MIGRAIN: Genre💕

 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?

Mise-en-scene: props, costumes, locations etc.
Cinematography- non verbal codes.

2) What examples are provided of the importance of narrative in identifying genre?

Plot ,Typical situations, characters and relationships

3) What is the difference between character representation in action movies and disaster movies?

Action: Here the hero tends to be positioned outside a supportive group and he works alone to fight the villains or save the world.

Disaster: often places the heroic role within a group of people. Often they all have particular strengths which play a part in solving the problem through the collaboration of a group who works together.

4) 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

5) List three ways genre is used by audiences.

To identify the style of film they're watching 

6) List three ways genre is used by institutions or producers.

1. Genre is used as templates for producers to follow or use as bases (there are rues to successfully encapsulating certain genres)
2. They use genre to attract audiences (some audiences are loyal to certain genres and have dedicated fan bases so producers can sue that to their advantage and minimise failure)
3. Genre is also used to help with marketing ( There are specific times of the day when certain genres are shown e.g. 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. are the usual screening times for dramas on British TV. )

7) What film genre is used as an example of how genres evolve? What films and conventions are mentioned?

- hey use the gangster genre as an example of how genres have evolved/changed over time. Despite this they still share many similarities both versions of the genre focus on groups of criminals and often romanticise the gangster

lifestyle, dealing with violence and conflict between criminals and the police. However over time the iconographies have changed so the genre has not become stale and uninteresting for the audience. A couple of examples mentioned are scar face, reservoir dogs and the sopranos.

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.

1. Avengers Assemble (2013)
2. Scott Pilgrim vs The World (2010)
3. Batman (Movies)
4. Spiderman (movies)
5. Guardians of The Galaxy

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

- An example would be how during the 70's the divide between between good and evil were pretty clear for example in the 1978 superman film superman battles Lex Luther a wealthy business man and media magnet. Superman was also brought up in a small rural town called smallVille perhaps superman's simple upbringing and the villain being an evil rich man is a reflection of the economic depressions during the 1930s which meant  the blame for the great Depression was put on the greed of capitalists and ever since the media was identified

as being untrustworthy as wealthy capitalists ran it. However recently there has been an increasing blur between the lines of good and evil causing audiences to wander what does it really mean to be good or evil as it became less certain some examples would be The Suicide Squad and Batman Forever's inclusion of the villain two-face.

3) How can Schatz's theory of genre cycles be applied to the Superhero genre?

Schatz's Theory of Genre:

1) Innovation=The time when genre codes are established

2) Classical=The time when the conventions are set and repeated

3) Deconstruction=The time when the genre is played with or experimented with. 

4) Parody=The time when the codes begin to feel a little cliched and are mocked or undermined.

Theory & SuperHero Genre:

- Innovation = The visuals for the superhero genre were

largely established from the comic books.When film and

TV began to use these comic book characters other codes and

conventions regarding the presentation of the genre in moving

image were set.An example would be the early superhero shorts of

the 1940s.

- Classical = By the 1950s the superhero genre was in what we assume to 

be its classical stage with the codes and conventions being 

replicated in the film and TV programmes of the time.

- Parody = Batman (1966) was intentionally funny and camp to 

allow its audience to not  take the superhero too seriously. It

had an ironic tone that flagged up the daft nature of the genre

and allowed the audience to enjoy the awareness of that. After

Batman, the classical and parodic versions of the genre were

mostly allocated  to children’s animation, from Spider-Man whose

animated adventures were on TV from the late 1960s, to the less

than serious versions of the genre in Mighty Mouse (a perennially

popular cartoon first made in the 1940s) and many more.

Genre analysis

Finally, 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:

 I chose 'Kingsman: The Secret Service' to analyse because it has a compelling and indulging genre of crime and sci-fi. It has scenes of comedy in it and the futuristic weapons that are used are absolutely fascinating.

I encountered it through friends recommended it to me 

It had a positive and beneficial influence as I thought the film is brilliant and entertaining.

I initially assigned this text to an action genre but when i watched the film dome scenes were action but overall it was more sci-fi and crime.

My experience of this genre is that it's always been fascinating and engaging - especially with the enigma codes due to the crime aspect of the film.

The film includes a stereotype of people in South London that live in a housing estate and heading for life behind bars. This is subverted as someone part of the spy organisation recognises his potential and recruits him to be a trainee. Meanwhile, the villain in this film launches a diabolical plan to solve the problem of climate change via a worldwide killing spree.

It is typical of the crime genre because the trainee (eggsy) tries to figure out a way to stop the villain with the terrifying plan of a worldwide killing spree. The sci-fi genre is also interpreted due to the futuristic weapons they use to defeat the villain (Valentine).

The expectations of the texts in this genre are normally a massive problem within the narrative and finally finding a resolution at the end.

The formal generic labels for this particular text are "I really enjoyed this movie back when it got released and still enjoy it to this day. It's similar to a modern day James Bond movie with action packed scenes, manners, and the gadgets that spies use."

The conventions of crime that are recognised in the text:

-Villain called Valentine
-Hero and detective called Eggsy
-Police procedural such as the spy organisation
-Stereotypical views
-A crime that is committed/going to happen - killing spree
-Red herring (fake clues) to engage with the audience
-Mainly action
-Clues
-A solution to the crime
-Danger that is foreshadowed
-Sense of mystery

This text stretches the conventions of its genre a lot due to the fact that they add scenes of comedy and try to keep it balanced.

The text departs from the conventions of the genre from the beginning when the spy helps bail out the protagonist and the producers do this so that the consumer can be hooked in and question why the person that bailed him was a spy and not his own parents.

The action that is involved in the film suggests that it could be part of the action genre due to the scene looking reckless and aggressive.

Familiar motifs and images that are used are props such as futuristic weapons, funs, the famous umbrella etc.

Mode of address:

The sort of audience that this is aimed at this type of text is someone with an interest in solving crimes and following an adventure with the protagonist. They are fascinated by resolving the problem at the end and feel part of it too. It could specifically be targeted at teens due to the fact that they can relate to the relationship Eggsy has with his mother but also the working class because of the background of where the protagonist comes from.

The text addresses me as being relatable but also seeing basic stereotypes.

It assumes that i am attracted to helping others that require it the most and love to solve problems.

The assumptions that are made to say about 'CAGE' is that I’m a young teen that is born and raised in London.

It assumes that I’m interested in things that affect a big part of the population rather than being focused on one individual.

Relationship to other texts:

The intertextual references such as linking it to danger and violence create an eerie atmosphere and interest the consumer. Although it's a sci-fi and crime genre, the elements of comedy and linking it to other films they have created would engage more with the target audience and have a higher price in sales.

The text that I am analysing relates to another text called Men In Black as they use futuristic weapons and solve a crime too. They also include spies that are also mirrored in the film Kingsman: The Secret Service. The major difference i see in them is that MIB involves people from a higher profession and higher class background whereas, Kingsman: The Secret Service has character and stereotypes from people that are in the working class and are less privileged.