MED4107 New Media and Photography | Week 4 | Genre

Genre Reading Response

Long and Wall (2012) and Frow (2006) both discuss the conventions and meaning that makes media texts, in terms of genre. Long and Wall (2012) also looks at “the way in which stories are ordered as narrative at rhetorical and semiological levels”.

Genre is defined by Long and Wall (2012) as “a recognisable grouping, subset or type of media form compromising the paradigmatic elements (stories, rhetoric, signification) that are drawn upon in the creation of individual syntagmatic texts”. This means that each genre has recognisable elements that create the genre. These elements are used by producers to create media products, so that audiences can easily find the generic product they are looking for.

In relation to this, Frow (2006) says “Genre, we might say, is a set of conventional and highly organised constraints on the production and interpretation of meaning.” In contrast to this, Long and Wall (2012) say “Without differences between generic texts, they would soon lose their popularity” and without repetition, they would not be recognisably generic.

Genres can lose their popularity and become exhausted “by the degree to which repetition has outweighed innovation or usefulness” Long and Wall (2012).  Media texts have to be the same to those in their genre, but at the same time different, so that consumers have an incentive to keep on consuming – genres have to be dynamic.

“The need for innovation encourages tampering with generic conventions to produce ‘something different’ in order to attract new audiences” Long and Wall (2012). Producers are always evolving their media texts and products to fit new, different or relevant genres so that they can still reach their consumers or reach new ones. I think that this is an important part of genre, as the world is always changing and growing. Popular culture is always changing. But to keep consumers interested, there will always be a “horizon of expectations” that can be modified. This is defined by Frow (2006) as “to designate the structured set of knowledge and values that form the background understanding for any reception of a text”.

For further study, I would be interested in researching what paradigmatic elements make up video content of popular ‘YouTubers’ from different genres, using genre analysis. I would research the generic features of the texts, and some features of the wider genres that the videos belong to, but do not exhibit. I would also look into what rhetorical devices are used to create the story told. I would also research how this creates meaning to the audience (however that could cross into audience research which would require a different type of methodology).  Genre analysis is the most appropriate methodology to use, as it is specific to researching genre. It builds on rhetorical and semiological analysis.

References

Frow, J. (2006) Genre. London: Routledge.

Long, P. and Wall, T. (2012) Media studies: texts, production, context. 2nd edn. Oxon: Taylor & Francis.