Media Studies

www.curriculum-press.co.uk Number 003

Genre: Categorising texts

This Factsheet introduces the concept of genre by focussing on:
1. How texts are categorised
a. The importance of visual iconographies
b. The links between genre and other media concepts such
as narrative, representation and ideology
2. How Genre is used by audiences
3. How Genre is used by media producers
4. Why genres are subject to change
Body Text
Genre refers to the labelling of texts through the identification of
shared characteristics. Texts within certain genre categories will
have certain things in common that will enable the audience to see
similarities between texts.
Genre categories are used outside Media Studies all the time. For
example, DVD sellers use categories to group their products to help
purchasers locate what they want to buy. Many TV listings
descriptions begin with an identification of the genre of the text
Grouping and categorising enables the audience to have a broad
general idea as to what the content and style of a media text will be.
Activity
Go to an on-line DVD retailer’s website (amazon.co.uk or
play.com for example) and look at the categorisation that is
used to help find DVDs. Browse through some of these genre
categories and see if you can identify what aspects of the
films are used to decide where they should be ‘filed’.
1. How Texts are Categorised
a) The importance of visual iconographies
Genres are categories or types of media text. Genres are recognisable
through the repeated use of generic codes and conventions.
Generic codes and conventions are the aspects of a text which the
audience recognises as the shared characteristics of a genre. Film
westerns will share codes and conventions with TV westerns.
Although there are many differences between films and television
programmes – they have different production values and often use
different narrative structures – there are certain elements within the
genre that are shared that enables the audience to recognise a
western regardless of the form.
Most commonly, codes and conventions are considered as coming
from the iconographies (specific visual or aural media language
choices). Sometimes these iconographies are enough to act alone,
e.g. the mise en scene of deep space, usually indicates the genre of
sci-fi. Sometimes, however, the iconographies work together to
indicate the 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.

Newspaper Genres
The genre of a text is usually identifiable simply its appearance
by the way it looks. A tabloid newspaper looks a certain way and
it is significantly different to the look of a broadsheet – even
when broadsheet newspapers are moving towards being
produced using paper roughly the same size as a tabloid. It is
not, however, simply the look of these types of newspaper that
defines their genre type. Tabloids and broadsheets also have
many other differences in the way they use language, select
stories that they will publish and have different attitudes and
values. However, the visual clues are often the first things that
assist the audience when identifying the genre of a media text.

What are the visual differences between a tabloid and a broadsheet newspaper? Consider the use of colour, images, layout and
design choices, as well as the use of text. What other differences are there that distinguish ‘tabloid’ and ‘broadsheet‘ newspapers?

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An Example: Science Fiction The plot in these two genres my be very similar, but the narratives
Both Star Wars and Star Trek use recognisable iconographies of of soap operas and sit-coms are very different. Both use different
Science Fiction (see below) but they do not use them the same way. narrative codes: sit coms tend to be episodic narratives whilst the
Star Trek tends to use a more futuristic setting which relates to an soap opera convention is to use an open ended, multi-strand
idealised (utopian) world of the future. The Star Wars universe is narrative structure.
far less ideal and is portrayed in some parts as more ‘rough and
ready’, however, they both share enough characteristics to be This plot is, however, unlikely to be used in an action film. Action
considered within the same genre. heroes usually have much bigger things to deal with than bullying
bosses – if they have one, the action hero’s bullying boss will be
Science Fiction Star Wars Star Trek little more than an irritation. The plot and narrative are often part of
Set in outer space? yes yes the generic codes of the texts.
Use of space ships? yes yes
c) Character Representations
Use of alien characters? yes yes
Characters, including the use of stereotypes and character roles,
Laser Guns? yes yes are also part of the narrative of texts. Certain stereotypes tend to be
High Tech Devices? yes yes linked to specific genres. The ’lone wolf’ hero, for example is a
convention of an action text. Here the hero tends to be positioned
Star Trek exists as both film and television texts and so genre outside a supportive group and he works alone to fight the villains
codes and conventions are not limited to one media form. Sci Fi or save the world. James Bond may be a member of MI6 but he is
comics share the same codes and conventions as Sci Fi radio always sent on missions alone and is often seen as being
fictions. Radio fictions have to imply the visual codes by unconventional.
highlighting the aural codes. Comics need to make reference to the
aural codes, often using text and illustrations to refer to the sounds Jack Bauer of 24 is another stereotypical ‘lone wolf’ action hero
that are part of the generic codes of science fiction. Different forms, and he is often depicted making decisions that could be seen as
therefore, identify genre in different media language choices. immoral. However his unconventional responses tend to enable
him to get the job done.
Activity
Using one of the genres you identified on the DVD retailer’s
website, construct a list of codes and conventions of a genre
you are familiar with. You could then construct a table similar
to that above to identify how specific media texts select certain
codes and conventions in their construction.

b) The importance of narrative

Visual and aural iconographies are not the only way that genres can
be identified. Genre can also be indicated in the way the story is
told via its narrative (the structure of the story telling) and plot (the
events and occurrences within the story). Where the action hero is isolated from other people, the disaster
movie usually often places the heroic role within a group of people.
When you are watching a film or the TV or reading a Often they all have particular strengths which play a part in solving
newspaper or magazine you will probably find it very easy to the problem through the collaboration of a group who works
identify genre. You will need to look in more detail and identify together.
what media language options have been made to enable you
to recognise the genre so easily. These choices will usually be Good examples of this are Independence Day (1996: dir. R. Emmerich),
the ones that are shared by the majority of texts within this Deep Impact (1998: M. Leder) and, more recently, The Day After
genre, even if they have their own specific ways of using these Tomorrow (2004: dir. R. Emmerich). In The Day After Tomorrow a
choices. father has two goals: to persuade the government to act on his
advice and then to rescue his son. In both plots he accepts the help
Some genres have particular types of story lines. For example, in a of others e.g. accepting information from other scientists or letting
soap opera it would not be unusual to see one of the story-lines his colleagues accompany him as he travels to New York where his
follow a family having to deal with a domestic situation such as a son is trapped.
member of the family having trouble with their boss at work. This
type of story may also appear in a sit-com but the way the story He is shown putting his trust in others and accepting the need for
develops and is dealt with will be different. cooperation in order to solve the problems he faces.
In a soap opera, the situation may be shown in a serious way and
the boss could be represented as a villain and act in a very abusive The representation of heroes ia a part of the codes and conventions
manner. In a soap the story may take a long time to develop as it will of the genres.
be one of many story-lines the soap opera will be dealing with at the
same time. In a sit-com, this may be an ongoing story or it may be a
problem that is solved within the thirty minute episode. Either way,
the sit-com will deal with the humour in the situation and it is most
likely that the boss will be represented as foolish rather than
villainous.
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d) Ideologies
Closely related to the narrative is the fact that the themes, ideas and
values (ideologies) of a text are often based on generic codes and
conventions.
As shown, Action texts depend on
ideas of individual strength whereas
disaster movies value team work and
collaboration. In soap operas the
value of families sticking together is a
generic code and in the various types
of story-lines that a soap opera can
offer the audience, this ideology tends
to be consistent – characters who do not value the family eventually
being punished, whilst there is reward for those that do.
In addition, media texts can be categorised in a number of different
ways. Bordwell was considering film specifically and noted some
of the ways that films are categorised.
2. How Genre is Used by Audiences
There are number of ways that audiences use the concept of
genre.
a) They use their prior knowledge of the genre to anticipate
whether or not they are likely to enjoy a text. This helps when
selecting a media text whether it is a lifestyle magazine, a film
or a television programme.
b) They are able to compare a text through its shared
characteristics with another. If you try to describe a TV
programme to someone who has not seen it, you are likely to
define its genre and then clarify what other text it is similar to.
c) They also use their knowledge of genre to reject a text. For
many of us there will be genres we actively dislike and therefore
will avoid accessing texts we assume to hold those
characteristics.
d) In addition to this, the knowledge we have of genre prepares
us when we start to access a media text. Chandler states that
Genre ‘frames the reader’s interpretation of a text.’ In other
words, knowledge of a genre means we will have certain
expectations of the text that we expect to be fulfilled.
When watching a comedy the expectation is that it will amuse
and, hopefully, generate laughter. It is through the recognition of
codes and conventions that we create these expectations. If they
are fulfilled, the audience receives pleasure, if not they can be
disappointed. The audience may judge a text as unsuccessful
simply because it did not meet their generic expectations.
Exam Hint:
Identifying genre codes is not going to be enough in an
examination response. You should consider what
gratifications the genre may provide for its audience and
perhaps who that audience is assumed to be.
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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.
It is important to consider how it is we recognise genres and, Most
often it is likely to be through a combination of media language
codes, narrative codes and thematic codes.
3. How Genres are Used by Media Producers
a) Production
Genres are paradigms or templates media producers can follow.
If a media producer wants to produce a new sit-com, there are
certain ’rules’ that must be followed. This actually makes life
easier for writers and producers as they don’t have to invent
things from scratch. They can also look to successful examples
of the genre and attempt to replicate what was popular and, of
course, avoid the mistakes made by texts which have
disappointed the audience.
b) Attracting an Audience
Some genres have loyal fan-bases. People will try out a new sit-
com simply because it’s a new sit-com and this can help media
producers minimise the potential for failure.
c) Marketing Texts
Good examples of this are 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. This acts to attract fans of
the genre and set up the expectations of the film.
Other media producers do the same. As cable TV has developed,
specialised channels, e.g. 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.
Given the vast amount of choice now available on television,
this makes the complicated job of finding a text easier for the
audience and also helps the channels market their programmes
effectively.
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4. Why Genres are Subject to Change Each one of these sub-genres has a whole host of codes and
Keeping the Audience Interested conventions of their own. Iconographies like crosses, holy water,
As genres rely on audiences' understanding of the codes and graveyards and gothic mansions are part of the vampire sub-genre
conventions, over-repetition of these codes means that genre texts (and are within horror codes) but are not necessarily included in
run the risk of becoming predictable. the teen slasher film.

However, moving too far away from conventions could cause
audience dissatisfaction as the text does not fulfil generic
expectations. Media producers have to try to balance ‘repetition
and difference’ (Neale). Too much repetition creates cliché, too
much difference and the audience’s generic expectations are not
met.
The two images below show how much the iconographies of the
Gangster genre have altered over time.
Despite their differences, there are many similarities between
conventional gangster films and the modern equivalents: 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.
Add to this the fact that there are also hybrid genres. These are
texts which deliberately mix the codes and conventions of more
than one genre. Buffy the Vampire Slayer successfully blended
codes of the gothic horror, comedy, romance and soap opera and
so provided many different viewing pleasures for its audience.
AQA/OCR/WJEC?
The different exam boards assess understanding of genre in
different ways. For example, OCR will specify a genre that the
students must study whereas other exam boards allow teachers
and students to select which ones they look at. AQA expect
students to respond to general questions on genre, making
reference to texts that have been studied. However an
understanding of this concept is common to all boards in the
assessment of textual analysis and practical production modules.

Images web references

www.informativostv.com
www.bris.ac.uk
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk
http://media.fox50.com
www.ziyue.com
www.webstar.co.uk
http://members.aol.com/bobbuttman
They also focus on conflicts within the gangster community such
as rivalry between opposing gangs or internal power struggles. These
themes are the same whether the text is Scarface, Reservoir Dogs or
The Sopranos.

Over time, the iconographies have changed so the genre has not
become stale and uninteresting for the audience. but the basic
conventions of the genre remain. New gangster films share codes
with the traditional ones but create more modern approaches to the
subject matter to stay up to date with modern audience’s interests
and changes in culture.
One code of the traditional gangster movie was to have a
Tommy Gun hidden in a violin case.
• The first time an audience member saw this is would be a
surprise,
• after that it would be pleasurable when the expectation of a
gun being hidden this way was met. Eventually, the idea of
using the violin case would be seen as unimaginative – it
had become a cliché

All of this seems to imply that it is easy to identify a genre and all
texts fit within one or other simple category. This is not the case.
Genres can include sub-genres. Horror for example is a very broad
term but in film it can include
• vampire movies (Blade (1998: dir. S. Norrington)),
Acknowledgements: This Media Studies Factsheet was researched and written
• psychological horrors (Saw (2004, dir. J. Wan)),
by Steph Hendry
• gothic horrors (Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992: dir. F. Coppola)), Curriculum Press. Bank House, 105 King Street, Wellington, TF1 1NU. Sociology
• ghost stories (The Grudge (2004: dir. T. Shimuzu)), Factsheets may be copied free of charge by teaching staff or students, provided
• the teen slasher (Scream (1996: dir. W. Craven)), that their school is a registered subscriber. No part of these Factsheets may be
• haunted-house movies (The Amityville Horror (2005: dir. A. reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any other form or
Douglas)). by any other means, without the prior permission of the publisher. ISSN
1351-5136