Identify and Assess Some of the Factors Which Help Define Media Genres

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Identify and assess some of the factors which help define media genres ‘Genre’ is a subjective way of classifying texts by connecting them via their common elements and separating them via their differences: ‘genres are instances of repetition and difference’ (Neale 1980: 48) . In terms of media texts: “The concept of genre is now widely used, both as a way of categorising forms of media production and output […] to explain how we, the audience, make sense of the ‘flow‘ of media output by identifying and organising.” (O’Sullivan 2003: 56). Examples of key factors that identify media genres will be described in terms of films, books and magazines, though genre applies to all types of media text including music and television. In the most basic sense media texts can be classified into genres by looking at their most fundamental features- for example narrative (the content or plot of the text), themes, audio-visual codes/iconography (costumes, lighting), setting, form, mood, structure and the text‘s reality and relevance to the ‘real world‘ (verisimilitude). If one was to try and identify a film’s genre there are three main indicators (setting, form and mood). The setting would be the film’s location, the form would be the way it has been presented or ‘shot’ and the mood would be the emotions provoked by the film. For an example a film that has been classified as a “Western” would ideally be set in the colonial period to modern era of the western USA, contain lots scenes of ’action’ and ’adventure’ to create the mood and be presented chronologically or biographically. Similarly a “Horror” would have an intimidating or creepy setting, contain scenes that would provoke fear from the audience and be presented as a documentary or experimentally. Thus- if a genre is formed when the content of two different texts (when compared) show common elements that can be
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