Research Log 1 Genre: 'Daniel Chandler'

Written By: Daniel Chandler 
Published: 1997 (Revised 2000)

'Are genres really 'out there' in the world, or are they merely the constructions of analysts?' (Stam 2000, 14)
'An Introduction To Genre Theory'
(Page 1 Introduction)


'There are no undisputed 'maps' of the system of genres within any medium.' 
'An Introduction To Genre Theory'
(Page 1)


'Conventional definitions of genres tend to be based on the notion that they constitute particular conventions of content (such as themes or settings) and/or form (including Structure and style) which are shared by the texts which are regarded as belonging to them.'
'An Introduction To Genre Theory'
(Page 2)


'It is difficult to make clear-cut distinctions between one genre and another: genres overlap, and there are 'mixed genres' (such as comedy-thrillers)' 
'An Introduction To Genre Theory'  
(Page 2)


'Defining genres may be problematic, but even if theorists were to abandon the concept, in everyday life people would continue to categorize texts.'
'An Introduction to Genre Theory'
(Page 3)


'Nicholas Abercrombie suggests that 'the boundaries between genres are shifting and becoming more permeable' (Abercrombie 1996, 45); Abercrombie is concerned with modern television, which he suggests seems to be engaged in 'a steady dismantling of genre'  which can be attributed in part to economic pressures to pursue new audiences' 
'An Introduction to Genre Theory'
(Page 3)


'Each new work within a genre has the potential to influence changes within the genre or perhaps the emergence of new sub genres (which may later blossom into fully-fledged genres). 
'An Introduction to Genre Theory' 
(Page 3)

'The interaction between genres and media can be seen as one of the forces which contributes to changing genres. Some genres are more powerful than others: they differ in the status which is attributed to them by those who produce texts within them and by their audiences.'
'An Introduction to Genre Theory'
(Page 3)

'Current genres go through phases or cycles of popularity (such as the cycle of disaster films in the 1970s), sometimes becoming 'dormant' for a period rather than disappearing.
'An Introduction to Genre Theory'
(Page 4)

'Referring to film, Andrew Tudor notes that 'a genre... defines a moral and social world' (Tudor 1974, 180)
'An Introduction To Genre Theory'
(Page 4)

'Some Marxist commentators see genre as an instrument of social control which reproduces the dominant ideology.'
'An Introduction to Genre Theory'
(Page 4)

'Thomas and Vivian Sobchack note that in the past popular film-makers, 'intent on telling a story', were not always aware of 'the covert psychological and social... subtext' of their own films, but add that modern film-makers and their audiences are now 'more keenly aware of the myth- making accomplished by film genre' (Sobchack & Sobchack 1980, 245)
'An Introduction to Genre Theory'
(Page 4)

'From the perspective of many recent commentators, genres first and foremost provide frameworks within which texts are produced and interpreted. Semiotically, a genre can be seen as a shared code between the producers and interpreters of texts included within it.'
'An Introduction to Genre Theory' 
(Page 5)