All genres have sub genres (genres within a genre). This means that they are divided up into more specific categories that allow audiences to identify them specifically by their familiar and what becomes recognisable characteristics (Barry Keith Grant, 1995). However, Steve Neale (1995) stresses that "genres are not 'systems' they are processes of systematisation".
Steve Neale - Dynamic Genre
Genre is a term that can be split up into different categories based on characteristics that they share, for example, settings, storylines, narratives, characters and themes. Genre can be referred to music videos, and they can be classified as being a particular genre, such as; pop, indie and rock.
Steve Neale states that 'genres are instances of repetition and difference' and 'genres are not systems, they are processes of systemisation'. He also says that, definitions of genre are historically relative and are therefore historically specific. He believed that there was a system of expectation and that by using our own knowledge and applying conventions of the genre, the audience should be able to infer the narrative and storyline of the music video. He also declares that difference is essential to economy of genre; more repetition would not attract the audience.
Generic characteristics across all texts share similar elements of 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 i.e. typical characters, typical studio/production companies, typical personnel (directors, producers, actors, music, sound effects), typical sound design (sound design, dialogue, music, sound effects), and typical editing style.
In a typical R&B like the Where Have You Been music video, there is normally a lot upbeat dancing to match the music of the song. From this dancing it is easy to differenciate the genre from other genres, like Rock. There are various generic characteristics across all texts of the same genre that share similiar elements of typical mise-en-scene, this includes; props within the setting for instance the sand which helps to imply that it is a desert location and the water which is shown at the beginning and end of video within the jungle type location. From the set design the audience can understand that Rihanna is in different geogrphical locations, which emphasises the song lyrics "I've been everywhere". As there are different locations Rihanna has costumes to match the location, such as wearing desert clothes. Not only does Rihanna wear costumes to match the location her backing dancers who feature in the video also wear similar outfits. Everything within the mise-en-scene from props, set design, costumes, lighting, and location etc. all create verisimilitude making the video look as realistic as it possibly could be camera techniques add to this such as, shot types, angles and special effects.
The performance within the narrative is conventional of a R&B video, through the plots and set pieces. The set design helps to create the plot and form structure to the narrative, without this the video would not make sense and would not be appealing to the audience as it would not have an effect upon them. This video is purely performance within the narrative based. Having the combination of performance and narrative is typical of a music video as it is hard to have just either a pure performance or narrative, by using both performance and narrative the video can be made more interesting and enjoyable to watch for example, in Kelly Clarkson 'Since You've Been Gone'.
There are typical characters like the artist and backing dancers. As well as a typical studio and/or a production company that have designed the set especially to create the music video. For a music video on this scale there would have been typical members of personnel like directors, producers and actors. The sound of the music and editing styles for example, cutting between different scenes and having various camera shots, are all conventional and typical for a music video within this genre.
Jason Mittell (2001) argues that genres are cultural categories that surpass the boundaries of media texts and operate within industry, audience, and cultural practices 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. Genre also allows audiences to make choices about what products they want to consume through acceptance in order to fulfill a particular pleasure.
Many of Rihanna's audience are aged 17 to 19+, and are mainly white or black African. The music industry use Rihanna's popularity from these age and ethnic minority categories to sell her products. Many of her fans see her as a role model outside of music rather than a music icon, but the music industry uses this to their advantage to sell products. Industries use genre to sell products to audiences, media use familiar codes and conventions that very often make cultural references that the audience will be able to interpret and make acknowledgement of. By Rihanna presenting herself in this video through the mise-en-scene and camera shots, it allows the audience to make a decision about what products they want to consume.
Pleasure of genre for audiences
Theorist 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 Pleasure: Visceral pleasures ('visceral' refers to internal organs) are 'gut' responses and are defined by how the films stylistic construction effects 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 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.
The audience may get a visceral pleasure or have a physical effect from the video. This can be a feeling of revulsion, the audience may find the way Rihanna presents herself in the video is disgusting especially those members of the audience who have cultural values, and think Rihanna is inappropriately dressed or shouldn't be surrounded by a mass number of male dancers, dancing in the way she is. However, the audience may feel like the speed of the music and the video have a positive affect upon them making them feel upbeat and happy. Or they may find it thrilling and think its exciting like a 'roller coaster ride'.
As this video starts of mysterious, the audience may try and work out what is going to happen in the narrative. By doing this they are creating a pleasure of an intellectual puzzle. Pleasure is derived from deciphering the plot and trying to guess how the video will end, the audience will try and guess the plot through listening to the song lyrics and trying to understand how it might go. When Rihanna rises out of the water in the start of the video on her own, she looks mysterious, this will quiz the audience of what the video is trying to show. As the video develops Rihanna is in different locations the audience may relate it to the song suggesting the plot is based on the song lyrics. From this they will try and guess how it is going to end or if there is going to be a surprise ending. In this video the plot ends with Rihanna returning to the water on her own like the video initially started, and it concludes where she and the males surrounding her go back into the water. Many of the audience may have thought that she would have found something, but in this case she does not which adds a surprise/an unexpected twist in the narrative/plot, which is uncommon in most music video's of the same genre.
The main strength of genre theory is that everybody uses it and understands it, media experts use it to study media texts, the media industry use it to develop and market texts and audiences use it to decide what texts to consume.
The potential for the same concept to be understood by producers, audiences and scholars makes genre a useful critical tool. It's accessibility as a concept also means that it can be applied across a wide range of texts.
The medium of short film does not have a specific genre. However the things that separate short films from feature films are that they often have single strand narratives and/or focus on the characters. They can be very often anti-narrative/surrealist. Short films can be ambiguous, open meaning (Eco 1981) and often experimental.
Genre Development and Transformation
Over the years genres develop and change as the wider society that produce them also changes, a process that is known as generic transformation.
Christian Metz in his book Language and Cinema (1974) argued that genres go through a typical cycle of changes during their lifetime.
- Experimental Stage
- Classic Stage
- Parody Stage
- Deconstruction Stage
- 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.
Both performance and narrative based videos are very often purely intertextual.
Blink 182 - All The Small Things
Weezer - Buddy Holly
They often pastiche/parody films or other commentary on social events. Green Day's Basket Case (1996) pastiches One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1975).
Others include themes which may fit around the lyrics of the song or society (particularly if the band are well known activists known for supporting a cause). This is a medium known for being experimental and controversial. The generic conventions stay the same but the style change between music genres.
Genre Themes
Genres are not fixed: they constantly change and evolve over time.
David Buckingham (1993) argues that 'genre is not simply given by the culture rather, it is in a constant process of negotiation and change.
As postmodern theorist Jacques Derrida reminds us, "the law of genre is precisely a principle of contamination, a law of impurity".
Arctic Monkey's music video 'Scummy Man'. Portishead's 'To kill a dead man' is essentially a short film noir (1940s detective movie).
Nicholas Abercrombie (1996) suggests that "the boundaries between genres are shifting and becoming more permeable". Abercrombie is concerned with modern television, which he suggests seems to be engaged in 'a steady dismantling of genre'.
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