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Establishing Shot: Film & TV Genres: Lecture Notes and Essay (2016)
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My class notes and final essay of the unit from 2016
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UNIT ONE: Establishing Shot: Film & TV GenresWeek One:
Key Reading:
● Geraghty, L. And M. Jancovich, 2008. Introduction: Generic Canons. The Shifting Definitions
of Genre: Essays on labelling films, television shows and media. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland,
pp. 1-14
Keywords:
● Genre: a style or category of art, music or literature (google.com)
● Audience: a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature,
theatre, music, video games or academics in any medium (wikipedia.com)
● Tropes: describing commonly recurring literary and rhetorical devices, motifs, or cliches in
creative work (wikipedia.com)
● Drama: a play for theatre, radio or television. An exciting, emotional or unexpected event or
circumstance (google.com)
● Comedy: professional entertainment consisting of jokes and sketches, intended to make an
audience laugh or a play characterised by its humorous or satirical tone and its deception of
amusing people or incidents, in which the characters ultimately triumph over adversity.
(google.com)
● Documentary: a film or television or radio programme that provides a factual report on a
particular subject. Consisting of or based on official documents using pictures or interviews
with people involved in real events to provide a factual report on a particular subject.
(google.com)
● Hybridity: a cross between two separate races or cultures. A hybrid is something that is
mixed, and hybridity is simple mixture. (google.com)
Origin:
● Ancient Greeks
Had certain types of Storytelling with poetic meters or rhythms, leading the Romans to follow.
Not just a way of classifying different artistic modes but different expressions can create meaning for
an audience.
Aristotle: ”Earliest Writer”
● Wrote comedies, ballads, epics and tragedies.
● 335BC (Poetics):
“The function of tragedy was to purge the audience of their everyday emotions and frustrations
through a process of Catharsis.”
● Catharsis: Sudden emotional climax > audience restoration, renewal and revitalisation for
living.
● Aristotle’s original ideas concerning genre were developed for modern genre. Attempting to
identify and classify the universal archetypes of literature.
Fry:
, ● Northrop Frye’s Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays (1957)
● Modernise the study of genre and to further differentiate among different types of literature.
Derrida:
● Denied the assumption of generic “essence” or a fixed identity for any given genre. Generic
categories are subjective formation.
>
The Law of Genre (1980)
>
Most texts exhibit characteristics of more than one kind of genre and sometimes of multiple kinds or
indeterminacy.
“A limit is drawn. And when a limit is established, norms and interdictions are not far behind: Do, Do
not” - Derrida, 1980 p. 224
>
Cohen published a paper in 1986 in response to Derrida - “History + Genre” which contained quotes
such as:
● “Genre concepts in theory and in practice arise, change and decline for historical reasons.”
● “Grouping is a process, not a determinate category.”
● “Genre are open categories.”
Lecture: Thursday 29th September 2016
“Genre simply allows us to organise a good deal of material into smaller categories… intended to help
us easily identify the artistic ‘product’ we want” - Creeber, 2008
Reasons people know genre and go watch it:
● Ads
● Reviews
● Title
● Actors
● Previews
● Interviews
Horror:
● Stereotypes
● Music
● Tone of voice
● Tight Camera
● Jump scares
● Tension leading up
● Sudden
● Foreshadowing
● Environment
● Relatable Scenario
● Hope, Fake Victory and Real Loss
Screening: Black Swan, Aronofsky, D. 2010
1. What genre did you expect it to be?
, I expected this film to be horror but when talking to several who had already seen it, they all choose
psychological thriller. I assume ballet as a sub genre.
2. What genre it is?
Psychological Thriller.
3. What genre conventions on display?
● A lot of tight shots focused on her and her head, resembling her state of mind with her always
in the middle.
● Taking what we see for granted and to be true.
● Reflection of mirror and train windows, reflecting her vision, her feelings, her thoughts and her
progression.
● Sense of a bad guy at every corner because it’s all in her head.
● Sins around her but never herself.
● Beauty as an ongoing theme.
● Perfection vs Imperfection, the need vs unneed to be perfect.
● Always dressed in white, change to black.
● Impure vs Pure
● Virgin, Sex and the ruining of innocence.
● Blood, pouring of blood.
● Guilt.
4. Did your opinions on its genre change throughout the film?
No, I think what people said hit it dead on.
Conventions of Psychological: Example - Black Swan
● Perfection: Need to be perfect, Imperfection is beauty, Women, Beauty.
● Sin Around Her: Around her, No trust, Sense of a bad guy at every corner, Innocence, Never
herself in her head, Normal, Converting, Modern Society
● Injury: Mental: Obvious, Pale, Weak, Sudden Visions and Physical: Blood, Pouring Blood,
Guilt, Death and Tragedy.
● Reflection: Reflect feelings, vision, thoughts and progression, using mirrors and train
windows.
● Camera Work: Tight Shots, Resembles state of mind, Her in the middle, Focused on her and
her head, Take what we see for granted and true.
● Sex: Ruin of innocence, purity and virgin.
● Costume: Impure (change to black) and Pure/Innocence (always wearing white)
Seminar: 29th September 2016
Genre:
● makers guideline
● audience rating
Black Swan: Psychological Horror
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