed from literature (comedy,
melodrama) or from other media (the musical). Some
are performer-based (the Astaire-Rogers films) or
budget-based (blockbusters), while others are based
on artistic status (the art film), racial identity (Black
cinema), location] (the Western) or sexual orientation
(Queer cinema). (Stam 2000, 14).

8. GENRE THEORY
It is easy to underplay the differences within a genre.
Steve Neale declares that 'genres are instances of
repetition and difference' (Neale 1980, 48)
Difference is absolutely essential to the economy of
genre (Neale 1980)
Tzvetan Todorov argued that 'any instance of a genre will
be necessarily different' (cited in Gledhill 1985, 60)

9. LACEYS -REPETOIRE OF ELEMENTS
Lacey considers that there are a ‘repertoire is elements’ that work together to suggest
genre and that these are a useful framework to use for analysis
Setting
Character
Narrative
Iconography
Style
But did not see genres as fixed but as dynamic and changing over time.

10. GENRE – FLUID NOT FIXED
There are no ‘rigid rules of inclusion and exclusion’ (Gledhill 1985)
‘Genre… are not discrete systems, consisting of a fixed number of listable items’
(Gledhill 1985)
It is difficult to make clear cut distinctions between one genre and another: genres
overlap, and there are ‘mixed genres’ such as comedy thrillers (Chandler 2000)

11. GENRE – KEY CONCEPT
The 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 in others of the same genre. These elements may
be referred to as paradigms, (basically, ways of doing
something) and range from costume to music to plot
points to font (depending on the medium).

12. GENRE – KEY CONCEPT (CONT)
Audiences recognise these paradigms, and bring a set of
expectations to their reading of the text accordingly:
for example, the criminal will be brought to justice at
the end of the police thriller. These paradigms may be
grouped into those relating to iconography (ie the
main signs and symbols that you see/hear), structure
(the way a text is put together and the shape it takes)
and theme (the issues and ideas it deals with).

13. FILM GENRE
Horror
Thriller
Comedy
Sci-fi

14. ADVERT GENRES
Harder to group but the following might be useful
Realistic Series
Non-realistic Surreal
Animation Humorous
Talking Heads Dramatic
Documentary Parody

15. MUSIC VIDEO GENRE
Performance
Narrative Based
Concept based

16. BURTONS SIX ELEMENTS
Burton suggests that each text in a given genre shares
particular key elements to make up the generic
formula, these include: Protagonists Stock
Characters Plots and Stock
Situations Icons Background and Décor Themes

17. GENRE COMPONENTS
You can also attempt to identify genre by referring to the
following
Setting, character narrative, iconography, style,

18. CHARACTER
Each genre will have a set of stock characters
Sci Fi – aliens,

19. SETTING
- western: wide open vistas of the Western
plains/dessert; the small-town
- gangster: dark, urban, back-street settings
- soap opera: indoor, upper-middle class setting
- spy-thriller: exotic, often urban international setting
- science-fiction: futuristic worlds
- game shows: large studios with lavish prizes displayed

20. NARRATIVE

21. ICONOGRAPHY

22. STYLE

23. STARS