Genre Presentation Task

Metz's application to music videos

Experimental:



Within this music video there is a male and a female portrayed, both clearly single and attractive. This shows the experimental stage of a romance genre. It displays a typical boy meets girl. But they get hit by a bus at the end, representing tragedy within romance. These two characteristics tend to go hand in hand.

Classic:

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This music video has taken the girl meets boy theme to the next level. There are more connotations towards the genre through the mis en scene (lighting, costume, etc). Also the lyrics which mention 'romeo and juliet' suggest romance (but also inevitable tragedy which isn't mentioned in the music video).
Parody:

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Within the action genre it is often found that fire and explosions are a common convention. this music video emphasizes this but also mocks it because at the end the singers don't walk away from explosions, they panic instead and run away.

Decon:

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This music video combines many different genres; Action, Sci-fi, and the lyrics are loosely based on a metaphor for a relationship which suggests an element of romance. (Taylor Swift is known for her romantic themes). There is also an element of feminism, if not anti-men. As it was men who they beat up at the beginning and all the 'bad-ass' roles were played by women. The idea of swapping gender roles is a very modern concept, making it difficult to recognize the once obvious genre due to Metz's Deconstruction Stage.

Genre Theory - Christian Metz

Christian Metz was a french film theorist (1931-1993) who believed that genre goes through a cycle of changes during their lifetime. There are four stages to this cycle:

1. Experimental Stage
2. Classic Stage
3. Parody Stage
4. Deconstruction Stage

1. Experimental Stage

The beginning phases of genre. Have the foundation are built, so the generic codes and conventions.

2. Classic Stage

Where the codes and conventions of a genre become seen as iconic and idealized as 'the' guidelines for the genres.



3. Parody Stage

Now that the codes and conventions have been established, widely recognized and accepted, they can be parody - people use them and mock them. This is based on the fact the audience have understood the codes and conventions from the classic stage.




4. Deconstruction Stage

Now the genre can begin to evolve and merge with others. Genre becomes less clear out and the 'rules' can be broken.

Reflections on the AS course...