Textual Meaning, Producers and Audiences

In Week 4 we looked at genre and the definition of the actual word which is from French word for ‘’kind’ ‘category’’. We covered how genre separates different films and photographs. Some media producers repeat the same genre from the past in order benefit from it as they know that this sort of medium will be successful just like it was in the past "because it allows them to gain regular and predictable audiences" (Long & Wall 2012: 77). Genre also helps the consumer to make decisions to what media they are willing to consume.

The key reading for this week was Chapter 2 from Long& Wall’s book – this chapter discussed different problems with media texts being categorized into separate genres- This is due to the repetition of the typical codes and conventions used when creating new media products, stating that there would be "little incentive" to keep consuming similar products (Long & Wall 2012: 72). This can point can be argued by ‘’Silverbatt, Art’’ which is the reading I chose for this week in which the topic of genre is covered and questions such as – why do media communicators produce particular genres? Are raised Silverbatt (2007:5). The author of the book speaks about why genres are successful later on in the book and why the genres have developed over the time and how technology has influenced; ("new advances in media technology have given the audience unprecedented access") this development and growth. Silverbatt talks about how the content creators of films such as ‘’Tarzan’’ have created sequels and chapters so the film carries on and keeps the same genre and generic conventions – this has been proven to be very successful. Silverbatt, Art (2007:20).

If I had to research this topic further I would analyze audience by creating a few focus groups in which people could be provided with photos or even websites and then ask them to identify in which type of genres these mediums fit in. This would really help me to get to know if genres really do work and if people can recognize them quick enough and do the genres work to categorize.

References:

Silverbatt, Art (2007) Genre Studies in Mass Media: A Handbook. New York: M.E. Sharpe,

Long, Paul and Wall, Tim (2012) Media Studies: Texts, Production, Context. London: Pearson, pp. 70-98

Link: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=R7ixUTC8EpwC&pg=PR4&lpg=PR4&dq=Silverbatt,+Art++Genre+Studies+in+Mass+Media:%C2%A0A+Handbook.%C2%A0New+York:+M.E.+Sharpe,&source=bl&ots=cwhBAe9C1u&sig=B939Hx5c0_VLQ-QnGd5tekZ23ZE&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwil-NvxgorLAhVBlhQKHRt_DGAQ6AEIIjAB#v=onepage&q=Silverbatt%2C%20Art%20%20Genre%20Studies%20in%20Mass%20Media%3A%C2%A0A%20Handbook.%C2%A0New%20York%3A%20M.E.%20Sharpe%2C&f=false