Genre Theory

Genre

Genre is a critical tool that helps us study texts and audience responses to texts by dividing them into categories based on common elements: codes and conventions, iconography, organising structure, paradigm. 

Generic characteristics across all texts share similar elements:

-Typical mise en scene/visual style. (Iconography, props, set design, lighting, temporal and geographic location, costume, shot types, camera angles, special effects)
-Typical types of narrative (plots, historical setting, set pieces)
-Generic types ie. typical characters
-Typical studios/ production companies

-Typical personnel (directors, producers, actors, stars, auteurs, etc)
-Typical sound design (dialogue, sound effects
-Typical editing style

 Katy Perry

Lana Del Rey

For example, these two pop stars Katy Perry and Lana Del Rey are wearing similar costumes which conforms to the idea that they are both reflecting their chosen genre of music (pop) through the use of the bright coloured flowers, as rock artists would not have this particular style of iconography around them.

Daniel Chandler (2001)

Chandler argues that the word 'genre' comes from the French (and originally Latin) word for 'kind' or 'class.' The term is widely used in rhetoric, literary theory, media theory, to refer to a distinctive type of 'text.'

All genres have sub genres. This means that they are divided up into more specific categories that allow audiences to identify them specifically by their familiar and what become recognisable characteristics (Barry Keith Grant 1995)

Steve Neale (1995)

Neale stresses that 'genres' are not 'systems', they are processes of 'systemisation' ie. they are dynamic and evolve over time. Neale also says 'genres are instances of repetition and difference.' How a media text must conform to these conventions enough that it can still qualify and be identified as a media text of that genre. How much a media text subverts the genres stereotypes and conventions. He says that a media text must subvert these conventions enough that it is still viewed as a unique media text, not just a clone. Furthermore, he states that difference is vital to the economy of genre as simply repeating everything would not make an audience want to watch a media text, therefore media texts need to stick to a genre but also offer something different to attract the audience.

The Bad Blood music video and Katy Perry's 'Roar' is quite similar. Both videos are quite bright and often colourful. This represents their genre of pop and how these same connotations of bright colours are being used to allow the audience to identify the pop genre, however they are used differently to portray certain narratives, although we can still see it is a pop genre. This relates to Steve Neale's theory because although the two videos are different in terms of the messages being represented, the genre of the videos are identified through the same things; such as the bright colours, makeup choices and the outfits worn. This suggests that same genre music videos do represent the genre similarly, but are still different from each other enough to make it interesting for an audience to watch.

Jason Mittell (2001)
Mittell argues that genres are cultural categories that surpass the boundaries of media texts and operate within the industry, audience and cultural practises as well. Industries use genre to sell products to audiences. Media producers use familiar codes and conventions that very often make cultural references to their audience knowledge of society, other texts. In the Bad Blood video there are lots of references to other film texts which all help to promote a certain message to sell to an audience- that message is the 'betrayed' storyline.

Rick Altman (1999) argues that genre offers audiences ‘a set of pleasures
•Emotional Pleasures: The emotional pleasures offered to audiences of genre films are particularly significant when they generate a strong audience response.•Visceral Pleasures: Visceral pleasures (‘visceral’ refers to internal organs) are ‘gut’ responses and are defined by how the film’s stylistic construction elicits a physical effect upon its audience. This can be a feeling of revulsion, kinetic speed, or a ‘roller coaster ride’.•Intellectual Puzzles: Certain film genres such as the thriller or the ‘whodunit’ offer the pleasure in trying to unravel a mystery or a puzzle. Pleasure is derived from deciphering the plot and forecasting the end or the being surprised by the unexpected.
Taylor Swift's Bad Blood music video has all of these emotions labeled by Rick Altman. For example, it is an emotional video as the narrative is based around being betrayed by someone who meant a lot to her, which therefore creates emotional pleasure to an audience as they will sympathise with her and feel a particular way. Also, it offers visceral pleasure as the audience are on the edge of their seats wondering what Taylor is going to do when she's planning her revenge. The Bad Blood video also has intellectual puzzles as at the very beginning we're confused as to why she has been betrayed, however towards the end we realise that she was never really her friend to begin with and now there is a big feud between the two.

Postmodern Style

Music video is a medium intended to appeal directly to youth subcultures by reinforcing generic elements of musical genres.

•They are called pop-promos as they are used to promote a band or artist.•Music videos are postmodern texts whose main purpose is to promote a star persona (Dyer, 1975).•They don’t have to be literal representations of the song or lyrics.
Bad Blood could relate to postmodern style as the video appeals to youth subcultures via the narrative and also the interesting mise en scene and editing techniques used. Such as the guns, bikes, helicopters and explosions; these would engage a youthful audience. However, it could also apply to an older audience too, as many ages could enjoy watching this video. Furthermore, the video helps to promote Taylor Swift, as well as her famous friends such as Selena Gomez, Gigi Hadid, Cara Delevingne, Karlie Kloss, etc. This conveys the idea that the main purpose of media texts are to promote a star persona (Dyer 1975) and the Bad Blood music video does seem to promote stars such as models and singers.

 Gigi Hadid in the Bad Blood music video

Cara Delevingne in the Bad Blood music video

David Buckingham (1993) 

Argues that 'genre is not... Simply "given" by the culture: rather, it is in a constant process of negotiation and change’.

The Bad Blood music video does link to David Buckingham's idea that genre is a constant process of negotiation and change. For example, the video genre is pop and it has various aspects of other media texts such as Kill Bill, Sin City, etc within the video and this implies that the pop genre is changing and referencing other genres of media within their own product. However, it is still a pop video which shows that by negotiating with other techniques, it can help to make the genre a bit different from other same genre videos and to make it more interesting for an audience to consume.