Post 4- Genre As A Media Concept

In our lesson we looked at a PowerPoint presentation on genre and a number of theorist and critics views on this matter. From looking at many different texts its clear that genre is seen as a way of putting different media into categories or lists and using it as a way of analysing a text and making it easier to differentiate between different genres. Genre theory and concepts are widely used throughout the media world however it’s not just a simple idea but one that causes much controversy between many critics and audiences.

In year 12 as part of our coursework we had to produce an opening sequence, this opening sequence did not have to be based around a particular genre but we had an idea of how we wanted it to look. We decided upon horror and with this we thought about all the conventions of a horror film, we knew there needed to be an antagonist and a protagonist. Altman encourages us to consider that genres are defined by producers and are easily recognised by audiences, i would disagree with this statement because this is based on the assumption of a generalised audience, not all audiences will and did pick up the same intended message from our film and thus i disagree with Altmans statement. However in some ways i do agree with Altmans statement, he states that genres develop in predictable ways which i do believe, all films in my experience need a catalyst for change, a climax and a resolution and in that respect as the producer you must decide how you want your audience to feel. Bellow are pictures of Robert Altman.

Genre is a vital part of any films production because without genre you have no real meaning or structure to your film. We have been asked to think about not how genre works but why does genre work. In film today there are many different genres such as romantic comedy, horror, action etc. This is supported by Chandler who quotes that ‘By creating categories promotes organisation rather than chaos’. By creating these different categories the producers can get an understanding of what the audience want to see by looking at box office profits and thus give the audience what they want to see. However within each genre there are many conventions that have to be identifiable. Factors should be analysed to identify familiar conventions such as, narrative structure, themes, location, use of lighting, music and language. These conventions are quotes by Altman who says 'the text in a genre share key characterises'.

If all films had the same story lines and lighting it would be come boring the audience and the genre would soon die out. To prevent this from happening genres have to be adapted and changed meaning directors have to become creative and put a twist into the storyline to keep people attention.
‘The genres are ideological’ this is a quote from Altman, which I agree with because if I think of ideology, as have three points on a triangle the idea, people and power. The people in the triangle have to be in a high class have large amounts of power for example the producers or directors, these people have the power and the money to push their products to the biggest audience they can. In many films today we see many different genres together in a film, by doing this is at being directed to a much bigger audience bringing in more profits



.