Page 186 - A Handbook Genre Studies in Mass Media

PRODUCTION ELEMENTS

there is a full moon. But during the day, this creature can function normally
as a human. Another creature of the night is Count Dracula, who is also
plagued with the curse of the night. During the daytime hours, Dracula
has to sleep in a coffin in order to avoid his skin from being exposed to
light which would result in his death. 3

Changes in the distinctive appearance of a genre also can be indica-
tive of shifts in the culture. On the heels of 9/11, crime programs such
as Robbery Homicide Division, Without a Trace, and Boomtown began
to present a dark worldview, reinforced through the use of color and
lighting. Caryn James explains:

The old “Dragnet” days of bright, orderly crime-solving have given way to a
dark vision that is especially pertinent for our times, sending a message that
would be terrifying if the new series weren’t so entertaining. . . . Beneath
that kinetic surface, a deep undercurrent reflects a threatening world where
police are dirty, politicians are sleazy, personal lives are messy, and people
go missing because of their own disturbing secrets in its vision of an ominous
world and imperfect crime fighters. . . . Willfully or not, these crime shows
tap into the social current in the guise of entertainment.
Reversing the candy-colored palette [director Michael Mann] brought to
“Miami Vice,” here he creates a landscape of stark contrasts, as streetlights
skew through the night sky or Cole sits in a glass-walled office while city
lights glisten beautifully in the darkness below. 4

The configuration of production elements in a genre creates its own
distinctive look and feel. Genres are often distinguished by the predomi-
nant use of one or more of these production elements, both in terms of
(1) how the production elements are applied, and (2) how much emphasis
is placed on a particular production element.
When reality shows first made their appearance on television, media
professionals were highly critical of the “amateur” production quality
of the new genre. Alan Raymond, a co-director of an early version of
reality programming— the twelve-part American Family series broadcast
by PBS in 1973—provided this commentary about the new generation
of reality shows: “Incredibly shoddy production elements. . . . How
cheap this is; how amazing that it’s become acceptable that people will
watch it.” 5
However, the “look” of reality shows is hardly an accident or the result
of incompetent production staffs. The hand-held cameras create a documen-
tary feel that sends the message that these shows are real, spontaneous, and

171