- Daniel Chandler - Conventional definitions of genres tend to be based on the notion that they constitute particular conventions of content (i.e themes/settings) and/or form (including structure and style) which are shared by the texts which are regarded as belonging to them.
- Steve Neal - 'Genres are instances of repetition and difference.' He adds that 'difference is absolutely essential to the economy of genre' - mere repetition would not attract an audience.
- David Buckingham - Traditionally, genres tend to be regarded as fixed forms, but contemporary theory emphasises that both their forms and functions are dynamic. He argues that "genre is not simply a "given" by the culture: rather, it is in a constant process of negotiation and change.'
USES AND GRATIFICATION (AUDIENCE)
- One pleasure may simply be the recognition of the features of a particular genre because of our familiarity with it. Recognition of what is likely to be important (and what is not), derived from our knowledge of the genre, is necessary in order to follow a plot.
- Genres can offer various emotion pleasures such as empathy and escapism
- Deborah Knight notes that 'satisfaction is guaranteed with genre; the deferral of the inevitable provides the additional pleasure of prolonged anticipation'
- Steve Neal argues pleasure is derived from 'repetition and difference (1980). There would be no pleasure without difference. We may derive pleasure from observing how the conventions of the genre are manipulated (Abercrombie 1996). We may also enjoy the stretching of a genre in new directions and the consequent shifting of our expectations.
- Neal (1990) argues that Hollywood's generic regime performs two inter-related functions:
i) To guarantee meanings and pleasures for audiences.
ii) to offset the considerable economic risks of industrial film production by providing cognitive collateral against innovation and difference.
- Rick Altman argues that genres are usually defined in terms of media language (semantic elements) and codes (westerns - guns, horses, landscapes or stars e.g John Wayne) or certain ideologies and narrative.
- Neal (1990) genre is constituted by "specific systems of expectations and hypothesis which spectators bring with them to the cinema and which interact with the films themselves during the course of the viewing process.
- To producers, genre is a template for what the make
- To the publisher, genre provides assumptions about who the audience is and how to market the films for that specific audience.
- To the audience, it is a label that identifies a liked or disliked formula and provides certain rules of engagement for the spectator in terms of anticipation of pleasure.
When genres become classic, they can exert tremendous influence, production can become quicker and more confident because film-makers are following tested formulae and have a ready shorthand to work with. Actors can be filtered into genres and can be seen to have assumed 'star quality' when their mannerisms, physical attributes, way of speaking and acting fit a certain style of genre.
- In turn, viewers become 'generic spectators' and can be said to develop generic memory which helps them in the anticipation of events, even though the films themselves might play on certain styles. We consume them in an intertextual way. Post-modern medium - makes sense in relation to other products.
- It is the way genre deviates from the cliched formulae that leads to a more interesting experience for the viewer. The audience must be familiar with generic conventions and style.
PROBLEMS WITH GENRE CLASSIFICATION
Theorist and critic Rick Altman (1999) made a list of points he found problematic with genre classification:
- Genre is a useful category - it bridges multiple concerns
- Genres are defined by the film industry and recognised by the mass audience
- Genres have clear, stable identities and borders
- Individual films belong wholly and permanently to a single genre
- Genres are tans historical
- Genres undergo predictable development
- Genres are located in particular topic and structure
- Genre films share certain fundamental characteristics
- Genres have either a ritual or ideological function
- Genre critics are distanced from the practice of genre
