Genre Theorists

Researching genre theorists is essential because it gives me access to knowledge, attitudes, assumptions and expectations of genre and the different theories available to choose from.


Stephen Neale

Neale declares that "genres are instances of repetition and difference" and later added "differences are absolutely essential to the economy of genre". This is because he believes repetition alone is not enough to keep an audience engaged. Neale believes that pleasure is derived from 'repetition and difference' and that without difference there would be no pleasure for an audience. Some people may gain pleasure through observing how the conventions of genre are manipulated, others may enjoy stretching the genre in new directions and the way in which they consequently shift our expectations.

He believes that Hollywood's generic regime performs two inter-related functions:

1. To guarantee meanings and pleasures for audiences
2. To offset the considerable economic risks of industrial film productions by providing cognitive collateral against motivation and difference.

Neale argues that genre is constituted by 'specific systems of expectations and hypotheses which spectators bring with them to the cinema and which interact with the films themselves during the course of the viewing process'.

Rick Altman 

Rick Altman is a professor of Cinema and Comparative Literature and his theories are focused around a semantic and syntactic approach. 

Semantic- the conventions of the genre that communicate to the audience. For example the characters, locations, props, music, shooting style and other signifiers.

Syntactic- this is about the relations between the elements and the structure of narratives in genres. An example of this would be in a romantic comedy we would expect the potential lovers to begin by not liking each other, following on to a series of meetings/problems which eventually culminate their successful relationship.

David Chandler

His argument is that genres have become "too restricted" in today's society as the conventions do not allow them to adapt and change. Chandler explains the overlap in some genres. An example of this 

would be the hybrid of romantic and thriller films. The downside to hybrid genres is the sometimes it can mean they lose of the forms and conventions of the genre when they overlap.

David Buckingham

Buckingham suggests how genre is always changing and is strongly influenced by dominant ideas in society. He thinks that different generations have different values and beliefs therefore these affect the conventions of the genre. An example of this would be slapstick comedy and the way comedy has developed from that early form and become what it is today. It's much more complex in modern day especially when the comedy is used to convey a deeper meaning behind the humour itself.