Unit 4 Texts and context in the Media: GENRE

“The audience may know what to expect, but are still excited by genre texts”. To what extent is this true?
(June ’05 a)

Each genre has its own codes and conventions which result in the audience expecting certain things from this particular genre. Examples for slasher genre are the knife, blood, scream and the final girl (Carol Clover) lin later films.

- Definition of genre- Genre movies are films which through repetition and variation; tell familiar stories with familiar characters in familiar situations. They encourage expectations and experiences they have seen before in similar films.
(Barry Keith Grant, 1995)

The audience may expect certain conventions of the in slasher genre through the repertoire of elements:

Iconography: the eerie music
The shadows
Screams
Murder weapon e.g. knife, chainsaw or hook
Blood
Saying things such as I’ll be back
Masks
*Phallic objects

Setting: Deserted old house
Secluded area
Forests
Most scenes are set at night
Suburban area (society)

Style: High angle shots (used for empowerment)
Back lighting
Enigmatic shots
Zoom ins and zoom outs
Hand held camera (for some films such as Halloween)
Point of view shots

Narrative: someone dies in the beginning
Failed authority figures
Some films have no resolution allowing sequels

Characters: Teenagers
Ambiguous characters
Stereotypical male killer
Final girl
Victims involved in sex or drugs
Final girl being masculine

Themes: Killer versus victim
Male versus female
Revenge
Dreams versus reality (Nightmare on Elm Street)
Romance
Good versus evil
Sadistic pleasures

Audience response: sadistic pleasures
Laughter
Sympathy
Identification with characters
Confusion (Psycho)
Tense (switch blade runner)
Masochistic pleasures

The reason audiences are excited is because of the shots. These create suspense due to enigmatic shots (code by Barthes). The tension is built because the audiences are unaware of what is going on. An example is A nightmare on Elm street. The whole film is shown from the point of views of the killer creating suspense making the audience excited.

The suspense created visceral pleasures and this also keep the audience entertained even though the audience expects this from the genre of the film.

Some texts are go through the genre development cycle. The re-invigorated films such as scream entertain the audience even though the audience are aware of what to expect and are presented with these expectations in the new film that are a parody and/or pastiche of past slasher films. This entertains audience as they are presented with something new and different however similar in terms of codes and conventions.

Representation revision!!!

Do stereotypes change over time? Answer with reference to specific examples.
(june 03 a)

Some of the stereotypes in the media are: Examples are:

Ø Number of women in domestic job roles such as cleaners or housewives.
This due to feminism- definition of feminism is a social movement that seeks equal rights for women.
→challenges patriarchy

Ø The ‘bimbo’ is used in films, adverts, sitcoms and other media texts. The bimbo is also associated with the blond hair colour.

Ø There is a stereotype that women are passive, weak and inert. This in particular is stereotypes such as the damsel in distress and the strong male hero saves the passive women from the villain in films such as action.

Ø The stereotype that all Asians want to become doctors or the family would want their children to become doctors.

Ø Women were represented as the Madonna and whore. This complex is a term described by Sigmund Freud. The Madonna is the motherly figure and the whore is the care free and takes risks.

Ø They are represented as sex objects/tool of pleasure in order of providing visceral pleasure to the audience. Women are not seen for their qualities such as abilities but how they look.
→Laura Mulvey’s theory on male gaze and objectification

Ø Asians works in a corner shop/own a corner shop. This is a very old stereotype.

Ø The femme fatale is another stereotype women were associated with and were always given in films such as ‘fatal attraction’. They were called words such as whore and if a male did the same they would probably get praised for it. This reflects what the presence of women was and how they were treated alongside males.

The stereotypes that have changed are:

- The domestic roles being associated with women have lessened due to feminism and because of the way they are getting presented in contemporary society such as in films.

- Femme Fatales are not being shown now in films. This stereotype once associated with females has moved on and progressed and this has a lot to do with feminism.

- Women being passive and weak are now changing to a more equal representation of woman. Not long before they were shown as passive, damsel in distress however Alien played a major part in progressing woman’s presence in society. Now there are women in a protagonist role sometimes even saving a passive male (gentlemen in distress) - role reversal
- They are represented with control, power and authority.

Stereotypes that have stayed the same:

- The fact that woman are still being viewed for pleasure makes the society we live in patriarchal. However if this is seen from a post-modern point of view- they are aware of what they are doing and so can be seen as they have the power to control the men using their bodies- body used as a distraction device.

Stereotypes that still are progressing:

Ø The stereotype of Asians. They are always liked with a corner shop. This stereotype is progressing because more Asians are becoming educated which means that they are no longer working in corner shops though there are still some people.

Ø Another stereotype against Asians is the doctor’s issue. Most people assume that an Asian person would want to become a doctor or the family would like the son/daughter to become a doctor. Society has changed and so has the family wanting their child to become a doctor. They now have more freedom to decide what they want to do for the rest of their life but the job needs to have good pay.