Genre Theory

• Codes


  Systems of signs that are used to create meaning in media texts
• Codes


  • Can be both symbolic and technical
  • Examples: Action code - media language choices that act to move a narrative forward, Enigma code – a question that is not immediately answered which draws the audience into a text
• Action Codes


  Add suspense and tension to something that is about to happen or is happening
• Sub-Genre


  A sub-category within a genre (e.g. crime being encoded into a drama)
• Hybridity


  A way of describing a media product that is a combination of different genres and styles
• Genre may be dominated by repetition but are also marked by difference, variation and change
• Genres change, develop and vary as they borrow from and overlap with one another
• Genres exist within specific economic, institutional and industrial contexts
• Genres need to be popular to survive
• Genres develop over time to meet their audiences needs
• Genres are made up of recognizable codes and conventions to position the media product within a certain category