Genre TheoryThis presentation will aim to show how

my music video uses, challenges or develops the Genre theories surrounding music videos.

Daniel Chandler & Steve Neale

Genre is a tool that allows us to separate different media texts into different categories. Daniel Chandler suggests that the word ‘genre’ is Latin in origin, and that it’s commonly used to define a ‘class’ or ‘kind’ of something.

Barry Keith Grant argues that all genres have sub genres that deploy a more specific set of codes. However, Steve Neale argues that genres are dynamic and evolve of time; “genres are not ‘systems’ they are processes of systematization” .

I studied the typical conventions of genre when constructing my video, and the research and planning Prezi in which I identified the conventions of both the form and the genre came in very useful.

David Bordwell (1989)

He argues that any theme can appear in any genre. An important point to take from Bordwell is he suggests that music videos can include the following themes to attract a younger audience: Teen angst, Rebellion and Nostalgia.

My video uses these conventions because the rebellion of youth culture is mirrored by the protagonists behaviour; he rebels against his religion using typical signifiers of youth culture such as smoking and drinking. Teen angst is exclusive to teenagers, and is a similar experience to depression and anger. It could be argued my video highlights this teen angst because most people engage with recreational drugs (alcohol/nicotine) in order to escape their emotional instabilities. My character is often seen to be angry or uncomfortable, portrayed through the subtle facial expressions and the obvious violent actions such as the boxing scene. Nostalgia is not particularity significant in my video, though the trainer and sock combination is stylistic of retro skateboarding in the 1990’s. This is therefore nostalgic to some degree.

Teen Angst

Rebellion

Nostalgia

David Buckingham & Jacques Derrida

Juvenile Delinquency - Moral panics and the teenager as a folk devil. This basically means that teenagers are prone to acts of violent behaviour, and this is often portrayed through music videos. My video follows this convention because it presents my character as violent, and as an antagonist figure because from a religious standpoint because he brings his religion into distribute.

Though this can been evidenced in many music video genres, David Buckingham argues that genres are constantly subject to change. Postmodern theorist Jacques Derrida takes this even further because she states “the law of the law of genre . . . is precisely a principle of contamination, a law of impurity“. This means that many genres can share similar themes and that thaw distinctions between genres are not so black and white. In my video, I have used an acoustic guitar. Such instrument is strongly associated with singer/songwriter or the country genre, but because it makes sense in my narrative, it is included and it does not mean my video can no longer be considered indie.

Indie Genre

My video satisfies many conventional elements that are commonly seen throughout music videos such as the use of black and white, low budget setting through urban and rural areas, exploration of drugs/alcohol through youth culture, jump cuts, rhythmic editing and close ups to emphasise meaning. My protagonist is also male which aligns more with the indie genre.

My video also challenges some conventions because most indie music videos include an element of performance, but mine is pure narrative. The guitar itself is not linked with the rhythm of the song, and the guitar develops the convention of including musical instruments because an electric guitar is more associated with the indie genre, yet my video uses an acoustic guitar. Although I was aware of this convention, an electric guitar would not make sense in the narrative of my video. Indie videos that included performance usually include establishing shots of the artist playing, though this can not be seen in my video for obvious reasons (performance is not included).