ML: Genre Theory - Neale

Question 1

Important factors to consider when diagnosing a products genre

Answer 1

1. Levels of verisimilitude- the degree to which it references the real world
2. Narrative similarities
3. Character driven motifs
4. Iconography - Mis en scene expectations
5. Audience targeting - genres are made to target a specific audience

Question 2

What drives Genre subversion

Answer 2

• Audience needs - audiences gain enjoyment in recognising the similarities & deviations
• Contextual influences - changing attitudes towards elements of a certain genre e.g. horror’s ’the final girl’
• Economic influences - falling sales or poor audience engagement

Question 3

Genre hybridity

Answer 3

The deliberate inclusion or intertwining of conventions from across a number of genres

Question 4

Genre piggybacking

Answer 4

Products can cash in on the relative popularity of a genre-driven product by incorporating elects or motifs of that genre.

E.g. The superhero genre - The avengers saw a spike in products from that genre

Question 5

What does genre-hybridity do

Answer 5

• Enables quick tonal shifts e.g. from a sci-fi setting to a horror house
• Genre piggybacking (economic factor)
• Originality reasons
• High and low culture remixing - both serious subtexts and narrative content that is accessible and popular
• Expands audience appeal
• Nostalgia - the revival of certain genres
• Knowing audiences
• Mirrors contemporary audience consumption experience

Question 6

Auteur effect

Answer 6

Writers, starts and directors of products often deflect and subvert genre-driven themes accomodate the stories they want to tell

Question 7

High/ low culture remixing

Answer 7

A common form of genre hybridisation in which media products mix pop culture genre forms with motifs from more serious genres

Question 8

Iconography

Answer 8

The visual components of a media products often deflect. Iconography might refer to mise en scene elements or to other stylistic devices.

Question 9

Institutional mediation

Answer 9

The effect of institutions on shaping genre-driven products.

Institutions might take a specialised approach to genre production or genre output.

Question 10

Intertextual relay

Answer 10

Refers to the range of production and marketing material that are used by products (trailers, posters, reviews etc).

Intertextual relay fixes the narrative image of a product through genre labelling.

Question 11

Narrative image

Answer 11

Refers to the set of expectations and persona built for a media products often deflect through marketing and the reception of the product by its audience

Question 12

Genre hybridity
Strengths and weaknesses

Answer 12

S: Highlights that a diversion from static genre conventions - broadens creative possibilities and audience engagement by challenging expectation.
- Reflects contemporary media consumption, where boundaries between mediums of media consuption are blurred.
- Introduction of fresh perspectives on a genre while appealing to audience familiarity

W: Overlooks the alienation of audiences who prefer traditional genre conventions
- Adverse effects such as the dilution of identity of a specific genre.
- Institutional mediation might resist hybridity, preferring easily marketable categories,

Question 13

Genre-piggybacking
Strengths and weaknesses

Answer 13

S: Allows newer or niche genres to gain traction by associating and interacting with established ones.

W: The over-saturation of a specific genre; causing a significant decline in audience engagement - as originality has been stifled.