Genre Theory Theorists

John Fiske:
-What does John Fiske describe genre as?
  - Attempts to structure some order into the wide range of texts

-Name three ways John Fiske categorises genre?
  - A way of categorising texts
  - A way of setting up audience expectations
  - A way of defining codes and conventions for a category of text

Christian Metz:
-What is he best known for?
  - Introducing semiotics to film

-Where was the three main places his work had most impact?
  -Britain, France and USA

David Buckingham:
-What does David Buckingham argue genre is?
  -Genre is in a constant process of negotiation and change

-What type of investigation has David Buckingham undertaken?
  -Empirical

Katie Wales:
-What does Katie Wales say genre is?
  - An intertextual concept

-Where is this concept most appropriately seen?
  - In music videos

john fiske

Q. what was johns striking example that help us interpret the schema theory?
A. something to do with a car chase

christian metz
Q. what was he know for pioneering?
A. the application of ferdinand de saussures theories of semiology to film

Q. what theory did he relate to?
A. semiotics

Q. what is semiotics?
A. something to do with signs

david buckingham
Q. what did he argue?
A. that genre is not simply given by the culture it is in a constant process of negotiaion and change

katie wales
Q. what concept did she not?
A. intertextual concept

Theory Answers and Questions

Who inspired John Fiske to the evaluation theory of charles darwin? Herbet Spencer
KAtie Wasle says that genre is a what concept? Intertextual
How many languages has David Buckinghams work been translated into? 15

Genre theory

Katie Wales
Contemporary theorists like kaite wales tend to emphasize the importance of the semiotic notion of what? (Intertextuality)

What does Katie Wales definegenre as?
(genre is an intertextual concept)

David Bunckingham
Name one of the publications from david b
(the making of tv literacy)

How many book has he eddited
(24)

How many contries has he tought in?
(25)

Christain Metz

Which one of metz's books is considered a ceminal study?
(film language, semiotics of the cinema)

What were his four stages of the genre development theory?
(Classical, experimental, parady, deconstructuion)

John Fiske

Name one of his eight books?
(power plays and power works)

What is his role as a media critic?
(examines cultrul meanin in americn society)


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Genre theorists

Katie Wales 

what does katie wales define genera as - intertextual concepts

David Buckingham

How many books did he write - over 8

which age group did he mainly focus on - childhood

Christian Metz

Who's psychology does he use in this theory - Freud

What is the name of the system for categorizing scenes in a film - grand syntagmatique

John Fiske

How many books has he written - 8

What notion does fiske reject - 'the audience'

which media term did he coin - semiotic democracy

Narrative Theory - Inception

After watching the film Inception it can been seen that the theory which fits it best would be Claude Lévi-Strauss's narrative theory or his "Binary Theory". Lévi-Strauss's theory depicts that the world is full of opposites, e.g. light/dark, and this is transferred into structuring texts in films, plays and novels.

Inception is a film based on the concept of how do we know what is a dream and what is a reality, as our dreams feel so life like and vivid and when we are dreaming we often can't tell it's a dream. This relates to this narrative theory as the binary opposites are the dreamworld where Cobb "extracts" the dreams and the form of reality where everything appears normal. This increases the confusion amongst the audience as they cannot easily define what is the dream and what is reality.

The "Enigma Code" theory by Rolande Barthes also has some relation to the film as the theory suggests there is a mystery or a hook that leave the audience wanting to know what happened or will happen next. It is commonly seen in the "come back next week" technique or in film trailers. It can be applied to Inception, as in the final scene, Cobb's totem is seen continously spinning. The totem is a symbol of whether he is in the dream world or in reality. If the totem keeps spinning he is dreaming, if it falls over, he is in reality. The effect of keeping the totem spinning is it keeps the audience wondering whether the whole film and Cobb's life is meant to be seen as a dream or whether it is a twist they will never figure out.

Inception

GENRE

background to genre
developed from classification systems. Categorised into poetry, drama and prose.
defining genre

codes and conventions of genre

analysing genre

culture and genre

defining genre

"the term for any category of literature as well as

Genre

Defining Genre-

• Genre is a way of categorising literature.
• It originated from ancient Greece.
• There were 3 original classifications when the classification system began- Poetry, Drama, Prose.
• Different Genre's apply to different media types, such as film, music, books and TV.

Background To Genre-

• Theory was constructed by Plato & Aristotle
• Sub genres can be created
• Genres are created through conventions as they change genres become discontinued
• New ones are formed constantly, e.g. Thriller/Adventure

Analysing Genre-

• Tony Thwaites & his colleagues confirms textuality and reading
• Each genre has unique visual and sound qualities (four micro areas)
• Through iconography we can recognise the genre through particular ideologies

Genre

Background to Genre
-Genre refers to the method on similiartitiesin the narrative elements from which films are constructed
-Theres lots of debate when it comes to defining genr or catorgarising genres
-Turned into subgenres eg legal drama
-Genres are formed by conventions that change over time as new genres are invented an dthe use of old ones are discontinued eg western
-Mude up by Aristotle and Plato

Defining Genre
-Genre originated from the classification systems
-There were 3 different categories - poetry, drama and proes

Conventions of Genre
-Comedy, Sci Fi, Action, Romance, War, Horror
-Music/Actors depend on the genre of the text

Analysing Genre

Analysing 'Inception' in relation to narrative theorists

I feel that the film inception can be applied closest to Claude-Levi Strauss' theory of binary opposites. Inception is based around dreams, also known as being in limbo. The film focuses this dream world compared with reality and how easy it is to become confused over what reality is.

Reality and 'limbo' or dreaming are the binary opposites seen in this film and this theme is followed throughout. The viewer, especially in the opening sequence of the film, also experiences the confusion between was is reality within the film and what is in a dream. So through Levi's theory its not just the characters within the film that interact and are familiar with these binary opposites it is the audience as well.

As a result of this confusion felt by the audience the film also has a slight sense of mystery to it and this leads me onto Rolande Barthes' theory and his Enigma Code. This code is a mystery to be revealed, and as well as the mystery felt throughout the film, a particular example of the Enigma Code seen here is right at the very end of the film where the main male character, Dom, leaves his totem spinning on the table. The totem is the indicator to whether he is in reality or limbo, if it stops spinning he is in real life, however the audience never gets to see whether or not this happens at the end of the film so it is left a mystery until a possible Inception 2 is released.

Todorov's theory and Propp's theory are slightly more difficult to be applied to this film as they are quite specific in their requirments and usually are applied to the traditional, more typical film, unlike inception.

Analysing: Desserts

Claude Levi-Strauss


The film applies to this theory in terms of binary oppositions through the reversal of roles. The male character is tempted into eating a desert and after dragged into the sea by a force. The narrative has a straight forward structure which helps present the idea present in the short film to the audience. 

Relate theorists to 'Desserts'

Claude Levi Strauss


The opposites that are apparent in this short film are land and sea as well as before and after. We can see that the man begins on land and then is caught into the water. So safety and danger is a theme. However, this short film conveys a role reversal which complies to Levi's theory of Binary Opposites. An example of this is night/day, good/bad and light/dark. So in this case the narrative is a direct opposite.

Dessert.

the short film dessert relates best to Rolande Barthes narrative theory in which the viewer produces a new meaning when viewing the text in hand, for this instance the role reversal of a fisherman, as he now becomes captured and becomes reeled in to the sea which we find very un common but the process reversed of us taking out fish from there habit is seen as perfectlly normal.

analysis of desserts

we think that the theorist that relates to this short film is Todorov. this is because he believes that there are 5 stages to a narrative-
equilibrium- he is walking around
a disruption of this equilibrium by an event- finding the cake
a realisation that the disruption has happened- the fish hook 
an attempt to repair the damage of the disruption- fighting againts the pull of the fish hook
a restoration of equilibrium- after he has been dragged into the sea and everything is calm again

Desserts (Ewan McGregor) - Narrative Theory

This piece is an example of Todorov's narrative theory and can be shown through the following steps

Eqilibrium
Ewan is strolling around on the beach and everything is calm

A Disruption Of This Equilibrium Has Happened
Ewan finds a chocolate eclaire lying on the beach which confuses him a bit so he tries a small part of it

A Realisation That A Disruption Has Happened
After he takes a big bite of the eclaire, a fish hook appears in his mouth

An Attempt To Repair The Damage Of The Disruption
He tries to remove the fish hook from his mouth - which in this case does not work and therefore gets dragged towards the sea

A Restoration Of Equilibirum
The sea swallows Ewan and everything is calm again

This piece shows fishing in reverse where humans are the fish. The eclaire acts as the bait drawing the actor in, then sea acts as the fisherman by reeling in its catch.

Desserts (feat. Ewan Mcgregor)

Narrative Theory - Desserts Short Film Analysis

We can see elements of other theories within this text, such as the element of mystery to begin with which would relate to Rolande Barthes theory and the enigma code and also Todorov's theory doesn't really apply to this short film as there is an equilibrium at the beginning, it is disrupted and there is a realisation of this yet there is no attempt to restore this equilibrium or an actual restoration. His theory is more likely to apply to feature films rather than unconventional short films such as Desserts.

We believe that Claude Levi-Strauss's theory is most useful when analysing this short film as he discusses binary opposites. These oppositions are seen in the short film Desserts as the roles of fishermen and fish have been reversed. The cake is put on the beach as bait by the fish, the man takes the bait and then is hooked and dragged into the sea by the fish. The message this may be trying to portray is that the audience should see fishing from the fish's perspective rather than the fisherman's.

Music video editing analysis

Our editing was in sync with the video and its fast, lively pace. The use of copious cuts and colour editing gives the video a vibrant and energetic atmosphere associated with the genre of music and image of the artist. This connotes the artist's wild lifestyle and her social image of being a party animal. The use of vibrant and different primary colours are symbolic of both the artists personality and fashion sense (colourful and diverse clothes).  Fast cuts could be said to be representative of the fast paced lifestyle of Ke$ha and her ever changing style and personality.

Our Production Analysis - Lovage to Catch a Theif

Micro element: Mise en Scene

The first main denotation you see in our music video is the bunny, who plays the main character throughout the video. We chose a bunny as this connotes vulnerability, which is seen in the scene where the bunny gets kicked out out of his house by his wife. The bunny was also a thief in the video which link to the title, so the bunny costume connoted a disguises as most thieves have.

The use of alcohol in the pub was a form of non-verbal language as it is showing the bunny drinking his sorrows away yet no dialogue is spoken. The audience is likely to decode this encoding in this way as it is a typical and common ideology.

Another piece of encoding we put into the video was the prop of the bundle on as stick over the bunny's shoulder in the opening scene. We hope to our audience that this symbolic sign would connote that the bunny is leaving home and that they would decode this image in this way.

A simple iconic sign we encoded was the bunny behind bars. This image would be decoded by audiences everywhere as someone being in prison and 'behind bars' it is quite a literal sign. This image also links with the title of the song and the lyrics.

Analysis of Opening Sequence of Se7en

Micro-elements:
(Denotation and Connotation)
Weather is raining constantly - makes the viewer feel like the film is going to be depressive, dark and gloomy throughout.

Brad Pitt has tie's already hung up for him on coat hanger - shows that he's lazy.

Morgan Freeman has everything lined up, ready for the day - show's he's organised and possibly has a touch of OCD, which he then brings into his job, e.g. tools in the back of the car are organised.

Written Language:
When the first murder has been committed the world "Gluttony" is written on the wall, showing that the murderer is leaving a clue to the crimes he is going to commit - the seven deadly sins.

In the opening credits there is a huge amount of written language, comprising of newspaper clippings etc. These give the beginning of the film a mysterious feel and keep the audience hooked as they want to know more about the murderer.

"Se7en"

SE7EN Analysis

The beginning of the film shows a male character in what looks like an apartment doing dishes in his boxers and shirt connoting that he is at home, the lack of sound connotes that he lives alone. He gets dressed into a suit that is layed out on his bed showing that he is organised. In the next scene the character is shown in a different environment. He is with other people in suits in another apartment with a body and blood splattered onto the wall. The people are taking photographs and talking. They say 'lietenant' and 'the body' connoting that this is a crime scene and this will be a film based around some kind of crime. another character enters and talks to him. This appears to be the next main character as he talks to the character we are already familiar with. As they step outside it is raining, this gives the scene a dull and negative atmosphere. The shop behind them has bars over the display windows and in front of the door showing that the area they are in an area that must have a high crime rate. The first character (morgan freeman) talks to the character who has just been introduced (Brad Pitt) he says 'why here' and 'you don't know me' when brad pitt tries to have a conversation with him. This shows that the character is quite closed and defensive obviously distancing himself.


The over all theme of the opening sequence sets the mood and pace of the rest of the movie. We witness a hierarchal complex between the two characters and the dull content in the shots are prolepsis for a dark movie. The use of setting and weather provide an atmospheric stage for which the movie continues. 


:D

Analysis of Se7en opening scenes-using media language

Micro-elements...

(Denotation and Connotation)

The denotation of the lighting in the opening sequences is dim, gloomy, and with a gray hue. The connotations of this could be the dark atmosphere within the house when the man had died, death is a very dark subject and the lighting within the house represents this.

One denotation of the mise-en-scene of Brad Pitt's character's clothing and the way he just throws them on with his tie already done up connotates his laid back, 'couldn't care less' attitude. In contrast, Morgan Freeman's layout of his clothing and possessions is very ordered, conotating his structured and organised approach to his job.


(Written Language)

In the first murder scene 'Gluttony' is clearly written on the wall as past of the mise-en-scene. this serves to give both the characters and the audience a clue into the nature and the reason for the crime. 

In the credit scene there is substantial use of written language in the form of written notes and newspaper clippings. These create the effect of both mystery and gives an insight into the mental instability of the murderer.


(Non-Verbal Language)

Morgan Freeman's character is seen laying in his bed all alone in the first scene. No dialogue is spoken yet his characters loneliness and his direction in life seems almost absent. This can be supported by his obsession over being organised, he may put all of his life into his job.
 

Media lanuguage Analysing Se7en

• written language- the first written language shown within the opening sequence was the actors names, producers, director etc and it flickered on and off in a quite distressed font and it sets the tone and feel of the film from the very beginning.
• verbal-when it comes to the verbal language that has been used throughout the opening
• non-verbal language
• visual language
• semiotics-denotation,connotation 
• aural language

SE7EN Analysis