Narrative Theory Posters

Functions of Genre and Tasks

How do we use genre?
Genres do have a material effect on the organisation of both our responses to a film and the way the industry itself institutionalises its output. There were whole studios which concentrated on particular genres and actors and directors identified wholly with just one genre.
TASK:
List a studio, 3 actors and 2 directors that are recognised as specialising in a particular genre.

Functions of genre:

• Reinforcement of our ideas and values
• Creation of a set of audience expectations
• Creation of characteristics by producers which audiences can recognise
• A relationship between audiences and producers which minimises the risk of financial failure
• Dynamism and flexibility - they are constantly transformed by new additions.

TASK:
Find your children's film, thriller opening and music videos on youtube.
Watch them through and write notes on how you used, developed and/or challenged generic conventions of relevant genres during the creation of these projects.
Ensure that you make direct reference to the functions of genre.

GENRE Definitions and Tasks

Definitions of Genre

Genre - the word genre derives from French and means 'type' or 'kind'. In a study of media texts it is used to divide texts into easily identifiable categories. It is a way of classifying media products according to the elements that they share.

Genre Conventions - these are the repertoire of elements that texts belonging to the same genre have in common. They are the aspects that an audience expect to see in a specific media text. They help audiences to recognise the genre and have been built up over a period of time so that they are esily recognisable. For example, the use of hand-held cameras is a convention of some documentaries used to suggest realism.

Hybrid genre - a text that combines or subverts the conventions of an existing genre to create a new one. For example the reality tv genre combines insome cases, aspects of the documentary and game show genres.

Sub-genre - A subcategory within a particular genre: The academic mystery is a subgenre of the mystery.

TASKS:
Discuss and blog your responses:

1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of genre from the following perspectives:
* Producer (company that funds the film)
* Audience (Consumers of the film)
* Director (Creator of the film)
* Scriptwriter (Person who comes up with new ideas for films)
* Marketer (Person who has to sell the film)

2. Pick a genre from one of the following:
Comdedy, horror, action, romance, drama, thriller, sci-fi, crime.
Research the development of that genre and find examples of a classic, a sub genre and a hybrid from your chosen genre.
Consider the future development of that genre and also why it appeas to viewers.

SECTION A

Please ensure that you look at the sheets given out in today's lesson that explain the requirements of Section A.

Section a explained

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Tuesday's Task for Cancelled Lesson

Apologies that the lesson has been cancelled.
Please can you start working individually on one of the following essays, there is a choice of two for each theme and you don't have to choose the one for your theme if you feel more comfortable with a different theme.
These essays are part of the assessent for this unit and are a vital way of assessing your readiness for the summer exam.
The assignments are due in on Wednesday 23rd March in the lesson and should be a minimum of 1500 words or 2 sides of A4 if you prefer to hand write your essay.
They will need to include:
* References to contemporary media theory (check out lesson 10 tasks for a refresher),
* detailed examples from 2 different media areas (i.e. TV, film, music, videogames, social networking sites, news/journalism, blogs etc), detailed means specific scenes from a tv programme or a specific case study of a facebook group etc.
* Your own opinion in response to the question
* An idea of how things have changed over time and also how they may develop in the future

QUESTIONS:
Contemporary Media Regulation
1. How effectively can contemporary media be regulated?
2. How far do changes to the regulation of media reflect broader social changes?

Global Media
1. What impact does the increase on global media have on media audiences?
2. To what extent are the media now more global than local or national?

Media and Collective Identity
1. Analyse the ways in which the media represent one group of people that you have studied.
2. "The media do not construct collective identity, they merely reflect it". Discuss.

Media in the Online Age
1. "The impact of the internet on the media is revolutionary". Discuss.
2. Discuss the extent to which the distribution and consumption of media have been transformed by the internet.

We-Media and Democracy
1. How far can the media in 2011 be considered to be democratic?
2. Explore the claim that the 'new' media are more democratic than the 'old' media.

Catfish Task

Do some research into the film Catfish (2010), what was the critical reception for this film, who made it, who produced it, who funded it?

Then answer one of these questions in detail on your blog, using the film as one of your examples. It must be done individually and be at least 400 words in total.

This is a task due to Tuesday's lesson not running as it is admissions day so it must be completed by Wednesday's lesson. The DVD is available in the library if you haven't seen the film in class.

Questions:

1. How has the Online Age revolutionised the film industry?

2. What issues do interactivity and participatory culture raise around the concept of authenticity?

3. How is the identity of women mediated via the internet and why is this problematic?

4. Outline some of the reasons that certain areas of the media need regulating?

5. What kind of shared experiences are there in the online world and what are some of the issues surrounding this 'global media'?