Steve Neale – Steve Neale states that genres all contain instances of repetition and difference, difference is essential to the to the economy of the genre. Neale states that the film and it’s genre is defined by two things: How much is conforms to its genre’s individual conventions and stereotypes.

predictable expectations – something that happens that you could guess

reinforced – strengthen or support (an object or substance), especially with additional material.

amplify – enlarge upon or add detail to (a story or statement).

 repertoire of elements – Repertoire of elements is essentially features of a film that are repeated within a genre. … The audience expect to see them when watching films and they can be key in helping the audience to grasp the genre of a film.

corpus – body

verisimilitude– the appearance of being true or real.

realism – ealism, in the arts, the accurate, detailed, unembellished depiction of nature or of contemporary life. Realism rejects imaginative idealization in favour of a close observation of outward appearances. As such, realism in its broad sense has comprised many artistic currents in different civilizations.

 construction of reality – part of those observations and experiences come to us preconstructed by the media, with attitudes, interpretations, and conclusions already built in, then the media, rather than we ourselves, are constructing our reality.

historically specific – something from the past that is recognisable.

sub-genres – a subdivision of a genre of literature, music, film, etc.

 hybrid genres – A hybrid genre is a genre that blends themes and elements from two or more different genres. Hybrid genres are not new but a longstanding element in the fictional process

Genre is a type of music, film and anything which can be performed in different ways throughout media. There are differences and similarities, predictable or expected. It should also be unpredictable. Different people see genre in different ways- people who consume it.

Genre should be predictable and go along with the typical genre conventions but should also be innovative and unexpected. Genre is important to the people who make it (INSTITUTION) and the people who consume it (AUDIENCE).

Genre is a way of thinking about media production and media reception.

It helps identify how media texts are classified, organised and understood, essentially around SIMILARITIES and DIFFERENCE. Media texts hold similar patterns, codes and conventions that are both PREDICTABLE and EXPECTED, but are also INNOVATIVE (different) and UNEXPECTED.

. . . saddled with conventions and stereotypes, formulas and
clichés and all of these limitations were codified in specific genres. This was the very foundation of the studio system and audiences love genre pictures . . .

Scorcese, A personal Journey through American Cinema (1995)

Institutions : Early Hollywood (an still today) revolved around large corporations which could be identified by certain styles and genres.

 “genres are dependent upon profitability”

Media products often challenge the social-cultural contexts in which they are created.

The song, Ghost Town by The Specials, clearly challenged the social-cultural context of the time period, commenting on subjects such as class, race, and politics. At the start of the songs music video, there are lots of run-down areas and empty streets. This creates an enigma for audiences and makes the town seem desolate and sad. The lines “Government leaving the youth on the shelf” and “Can’t go on no more / The people getting angry” illustrate the uneasiness that many young English men and women felt about how the country was being governed under Margaret Thatcher. In the music video, all the men have serious/vacant facial expressions, which suggests this song is sad and tackles serious issues. At the time of the song’s release (in 1981) there where there were many marches, protests and riots, where people showed their anger towards the government and its decisions to privatise and close many industries. Young men at the time were particularly angry and frustrated about the lack of jobs and support. This is shown through the line “No job to be found in this country”. Jerry Dammers, The Specials primary song-writer, stated that the overall mood he wanted to convey in the song was ‘impending doom’. The Specials were a Two-Tone band; meaning they fused Jamaican ska music with punk rock / new wave music. They had a huge following in the early 80s, and their music, therefore, had a great influence over culture. By producing protest music such as ‘Ghost Town’, the band could raise awareness about the issues going on in the country at the time. The aesthetic of the music video – the run-down streets and frantic, nauseating feel – as well as the lyrics, are a direct criticism of `the British Government, which introduced stop and search laws in the 1970s – 80s, which allowed police to abuse the laws and target black and Asian people to harass.

In conclusion, the song typifies the idea of using music as a political protest. The song’s writer, Jerry Dammers stated that when it came to the state of England under Thatcher “It was clear that something was very, very, wrong”. And the song lyrics paired with the hypnotic, almost nauseating music video, do a great job at making viewers (and listeners) aware of the state of political unrest that the country that the country was in at the time.