Modes:
the “how”--modes of production (documentary; experimental; feature)
--Modes of presentation (narrative; nonnarrative)
Genres:
1. what are
genres? (recurrences)
iconography
conventions;
expectations
ideas
2. where do they come
from? (an
inevitable result of narrative?)
Narrative: telling stories to audiences
3. process
(telling): activities; motives
individual
storytelling
institutional
storytelling
4. results
(stories told): recurring forms in
stories and between stories (what do
audiences like?)
in stories
(elements of narrative)
between
stories (elements of genre)
5. reception (is
the audience listening?)
support;
demand for product
marketing
reviews;
criticism
6. Schatz, “The Genius of the System”
the system
deep
structures
conventions
expectations
7. Neale, “Definitions
of Genre”
primary
definitions; 70s emphasis on conventions:
noticing classifications and groupings
iconography—the
most evident source of film groupings
theoretical
questions: are there other sources of
recurrence in (film) storytelling besides images?
Does language (verbal and
filmic) contribute to the process of telling recurring kinds of stories?
What expectations arise from
telling stories through language and media forms? How are expectations a result of both telling
and listening to stories?
Genre itself as an element of the mode
of storytelling (the genre film)
8. Case study in genre and narrative: La Jetee
**Why is the kind
of story we see a result of the way the story is told?
How is La Jetee a science fiction film?
Conventions (time
travel)
Ideas (destiny;
social criticism)
Iconography?
How is the story
in La Jetee told?
How does La Jetee compare to its remake (12 Monkeys)? What is the greatest difference?