Genre

Read Media Factsheet 03 - Genre: Categorising texts and answer the following questions:

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

The example of this is someone sitting behind a desk who isnt meant to be seen as important or professional. Theres screen and high key lighting and the person will seem professional and focused. These are important as they use codes and conventions.

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

The examples of genres are represented by Independence Day, The day after tomorrow. The representation of this genre of heroes is a part of codes and conventions of the genre of the movies.

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

There is a significant difference of characters in an action movie. Heroes in action movies are mainly strong, dominant and powerful or a rowhile typically having a damsel needing saving or family to drive him forward. While in disaster movies heroes are often put into a group of people trying to stay alive with the hero taking the main role of this group along with the hero to make them look more powerful and smart.

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

Bordwell communicated a few ways movies could be categorized such as:

1. Country or period 
2. Director or star 
3. Style
4. Series
5. Audience 

5) List three ways genre is used by audiences.

Three ways genre is used by audiences are:

1. prior knowledge of the genre- to anticipate whether or not they are likely to enjoy a text.
2. compare a text through its shared characteristics with another
3. They use their knowledge of genres to reject a text.

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

Three ways genre is used by institutions and producers:

1. Attracting an audience-loyal fan-bases of past material
2. Marketing texts- film trailers or other types of promotional material.
3. Production-which means to look at successful examples of genres and replicate them within their film or TV series. They don't have to invent things from scratch.

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

The genre that is used as an example is the Gangster Genre which has evolved dramatically over time. The genre typically focuses on groups of criminal and their lifestyle the movies often focus on the violence of the gangs and the implications it can have. We are also shown rivalries within two or more gangs or conflict amongst police and gangs. Examples of this are Scarface, Reservoir Dogs, and The Sopranos.

Read Media Factsheet 126

1) List five films the factsheet discusses with regards to the Superhero genre.

Chronicle 

Scott Pilgrim

X-men 

Spiderman

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

Movies such as Superman and Spider-man have gone through many remakes and reboots which compared to one another feature the same type of story and formula yet are much darker in Modern-day and have a much more realistic tone while still being related to its source material.

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

Schatz uses the following terms to show how genres are dynamic and that they go through a cycle.
   These are:

• Innovation
• Classical
• Parody 
• Deconstruction

General

Movie: Baby Driver

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

I will be analyzing the film Baby Driver. I have chosen this movie as it is an action, crime and oddly a musical which goes it not a mixture of genres that are found together, which greatly interested me into the film. Also, the cast of the film was stellar which made me want to watch it even more including Ansel ELgort, Jon Bernthal, Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx and Kevin Spacey.

2) In what context did you encounter it?

i went odeon cinema in uxbridge with my friends 1 week after the realise as it had actors which i recognised.

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

The movie is focused on a character named Baby (the protagonist) a driver for a bank robbing gang with excellent driving skills hence why he has got picked by them. We are given a personal connection with Baby as through Flash-backs we are shown how Baby' parents had died in a car crash resulting in his impaired hearing, and why he listens to music to help him flush out as he can block out the world but still understand everyone. 

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

From the first view of the trailer we are convinced by audience perception that the movie is a bank robbery chase film involving gangs and amazing driving skills which made me want to watch it, but after watching only the first few minutes of the movie we are introduced to Baby and a group of thugs robbing a store, Baby stays in the car and begins to lip sync to music in a comedic fashion as the thugs rob the store. This opposed what many audiences may have expected as musical are not typically associated with action movies.

5) What is your experience of this genre?

I am intrigued by action crime films such as scar face  and menace to society , although I am not a fan of musicals because I find them boring but baby driver uses the music with the story while most musicals sing and ignore the fact that they just danced for 4 minutes.

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

The basic themes of the film are action The director Edgar Wright (such as the previously stated Scott Pilgrim, Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead) is known for choosing different genres and creating original films out of them in which for Baby Driver he has used these.

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

The movie is very unique compared to other movies as it has a twist to it because no one would expect someone who listens to music alot would understand what people say without hearing them and then finding out why he does this.

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

I had expected a chase movie as like the trailers the movie reminded me of Drive which had an action-packed trailer but in reality was a slow paced action drama so I expected the same kind of thing from the film.

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

I don't have any as the film is a mix of so many different genres.

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

Action, Crime, Music. "Boy Racer hits all the right notes" "An entirely original piece of jukebox filmmaking"

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

A romance as he falls in love a girl , A black thug being regarded as dangerous, A protagonist who has lost his parents, A duo of characters that arent being very smart.

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

Baby is able to know his surroundings even while playing music really loud, cops are unable to realize the thieves are in a different car, a lot of the characters dodge bullets.

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

The fact that the movie even has a character that is hearing impaired and uses loud music to block it out is counter-intuitive as that would worsen his condition.

14) What familiar motifs or images are used?
There are props of iPods and multiple apple products and walkmans to convey he is listening to music.Mode of address