Genre blog tasks

 Task 1: Genre factsheets


Complete the following tasks using the Media Factsheets available on the Media Shared drive. You'll find them in our Media Factsheet archive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets or can access them online using your Greenford Google login here.

Create a new blogpost in your Exam blog called 'Genre blog tasks' and complete the following:

Read Media Factsheet 03 - Genre: Categorising texts and answer the following questions:

1) What example is provided of why visual iconographies are so important?
The example used for visual Iconographies is  news broadcasts and how adding high-key lighting, a modern mise-en-scene and a screen behind the character at the desk and the combination of media choices creates an image we associate with a news broadcast. 


2) What examples are provided of the importance of narrative in identifying genre?
The example of a newspaper and a broadsheet is used to demonstrate the importance of narrative in identifying media. 

 

3)What are the different ways films can be categorised according to Bordwell? 
• Period or Country, e.g. US films of the 1930s
• Director / Star, e.g. Ben Stiller Films
• Technical Process, e.g. Animation
• Style, e.g. German Expressionism;
• Series, e.g. Bond;
• Audience, e.g. Family Films


4) List three ways genre is used by audiences.

They use their prior knowledge of the genre to anticipate
whether or not they are likely to enjoy a text. This helps when
selecting a media text whether it is a lifestyle magazine, a film
or a television programme.

 They are able to compare a text through its shared
characteristics with another. If you try to describe a TV
programme to someone who has not seen it, you are likely to
define its genre and then clarify what other text it is similar to.

They also use their knowledge of genre to reject a text. For
many of us there will be genres we actively dislike and therefore
will avoid accessing texts we assume to hold those
characteristics.

5) List three ways genre is used by institutions or producers.
 Attracting an Audience
Marketing Texts
Production

Read Media Factsheet 126 - Superheroes: A Genre Case Study and answer the following questions:

1) List five films the factsheet discusses with regards to the Superhero genre.
Independence Day (1996: dir. R. Emmerich), 
 Deep Impact (1998: M. Leder). 
 The Day After
Tomorrow (2004: dir. R. Emmerich).
 James Bond

2) What examples are provided of how the Superhero genre has reflected the changing values, ideologies and world events of the last 70 years?
James Bond and Jack Bauer

3) How can Schatz's theory of genre cycles be applied to the Superhero genre?
The theory of Genre cycles can be applied to the superhero genre because they use innovation(Genre codes are established) to signify to the audience what kind of tropes are involved and will carry out throughout the movie. There are a lot of classical conventions within the super hero genre but the innovation is used to create a more distinct difference between the different movies and series.  


Task 2: Genre analysis case study

Carry out your own genre analysis using the model provided by media theorist Daniel Chandler. Choose a film or TV text and answer the following questions - brief answers/bullet point responses are fine:

Gilmore Girls.
General
1) Why did you choose the text you are analysing?
I chose to use Gilmore girls because I noticed that the themes that come up in the series are quite easy to point out and there is a lot that goes into one episode, making the emotions and comfort you get from the show the same each time but allowing the story to progress which makes you grow with and understand the characters. It would be nice to dissect this series. 

2) To what genre did you initially assign the text?
A soap drama, teen drama, slice of life.

3) What is your experience of this genre?
It's comforting and allows you to grow to understand the characters. 

4) What subject matter and basic themes is the text concerned with?
Coming of age, experiencing life, Working class vs upper class, Importance of education, Relationships and the experience of being a single mother at a young age.

5) How typical of the genre is this text in terms of content?
This series is quite stereotypical now, but it has elements of it that makes it stand out more, I think that this series opened a lot of doors for other more modern series that are coming out now to use similar tropes and conventions. For example the dialogue and witty humour.
 
6) What expectations do you have about texts in this genre?
I expected the texts within this genre to be slow paced, funny and follow a kind of Gustav Freytag structure (Beginning ,middle and end) with the climax in the middle of the episode alongside the resolution at the end. 
7) Have you found any formal generic labels for this particular text (where - try imdb.com if unsure)?

8) Which conventions of the genre do you recognize in the text?
Grumpy x sunshine trope with Luke and Lorelai. I can't seem to think of other at this moment in time. I'm sure there's loads more. 
9) To what extent does this text stretch the conventions of its genre?
The dialogue is fast paced rather than slow like an average slice of life series. The family don't act very traditional like a stereotypical family, even though the mother of Rory(protagonist) was brought up in a rich upper class family. Overall in this series there is a lot of subversion of societal standards, even the most of the people living in Stars Hollow are not your average people.  There are quite a lot of controversial themes and topics that make the views sometimes question their own beliefs and how they view social hierarchies. But the series addresses these things in a more playful and humorous manner which is kind of similar to a parody in some scenes. 

10) Where and why does the text depart from the conventions of the genre?
The text has a lot of American references that some people won't pick up if they are not from America or socialised in that way. References from books, TV shows, movies and real life events. 
11) Which conventions seem more like those of a different genre (and which genre(s))?
The humour within the dialogue of the series make it seem like a comedy. 
12) What familiar motifs or images are used?
There is a underlying motif of co-dependency and familial attachment 

Mode of address
1) What sort of audience did you feel that the text was aimed at (and how typical was this of the genre)?
Teenagers and young adults.


2) What assumptions seem to be made about your class, age, gender and ethnicity?
That young people typically aren't as mature and educationally focused as Rory. 
Mostly Caucasian characters except Michelle and Lane
3) What interests does it assume you have?
Interests about:
Politics, Reading,  social status, Teen life.

Relationship to other texts
1) What intertextual references are there in the text you are analysing (and to what other texts)?
 Intertextuality is when a media product references another media text of some kind.

Sourced from Google: Referenced texts in "Gilmore Girls"
Notable Literary Texts Referenced


2) In terms of genre, which other texts does the text you are analysing resemble most closely?
Ginny and Georgia to some extent with teen life.

3) What key features are shared by these texts?
They feature the life of a teen girl growing up and coming to understand her social life and relationships
4) What major differences do you notice between them?
The different themes of surviving a difficult life that's reflected in "Ginny and Georgia" and Navigating a more lavish and upper class life style from the generational wealth of grandparents in "Gilmore Girls"

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