Essay Plan - Genre

“Genres are evolving.” Discuss your production in respect of the concept genre.

-Intro
Genre is a way of categorising texts based on codes and conventions
Helps audiences know what to expect
Audiences compare similar music videos
Blurred boudaries by experimenting artists eg Amy Winehouse (soul/R&B/jazz)

-Steve Neal
Repetition with variations
Audiences know what to expect but want to be surprised
Hybrid (mix of 2 categories) acoustic and indie
Typical features-narrative and performance based
CLEAR EXAMPLE

-Janet Staiger
Genre can be identified using methods like empirical and social conventions
Compared similar texts at planning stage
Explored codes and conventions
Same genre-Ellie Gouldings music video
CLEAR EXAMPLE


-Jane Feuer
Genres are synthetic, they are artificially created by intellectuals
Can be seen as a way of categorising texts by identifying trends and patterns
Agree with Feuer
Found it difficult to place artist into one genre-hybrid (acoustic and indie)
My music video blurs the boundaries between genres
But not a similar/common view for others
CLEAR EXAMPLE

-Christine Gledhill
Contemporary theorist
Creative tension with the codes and conventions means more interesting texts
Thinking outside the box
Genre gave a framework-more creative
Prevented text from being individualistic, included common conventions
CLEAR EXAMPLE


-Conclusion
Genre is important because it reinforces our ideas and values
But genre can be subjective and difficult to fit in one category
Categories are always evolving.
CLEAR EXAMPLE

Semiotics (Diana Vickers - The Boy Who Murdered Love)

Camera work:
Extreme close-ups signify the deep and powerful emotions
High angled shots signify the isolation and vulnerability
Pulling away from artist signifies and exaggerates her pulling away from her relationship and in some ways letting go, at the same time give an uneasy visual effect signifying how the artist is feeling.

Mise en scene:
Snake, medicine and knife signify the bitterness and the snake particularly gives an uneasy edge.
Arrows threw word 'love' signifies the hardship of love and relationships.
Dead roses signifies death of the relationship
Chopping roses signifies getting rid of the past and started new
Male wearing teared jeans signifies the careless attitude and 'thug like' behaviour as presented in the lyrics of the music.
Male=devil/Female=angel signifies the character roles as represented through the lyrics.
Breaking wall signifies the anger in the artist and how she is breaking out of that.

Editing
Cross cuts signify the strong, sharp emotions of the artist.

Challenging Barthes' and Propp's Theory

Barthes' Narrative Codes: Enigma, Action and Semic Code
Barthes says that all narrative is made up of plot, sequences and images, within the plot there will be cardinal functions (main events) also within the plot are catalysers (events that change the narrative). My music video challenges this theory as there are no clear carndinal functions as I use a series of flashbacks with the use of a fast cut montage effect, a convention of a music video. My music video does include an enigma (a mystery to encourage questions) as the audience is unaware of what triggers her isolation and sombre emotions as mentioned in her lyrics and I have represented this in my music video through the use of slow fades and black/white colour filter effects.

Propp's 8 Characters and Action
Using fairy tales as a basis, Propp provides a model of narrative where characters and events can be seen as constructs that exist to drive a narrative momentum. My music video challenges Propp's theory as I deliberately don't show a donar/helper for example when the artist is feeling sad and lonely, the mise en scene is isolated to emphasise these emotions. The character types in my music video seem to overlap as the main character could be seen as the protagonist as well as the vulnerable victim because she is shown as independent when the artist is walking around cheerfully and I used high camera angle to portray her confidence but also shows her vulnerability through her lyrics for example 'I want to be blind for you' showing her innocence.

Narrative Theory

Todorov
-Movement of Equilibrums

Barthes
-Narrative codes: Enigma, Action and Semic code

Propp
-8 Characters and Action

Levi-Strauss
-Binary Oppositions

Linking Narrative to own Production work

My production contains an open narrative, a text which is open to a number of interpretations so the audience tends to create their own narratives around the text this is clear in my work because of the use of cross cutting and fast cut montage effect.

Research

-Music Magazine
Qualit

-Music Video

Representation

Presentation of reality in a media text, it is NOT reality but a form of reality presented to us. Media producers have to be selective in their choice of material, however naturalistic their approach is.

SOCIAL TYPES
Which groups are over represented, misrepresented or under represented?
Representation of the female gender as innocent and needy, through posture and use of high camera angled shots. This social group has been misrepresented.
Complicated relationships in the artists life with the use of complex, emotive and dramatic lyrics. This has been over-represented.

Gauntlett's theory suggests audiences may reconfirm or challenge their identity through these social types, he says that audiences use texts as a tool kit. My audience may challenge their identity and challenge whether this representation has bee mediated.

GENDER THEORY (1)
Laura Mulvey's, the male gaze gender theory explores the idea that the camera 'sees' images through male eyes. In my music video this may be evident as the mise en scene suggests that the male is in power and control, during the scene of him picking her up and spinning her around it shows that she needs him for happiness also the editing uses a glowing effect which makes the mise en scene much more illuminated. The lyrics give connotation of the female being more needy and the male having more authority.

GENDER THEORY (2)
Judith Butler's, feminism/post feminism gender theory that suggests that gender is a performance, it is what you do at particular times rather than about who you are. This theory affected decisions made during the making of my music video, I made my music video a female performance through soft focus effects and fade transitions. Editing shows femininity with slow fades as this transition is soft and smooth reflecting the vunerability of the artist. With the use of high angled and long shots this is represented as well these particular shots portray isolation.
-Feminism=movement (c.1960s) promoting the rights of women to be equal to men and arguing that women should no longer dress or behave as men wish them to
-Post feminism=movement arguing that women have now achieved equality and should be free to dress and behave as they wish without doing so for the benefit of men

VERISIMILITUDE
My music video creates verisimilitude, the imitation of reality
-Mise en scene: using realistic locations and settings
-Camera work: use of hand held camera.
-Editing: we are overly conscious of the editing, jumps from different scenes using slow fades not continuity editing.
-Narrative: events are constructed from different viewpoints and not just one.