Jason Mittell (2001) argues that genres are cultural categories that surpass the boundaries of media texts and operate within industry, audience and cultural practises as well. In short, 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.
Rick Altman (1999) argues that genre offers audiences 'a set of pleasures'. These pleasure are emotional, visceral and intellectual.
David Buckingham (1993) argues that 'genre is not... Simply "given" by the culture: rather, it is in a constant process of negotiation and change'.
Jacques Derrida (post modernist) reminds us "the law of the law of genre... is precisely a principle of contamination, a law of impurity".
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'.
Image Essay: Beyonce - Pretty Hurts
Over the years, genres develop and change
as the wider society that produce them also changes – a process that is known
as a generic transformation. Today, genre is a critical tool that helps us
study texts and audience responses to texts by diving them into categories
based on common elements. All genres have sub genres (genre within a genre) –
meaning that they are divided up into more specific categories that allow
audiences to identify them specifically by their familiar and what become
recognisable characteristics.
Music videos are a form of a media text,
which are 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. Music videos don’t have to be literal
representations of the song or lyrics – therefore, they are all individual and
unique to the artist(s).
Generic characteristics across all texts
share similar elements depending on the medium. For example in Beyonce’s music
video ‘Pretty Hurts’ she portrays a typical female role – a strong independent
woman who is a role model to all. Through the narrative, the story takes the
audience on a journey of the reality behind beauty pageants – being not so
beautiful.
Within the video ‘Pretty Hurts’, the
mise-en-scene conforms to the typical genre of pop music. For example, Beyoncé is shown wearing
minimal clothes in many scenes – which is often apparent within the pop
culture. It could be argued that the video conforms to Laura Mulvey’s theory of
‘The Male Gaze’ – where women are perceived as sexual objects. Furthermore,
there are many different set locations, in the video, as the narrative structure
is almost like a short film – which is also typical to the pop genre.
Rick Altman (1999) argues that genre offers
audiences ‘a set of pleasures’ – emotional pleasures, visceral pleasure and
intellectual puzzles. He said that the emotional pleasures offered to audiences
of genre films are particularly significant when they generate a strong
audience response – hence in ‘Pretty Hurts’ the dominant response is that women
can relate to the video as they feel the same pressure to look a certain way,
in order to fit in with society’s expectations. The visceral pleasures 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’. Within Beyonce’s video,
through the narrative, it takes the audience on a ‘roller coaster ride’ through
the emotions, pain and suffering she puts herself through in order to take part
in the beauty pageant. Lastly, the intellectual puzzles are certain film genres,
which offer a certain pleasure. The pleasure is derived from deciphering the
plot and forecasting the end or the being surprised by the unexpected. In ‘Pretty
Hurts’ the ending is unexpected as Beyoncé breaks down the expectations society
has on women being ‘pretty’ and chooses to let herself be herself, in order to
happy.
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