genre

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

-Film westerns will share codes and conventions with TV westerns.

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

-Someone sitting behind a desk is not genre specific. However, add high key lighting, a modern mise-en-scene and a screen behind the character at the desk and the combination of media language choices creates an image we associate with a news broadcast.

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

-Characters, including the use of stereotypes and character roles, are also part of the narrative of texts. Certain stereotypes tend to be linked to specific genres. The ’lone wolf’ hero, for example is a convention of an action text.

4) What are the different ways films can be categorised according to Bordwell? 

-Period or Country

-Director / Star

-Technical Process,

-Style

-Series

-Audience

5) List three ways genre is used by audiences.

-Using the knowledge of a genre to decide whether or not they likely to enjoy a media text.

-They are able to compare media text to each other that are similar, a person will most like explain a media text to someone who has not seen it by genre and compare it to other media texts that are similar to it as well.

-The audience can use their knowledge of a genre to decide whether to reject a text or not.

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

-To attract audiences, that like a certain genre.

-Marketing text, for example a film trailer will show the audience what genre the film is and whether they want to watch it or not.

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

-Gangster films-the genre focuses on groups of criminals, often romanticises the gangster lifestyle and the texts within this genre are violent and deal with conflict between the police and the criminals. Gangster films now have a more modern approach to it, so that audience are entertained.

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.

-Batman (3 Films since 2000)

-The Avengers and its franchise

-Watchmen

-Sin City (2 Films since 2000)

-Scott Pilgrim vs The World (2010) 

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

-During ww2 (1939) the superman episodes can be seen are changing values, ideologies and world events.

-The latter half or 20th century the ides of a villain and hero came about within superman, and light  and dark.

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

-Classical: good and bad binary opposition being repeated with other superhero movies.

-Deconstruction: Superman (1978) started a new cycle in the superhero genre with technology leading the innovation with special effects creating more realistic visual ‘miracles’.

-Parody: Batman (1966) was intentionally funny and camp and wouldn’t let its audience take the superhero too seriously - ironic tone.

-Innovation: superhero comics then being adapted to films.

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: 

- How To Get Away With Murder

General

1) Why did you choose the text you are analysing?

-It is one of my favourite tv shows.

2) In what context did you encounter it?

-My family recommended it to me.

3) What influence do you think this context might have had on your interpretation of the text?

-I tend to like tv series with suspense or crime being solved, which How To Get Away With Murder is basically revolved around.

4) To what genre did you initially assign the text?

-Crime, thriller and suspense.

5) What is your experience of this genre?

-I really enjoy crime, thriller and suspense genre, so I really liked How To Get Away With Murder.

6) What subject matter and basic themes is the text concerned with?

-Lawyers trying to solve crime cases and what their lives are about.

7) How typical of the genre is this text in terms of content?

-I would say very typically as there are many tv shows and films with genre of crime with lawyers.

8) What expectations do you have about texts in this genre?

-Typically the plot is a criminal being sent to jail by a one of the main lawyers.

9) Have you found any formal generic labels for this particular text (where)?

-The main generic label for How To Get Away With Murder is crime, thriller and suspense and I have seen this on posters, websites and TikTok, I can also just infer this genre from the poster of Annalise on the cover while being inside of a court and many other posters. 

10) What generic labels have others given the same text?

-Crime, thriller, mystery, suspense and melodrama.

11) Which conventions of the genre do you recognize in the text?

-A man gets killed in his home, which is also the office of a couple of lawyers, and a lot of crim and mystery followers this event :this is generally seen as the crime, thriller and suspense genre.

12) To what extent does this text stretch the conventions of its genre?

-The main couple of lawyers are pushed into the real world of crime and mystery after causing the death of the husband of Annalise Keating's ,who is their boss. This shows the idea of enigma.

13) Where and why does the text depart from the conventions of the genre?

-The originally plan is for the five chosen lawyers to help Annalise Keating solve crimes but his changes when they kill her husband.

14) Which conventions seem more like those of a different genre (and which genre(s))?

-How To Get Away With Murder has many genres, but the main genres are crime, thriller and mystery.

15) What familiar motifs or images are used?

-There are a couple of posters for each season, most of which involve having a dark courtroom with the main lawyers or Annalise Keating.

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 type of show is aimed toward adults in their early 20's,whom enjoy watching crime and thriller. This show may also intrigue teenagers as it has many seasons, which would mean that they could spend all their free time watching How To Get Away With Murder.

2) How does the text address you?

-It addresses me as I am interested in watching crime with mystery, How To Get Away With Murder is full of plot twists and disequilibrium being solved.

3) What sort of person does it assume you are?

-It assumes that I am an individual who like crime, thriller and mystery.

4) What assumptions seem to be made about your class, age, gender and ethnicity?

-That I may be an adult in my 20's who may be a male, who like watching crims shows, or on the other hand that I am a teenage girl who also likes watching crime mysteries.

5) What interests does it assume you have?

-It assumes that I do problem solving hobbies as I watch a show that is very mystery solving involved.

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.

-The show’s creator, Peter Nowalk, has mentioned that the show was inspired by the true-crime documentary “The Staircase”. Additionally, the show has made references to other popular TV shows such as “Breaking Bad” and “The Wire". Also it has references to Macbeth.

2) In terms of genre, which other texts does the text you are analysing resemble most closely?

-Suits, legally blond, The Lincoln lawyers.

3) What key features are shared by these texts?

-The main features shared by these shows are they all involve lawyers solving crime.

4) What major differences do you notice between them?

-They all have their own plot and plot twists, they are also less death based but still have similar amount of crime happening.