Genre Theory

Theories  - Genre as a system theory 

Introduction 

In this task i have defined what the definition of genre is, explaining the codes and conventions of different types of music videos. 

What is Genre?

Genre is a style of a category of music. They are split into many sub genres, that have their own codes and conventions that make them noticeable. 

                         e.g. Country is a genre of music, though it is a wide spread genre and is split into sub       genres, for example Country Gospel is the sub genre. 

Steve Neale - Genre Theory 

Steve Neale states that "genres are instances of repetition and differences" and "genres are not systems, they are processes of systemisation". He has also explained that definitions are genre a re historically relative and are therefore historically specific. Believed that there was  system of expectation and that by using own knowledge and applying conventions of the genre, the audience should be able to infer the narrative and storyline of the music video. Furthermore, Steve Neale declares that difference is essential to the economy of genre, mere repetition would not attract an audience. The video below tests Neale's theory, Drake - Started From The Bottom.

Repetition in Drake's music video, two skyline shots have been used. I believe this is a way the artist is telling the audience they want to dominate the city. The way all three shots have been angled, the eyes of the artist are looking down on the city, as if to say 'Im more powerful'. The location is slightly different, which can support Neale's theory as it's been repeated however is different based on the location. Another similarity is the narrative, Drake is trying to tell the audience about his life and how it has changed dramatically since he has become famous. He talks about his bad times that he's experienced which gains sympathy form the audience, this can open his audience to a wider spread as they can realise he is not just another 'rapper' trying to become famous, but has a background like general people. 

Expectations Of A Type Of Genre

For different genres. are different expectations. The expectations are usually very clear or can be guessed before viewing the music video. 

pop usually has bright/neon colours and strobe lights are used, close up shots of the artist are used, as this can show innocence of the artist. In every pop song there are fun and light hearted or cheesy dances that break out from nowhere, this shows they're all enjoying themselves and have no worries. There's usually a teenage scenario, for example the singer has a crush on someone, and usually has a happy feel to the song. An example of this is Katy Perry - TGIF. 

Hip-Hop is normally set in a club or a party environment. Dancers, models are dressed in skimpy clothing, for example short skirts, belly tops or short shorts. The jewellery is normally very bold, cars are in the background, money, alcohol, mansions and branded clothing are highlighted in their music videos. The artists generally wear baggy clothing if their males, or urban dress codes. Slang words are also used, and swearing is highly addressed. An example of this is Wiz Khalifa - We Dem Boyz 

Rock always has deep and dark colours, they display the band performing on stage, there are generally no narratives in their music videos. The camera is generally uneasy with their movements, they usually wear black, silver, grey, with piercings and tattoos, their hair is always messy styled wearing bold black eyeliner. An example of this is Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit 

Dance always has upbeat dance routines, they sometimes have a narrative to follow, they are also usually set in a club or a party, their upbeat and have fun videos. They also use bright/neon colours with bright lighting. The dancers are usually wearing similar clothing with bright clothing. An example of this is Shakira - Hips Don't Lie. 

Pop: Having a twist in a music video can be exciting or give pleasure to the audience, this can apply to Neale's theory. It's generally unexpected, for example the song Call Me Maybe - Carley Rae Jepsen, The twist generally goes against the codes and conventions of a R&B music video. For example in this music video, Carly is singing about her next door neighbour, this is popular in music videos. Though the video can be remembered by having a twist that the guy that the girl likes, goes off with another man. This can be humurous to the audience and the music video can be remembered.

To conclude, music genre's have different codes and conventions within their music videos. Although some do not apply to the theories, they can be remembered by the difference of each of them; for example having twists can be more entertaining than general music videos that apply to all theories, and are "expected" from the type of genre. I have also learnt from my research that by spotting the codes and conventions, you're able to see the type of genre the music video is. For example, if a music video has a lot of jewellery, cars, women being sexualised and money on display; this can be classed as R&B/grime. Each genre has certain traditions that gets followed by each genre. You are able to tell them apart by these.