1. Prof. Nick Burnett Tuesday, February 22 ComS 169—Television Criticism
Genre Criticism
Prof. Nick Burnett
Tuesday, February 22
ComS 169—Television Criticism

2. Some issues with the papers
Manual proofreading
Spell and grammar checking through word processing
Their, there, they’re
Whose, who’s
It’s, its

3. Editing Marks on Papers
AWK WC
NAS
Reverse P, extra slash

4. Infomercials Use of repetition Use of testimonials
Time of day broadcast
Cialdini: Influence
Scarcity
Social Proof
Other findings????

5. Considering television genres
Definition: Genres are complex fusions of formal, stylistic, and substantive features which over time become familiar frameworks capable of arousing and satisfying the expectations of audiences and producers
While individual elements may appear in other genre, they are defined by their unique combination of elements that appear in all members of the genre
Each member of a genre is both familiar and unique

6. Why critics do genre analysis…
To explain a problematic text
To compare and contrast two genres
To evaluate the artistic or aesthetic qualities of members of a genre
To trace historical patterns to see parallels between the genre and society and explaining recurring tendencies

7. Some history Borrowed from film and radio Why? Early critical works
Westerns
Serialized soap operas
Why?
Build loyal audience
Control production costs
Early critical works
Horace Newcomb’s TV: The Most Popular Art

8. Three approaches to genre criticism
Aesthetic approach
Focus on innovation and constraint
Ritual approach
Focus on genre as an expression of shared beliefs and values
Looks at the enduring popularity of a certain genre
Ideological approach
Sees genres as instruments of power and control which help to reproduce dominant ideologies or systems of belief

9. Two methodological orientations to genre work
Deductive genre analysis
Work from an established genre, look at specific show, focus on innovations, postulate the importance of the innovations for the genre and society
Inductive genre analysis
Start from several TV texts, postulate a new or identifiable sub-genre or hybrid genre