Genre - Blog Tasks

 Task 1 - Genre Factsheets

1) Genres are recognisable through the repeated use of generic/standardised codes and conventions. These codes and conventions are considered to be coming from the visual iconographies within the text. This is because one can either give away the genre entirely or a few work together to tell the audience what genre this is. 

2) Some genres have identifying features in their narratives that make it easily distinguishable to audiences.

3) Period/country, director/star, technical process, style, series and audience

4) Prior knowledge to anticipate whether they'd enjoy it or not, comparing a text to another, and using their knowledge of the genre to reject a text

5) Production, attracting an audience and marketing

1) Scott Pilgrim vs The World, Chronicle, Super, Safety Not Guaranteed, and The Avengers

2) Many films' topics involved real life events, like Superman and WW2, The Great Depression, and Spiderman and the US wars of the 2000's.

3) Innovation and Classical can be applied as the superhero genre while the same, keeps evolving and rapidly introducing new ideas to the table to shake things up.

Task 2 - Genre Analysis Case Study

Chosen text:

Yakuza 0 by SEGA

General:

1) I chose this text because I believe it is a really impactful piece of media. I can link multiple codes/conventions to this.

2) Crime drama/action

3) I am very familiar with it. I have watched many crime dramas and have also played a lot of action-oriented video games.

4) The game focuses on the Japanese mafia as its primary subject matter. If I were to assign a more general theme to it, I would say it would just focus on crime.

5) As a text, it does have typical connotations/denotations of a crime drama. However, the game isn't shy to experiment and do things that you wouldn't normally see from this type of game/text/media.

6) In terms of content, it's 50/50. Half of the game's content would be considered classical, while half would be considered parody. This is because the main story is serious, grounded and emotional, whilst the side-content is silly, unserious and hilarious.

7) IMDB lists the following genres: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery and Thriller

8) The typical conventions I see are visceral fight scenes, criminals/gangs, power/conflict and wealth. Things you would normally see in crime dramas/action-oriented media.

9) It stretches the conventions of the genre with its violence, characters and setting. All of which are typical connotations of a crime drama, with its city setting, action-packed fight scenes and power-hungry characters.

10) It departs from the conventions of the genre with its narrative and side-content. The narrative/story is not afraid to switch things up and surprise you, as multiple characters have been shown to not be predictable. For instance, one of the characters in the story is initially shown to be calm, collected, and reasonable, but things take a turn at the end when they're revealed to be sinister, deceiving and violent. Additionally, the game strays away from typical conventions of a crime drama during its side-content. There are side stories/quests you can take with characters, which are typically much more light-hearted and funny than the main, serious content of the game. I believe it does this to not only spice up and add a little flare to a crime drama, but to also stand out from the rest and do its own thing by also parodying some features as well, making it a one of a kind experience.

11) The side content I talked about earlier feels like a totally different text/experience. Almost as if the game was a comedy/parody of something.

12) It constantly has a motif of power, romance, death and the past. The text's narrative is simultaneously very action-packed and exciting, whilst being very sad and touching. There is a constant binary opposition of good vs evil and power/wealth vs justice.

Mode of address:

1) It feels like it was aimed at a teen to young adult audience. The violence, while gritty and insane at times, is very fast-paced and flashy. Typically, dramas like these tend to be rough and dark. But this, still while being quite dark, strays away from this with its music, sound effects and animation, which strays away from its genre slightly.

2) The common assumption is middle-class, teenage boys as these types of games appeal to them. 

3) The common assumption is that you'd like: crime, drama, emotion, action, and comedy.

Relationship to other texts:

1) There are lots of intertextual references/allusions to other games/TV shows/films present in this game and other entries in the series. There are lots to count, but the game references TV shows, like Jojo's Bizzare Adventure, and pop-culture icons, like Michael Jackson. The game even references its later entries in the series.

2) It would be quite obvious to say that the texts that relate the most to the text I'm studying would be the later games in the series (e.g. Yakuza Kiwami, Kiwami 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6). However there are certain TV shows/movies that relate a lot to the text I'm studying. 

3) There are numerous texts it references that relates to the series - the key featured shared between the texts referenced are the action, fast-pace and drama.

4) This series, compared to other crime dramas, is quite gritty and unique. It's something for everyone, and is a unique experience in general.