Genre factsheet

Fact sheet 3 Genre: Categorising texts

1) What example is provided of why visual iconographies are so important?

Genres are categories or types of media text. Genres are recognisable

through the repeated use of generic codes and conventions.

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

Genre can also be indicated in the way the story is told using its narrative which is the structure of the story telling and the plot which is the events and occurrences within the story

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

Action movies

The ’lone wolf’ hero, for example is a convention of an action text. Here the hero tends to be positioned outside a supportive group and he works alone to fight the villains or save the world.

Disaster movies

The disaster movie usually 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?

He came up with many more potential methods of categorisation – these are just some examples:

• 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

Each of these methods of categorisation have their own ‘shared characteristics’ in the media language, plots, narrative structures, characterisation and in the values and ideologies they conform to.

5) List three ways genre is used by audiences.

The three ways are:

1. They use their prior knowledge of the genre to anticipate whether or not they are likely to enjoy a text.
2. They also use their knowledge of genre to reject a text.
3. They are able to compare a text through its shared characteristics with another.

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

The three ways are:

1. Genres are paradigms or templates media producers can follow.
2. Some genres have loyal fan-bases.
3. Film trailers which usually attempt to clearly define the genre of the film and then show as many of the codes and conventions in the trailer.

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

Paramount, The Horror Channel and Sci Fi, have found that by broadcasting generic texts they are able to market solely through attracting interested audiences to very specific programmes. On terrestrial television this occurs in the way channels use scheduling. There are specific times of the day when certain genres tend to be shown – for example, 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. are the conventional screening times for dramas on British television.

Fact sheet 126 Superheroes: A Genre Case Study

1) List five films the factsheet discusses with regards to the Superhero genre.

1. The X Men Franchise
2. Superman
3. Avengers and its franchise including: Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, The Hulk etc.
4. Batman
5. Spiderman

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

At each period of time we can see the superhero offers slightly different narratives. He faces different villains, has to overcome different obstacles and has different types of relationships with the women in his life. The superhero genre has to fit in with the dominant values of the day if audiences are going to be able to relate to such a fantastical story. Genres replicate cultural myths and fears and by addressing them within stories a culture is able to play out those fears and concerns. Genres offer ideological reassurance when the narratives offer a resolution that addresses these fears and especially when the fears are overcome. Conventional superhero texts tend to show the hero defeating the enemy so this is often seen as one of the more reassuring of genres.

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

•Innovation: The visual codes for the superhero genre were largely established via the comic books. As soon as film and TV began to use the comic book characters other codes and conventions regarding the presentation of the genre in moving image were set.

•Classical: By the 1950s the superhero genre could be seen to be in 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 and wouldn’t let its audience 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 largely located in 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), Atom Ant (from the late 60s), Captain Caveman (from the late 70s) amongst many, many more.

•Deconstruction: Superman (1978) started a new cycle in the superhero genre with technology leading the innovation with special effects creating more realistic visual ‘miracles’. Both the Superman series and Tim Burton’s Batman franchise treated the fantastic world of the superhero seriously as in the classical era but they also used the camp comedy and a tongue-in-cheek approach of parody showing how the genre had been deconstructed and repackaged in an attempt to revitalise the genre and help it find a new audience - successfully in the case of these two franchises. This brings the genre back to a period of innovation when new ideas and new developments create interesting new ideas within the genre

•The Cycle Continues: After 1997’s Batman and Robin received a less than positive reception, the genre again needed to deconstruct and re-innovate. The next stage of the genre’s development was the rise of Marvel Studios with The X Men (2000) and Spider-Man in 2002 and DC’s return with Batman Begins in 2005 and Superman Returns in 2006. These series have themselves been deconstructed once again. DC’s X-Men: First Class (2011) introduced a new generation of X-Men and offers a different tone to the first three films. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) recast Peter Parker and changed his love interest whilst Chris Nolan’s Batman offers a much darker, visceral superhero than the one in the 60s and the 90s. Perhaps the parody and deconstruction of indie superheroes has moved the genre on more quickly than in the past although Marvel can be seen to be playing it safe with its relatively conventional and classical Avengers series

My own genre

Deadpool

1) Why did you choose the text you are analysing? I will be using this movie as it has two genre that typically don't work together which are comedy and action. Producers said the movie would not have been successful but actually made a movie that $760 million on box office. This intrigue me as I needed to know why they thought this.
2) In what context did you encounter it? I encountered it on social media as everyone that saw the movie was giving amazing reviews. This got me interested so I decided to watch it
3) What influence do you think this context might have had on your interpretation of the text? They showed audiences a different view on superhero movie but the same "win the girl at the end" theme. It doesn't have the typical superhero as they have used used humour to connect with the audience.
4) To what genre did you initially assign the text? I assign this movie with action genre because, from the trailer I watched, the pace was very fast and there were a lot of action sequenced involved in the clip.
5) What is your experience of this genre? My experience that i have with this genre is from watching other movies such as Ant-man, Iron man, Superman and others.
6) What subject matter and basic themes is the text concerned with? In most superhero movies, they include a hero, villain, donor and the princess. In these movies, they have some sort of conflict between the villain and hero. In the end,the hero allows beats the villain to get the princess. Deadpool is no exception, the main hero is going to fight the villain by getting help for two other characters. At the end, he gets the princess.
7) How typical of the genre is this text in terms of content? This movie is very typical as the hero will normally come from parents that have been killed by the villain. Than they discover some sort of power which they use to save innocent people.
8) What expectations do you have about texts in this genre? In this genre, we expect them to include their to be a lot of conflict between the villain and hero which will typical lead to a fight.
9) Have you found any formal generic labels for this particular text (where)? One generic label is when the hero, Deadpool, kills the villain to save the girl.
10) What generic labels have others given the same text?
11) Which conventions of the genre do you recognise in the text? It includes a hero, villain, donor and the princess. In all superhero movies including Deadpool, there is always a equilibrium. disequilibrium and new equilibrium. The disequilibrium is mostly when the villain fights the hero.
12) To what extent does this text stretch the conventions of its genre? It has the typical action movie plot but includes more humour for the audience to build a relationship with the audience.
13) Where and why does the text depart from the conventions of the genre? When the disequilibrium of the princess is getting separated with Deadpool, Deadpool as a scene when he starts to cry, which doesn't fit the typical hero's keep concepts of strong and powerful.
14) Which conventions seem more like those of a different genre (and which genre(s))? The beginning sequence with the fight includes a lot of a comedy genre.
15) What familiar motifs or images are used? One of the last scenes of this movies is a kissing scenes that are mostly in the ending of a movie when the villain is defeated.

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)? This was mostly aimed a young adults aged 18 to 30 years old that are interested in action movies. This movies is very typical to action movies.
2) How does the text address you? In the opening scene, the names of the characters were given funny nicknames that will connect to the younger audience.
3) What sort of person does it assume you are? A teenager that is interested in action movies. It could also assume that I like to read comics as these movies are based on comics from before.
4) What assumptions seem to be made about your class, age, gender and ethnicity? working class, young, male and Asian.
5) What interests does it assume you have? Interested in action movies and in Marvals as well as DC.

Relationship to other texts
1) What intertextual references are there in the text you are analysing (and to what other texts)? It references to other superhero movie and talks about how similar they are and make fun of them.
2) Generically, which other texts does the text you are analysing resemble most closely? Humour and thriller
3) What key features are shared by these texts?  The plot and the conflict that creates disequilibrium in the movies.
4) What major differences do you notice between them? My movie includes a lot more CGI than them to make the scene real as possible.