Genre is a way of organizing products into different categories, for example films can be ordered into the genres of horror, comedy etc. These categories all have similarities that run through a specific genre and differences between each genre, making them PREDICTABLE AND EXPECTED but also INNOVATIVE AND UNEXPECTED.
Genre is applied to all forms of media, including radio, TV, music etc.

“. . . 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) This quote shows that studios have specific genres that they stick to, creating the foundation for how films are made in each studio. Each of these genres have specific elements that the studios follow to create their films.

The genre may be considered as a practical device for helping any mass medium to produce consistently and efficiently and to relate its production to the expectations of its customers. Since it is also a practical device for enabling individual media users to plan their choices, it can be considered as a mechanism for ordering the relations between the two main parties to mass communication.Dennis McQuail 1987, p. 200

In some ways it hold conventions of other genres, as such it could be considered as a SUB-GENRE film (a genre within a genre) or a HYBRID GENRE (a combination of two genres). However, overall, it could be said that “genre is a system of codes, conventions and visual styles which enables an audience to determine rapidly and with some complexity the kind of narrative they are viewing” (Turner p.97 Film as Social Practice)

A key theoretical area that underpins Media Language is the study of GENRE. Genre is a way of thinking about media production (INSTITUTIONS) and media reception (AUDIENCES). Overall, genre study helps students to think about how media texts are classified, organised and understood, essentially around SIMILARITIES and DIFFERENCE. In that media texts hold similar patterns, codes and conventions that are both PREDICTABLE and EXPECTED, but are also INNOVATIVE and UNEXPECTED. The ideas of codes and conventions are the starting point to think about MEDIA LANGUAGE and has been discussed in earlier posts, remember each MEDIA FORM has its’ own language.

. . . 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)

The genre may be considered as a practical device for helping any mass medium to produce consistently and efficiently and to relate its production to the expectations of its customers. Since it is also a practical device for enabling individual media users to plan their choices, it can be considered as a mechanism for ordering the relations between the two main parties to mass communication.

Dennis McQuail 1987, p. 200

 In that media texts hold similar patterns, codes and conventions that are both PREDICTABLE and EXPECTED, but are also INNOVATIVE 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)

Key words:

predictable expectations –

einforced –

amplify –

 repertoire of elements –

 corpus –

verisimilitude –

construction of reality –

 historically specific –

sub-genres –

hybrid genres,

The genre may be considered as a practical device for helping any mass medium to produce consistently and efficiently and to relate its production to the expectations of its customers. Since it is also a practical device for enabling individual media users to plan their choices, it can be considered as a mechanism for ordering the relations between the two main parties to mass communication. – Denis McQuail 1987

 . . 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)

A key theoretical area that underpins Media Language is the study of GENRE. Genre is a way of thinking about media production (INSTITUTIONS) and media reception (AUDIENCES). Overall, genre study helps students to think about how media texts are classified, organised and understood, essentially around SIMILARITIES and DIFFERENCE. In that media texts hold similar patterns, codes and conventions that are both PREDICTABLE and EXPECTED, but are also INNOVATIVE and UNEXPECTED.

The genre may be considered as a practical device for helping any mass medium to produce consistently and efficiently and to relate its production to the expectations of its customers. Since it is also a practical device for enabling individual media users to plan their choices, it can be considered as a mechanism for ordering the relations between the two main parties to mass communication.Dennis McQuail 1987, p. 200

In some ways it hold conventions of other genres, as such it could be considered as a SUB-GENRE film (a genre within a genre) or a HYBRID GENRE (a combination of two genres). However, overall, it could be said that “genre is a system of codes, conventions and visual styles which enables an audience to determine rapidly and with some complexity the kind of narrative they are viewing” (Turner p.97 Film as Social Practice)

. . . 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)#######}

The genre may be considered as a ‘practical device’ for helping any mass medium to produce consistently and efficiently and to relate its production to the expectations of its customers.

Genre is a way of thinking about media production (INSTITUTIONS) and media reception (AUDIENCES). Overall genre study helps students to think about how media texts are classified, organised and understood.

Consumers want their media to be PREDICTABLE and EXPECTED but they also want it to be INNOVATIVE 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

The genre is considered as a practical device for helping any mass medium to produce consistently and efficiently and to relate its production to the expectations of its customers. It can be considered as a mechanism for ordering the relations between the two main parties to mass communication.

Overall genre helps students to think about how media texts are classified, organised and understood around similarities and differences.
In that media texts hold similar patterns, codes and conventions that are both predictable and expected, but are also innovative 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“
They stick to making their own films in a vertical integration.

Verisimilitude = The appearance of being true or real.
Repertoire = a list or supply of dramas, operas, pieces, or parts that a company or person is prepared to perform.
Dubious = uncertain about the result.

Genre is a way of organizing products into different categories. It helps mass medium to produce consistently and efficiently and to relate its production to the expectations of its customers. It helps to understand similarities and differences in a piece of product. Products in the same genre tend to hold similar patterns and codes and conventions that are both predictable and expected.
Consumers want it so that it is similar, but different, but not different enough so they don’t like it but instead a window between them.

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 – Scorsese, A personal Journey through American Cinema (1995)

Steve Neal

predictable expectations –
reinforced – 
amplify –
repertoire of elements –
corpus –
verisimilitude –
realism –
construction of reality –
historically specific –
sub-genres –
hybrid genres –

Concept	strongly agree	neural	agree	strongly agree	opposite concept
good		x			bad
female				x	male
white		x			black
urban	x				regional
poor		x			rich
employed				x	unemployed
protest	x				accept

Binary Oppositions is two opposite ‘things’ that are presented in such a way that you compare them with each other. An example of this is in Blinded by the Light by the representation of Pakistan versus English and a further example is in Bombshell by women versus men.