Thursday, 1 October 2015

Visual Essay Genre

Genre’ is a critical tool that helps us study texts and audience responses to texts by dividing them into categories based on common elements.


 Steve Neal stresses that “genres are not ‘systems’ they are processes of systematization” – i.e. They are dynamic and evolve over time. Generic Characteristics across all texts share similar elements of the below depending on the medium.


Jason Mitell Argues that genres are cultural categories that surpass the boundaries of media texts and operate within industry, audience, and cultural practices as well.In short, industries use genre to sell products to audiences. Media producers use familiar codes and conventions that very often make cultural references to their audience knowledge of society, other texts. Genre also allows audiences to make choices about what products they want to consume through acceptance in order to fulfill a particular pleasure.


 Ø  Rick Altman argues that genre offers audiences ‘a set of pleasures’.Emotional Pleasures: The emotional pleasures offered to audiences of genre films are particularly significant when they generate a strong audience response.Visceral Pleasures: Visceral pleasures (‘visceral’ refers to internal organs) are ‘gut’ responses and are defined by how the film’s stylistic construction elicits a physical effect upon its audience. This can be a feeling of revulsion, kinetic speed, or a ‘roller coaster ride’.Intellectual Puzzles: Certain film genres such as the thriller or the ‘whodunit’ offer the pleasure in trying to unravel a mystery or a puzzle. Pleasure is derived from deciphering the plot and forecasting the end or the being surprised by the unexpected.
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DaDavid Buckingham argues that 'genre is not... Simply "given" by the culture: rather, it is in a constant process of negotiation and change’. Genres are not fixed. They constantly change and evolve over time.

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