Genre

Genre is the term used for the classification of media texts into groups with similar characteristics. The characteristics include: visual elements, editing styles, actors, props, costumes, lighting, music etc.
All films carry a generic look, however, contain individual aspects and themes wwhich distinguish them from other films of a similar genre.
The theory of genre was developed in the 1960s and 1970s. Early theories came from Andre Barzin - a french cinema critique that believed that there is more to genre than just a list of characteristics. It can be argued that audiences are reassured by the concept of genre as they like the 'familiar pattersn of representation and variation'.
• Genres are a set of conventions which are recognisable, usually through iconography, familliar narrative, mise-en-scene, actors and style of representation.
• They are not static but are consistantly renegotiated between industry and new twists.
• A creative strategy used by film producers to insure audience identification with a film - a means of trying to predict risk.
• Genre is a way of working through important myths and fears by repetition, variation and resolution.
• They offer comforting reassurance in an uncomfortable world. Threat is quashed, outlaws become civilised, gangsters are punished. Genre is a way of tidying up the mess of life.


Postmodernism in Genre:
Postmodernism suggests everything is copied and now there are no longer any original ideas.
It can be argued teher will be no new genres in film. We see combinations of genres coming togeher to form new ideas made of a mixture of codes and conventions. For example: Shaun of the Dead is a Rom Com Zom.
Semantic and the Syntantic:
 Semantics are the study of the menaing of different words, the English alnguage. For media, it is the study of signs of symbols and their realtionship with eachother.


Altman and Semantics:
Genre is usually defined in terms of certain signs, and even stars - according to Altman.
For example:
Science fiction - Aliens, robots, space, future, metallic colours
Horror - monsters, killers, cemetaries, extreme close ups, blood, tense music, haunted houses, vampires, bad guys
Western - cowboys, indians, saloons, black and white hats, guns, tumble weed
Gangster - guns, mobs, alocohol, drugs
Romance - soundtrack, boy meets girl


Altman and Syntax:
Syntax is the gramatical arrangement of words in n sentence - English
For media, the syntax (syntaxical) involves the plot and themes. Thus these two are from the grammar of the text (film).
For example:
 Science fiction - love, good guy, bad guy, fight scenes
 Western - love, good guy, bad guy, fight scenes
 Gangster - love, good guy, bad guy, fight scenes
Romance - love, good guy, bad guy, fight scenes


Altman's Arguement:
The relationship between the two links to how we can understand genre evolution and hybridisation. Genres begin with the semantic, and over a period of time, evolve into 'genre' after a variety of themes, issues and plots have been explored. It can take a while. What limits this is the shifting of social ideologies that can affect thems, issues and ideas.


The difference between Altman and Traditonal Theories:
Traditional theorists look at the genre in a compartmentalised way, with no overlapping with specific ways of identifying the genre.


Hybridisation:
Hybridisation is the coming together of two or more genres. E.g. Romantic comedy or horror thriller.
Historical changes to genre through hybridisation will be dependent on the ideologies fo society at the time.
As well as hybrid genres, there are subgenres to mainstream genres. For example: slasher, psychological horror, gothic horror, zombie horrors etc.
For Science Fiction, and other genre maybe, it can be argued there is only a set of semantics, and no syntactical framework due to the high volume of sub genres, and the continuing shift in social ideology and technological advances.


Iconography:
Signs we associate with particular genres - a pattern of visual elements common to a genre.
Icons usually are found within mise-en-scene of a text. They are second-order symbols, their symbollic menaing is not necessarily a connection established within the individual text, already symbolic due to the use accross a number of similar previous texts. 
Horror example - Young Girls, 'normal' setting, use of high key and low key lighting, blood, knives etc.
Icons can be - Symbolic, Iconic or Indexical.