Page 41 - A Handbook Genre Studies in Mass Media

CHAPTER 2

entitles them to remain in the United States). Contestants are required
to complete a series of senseless and humiliating tasks, such as eating
worm-stuffed burritos, catching a buttered pig, or washing skyscraper
windows. The contestant who emerges victorious in the contest wins a
year’s worth of legal fees to help acquire a green card. 40

Lines of Inquiry

1. Select a sample of programs belonging to a particular genre, focus-
ing on function:
a. What is the manifest function (or functions) of the genre?
1. Information
2. Entertainment
3. Generating affective responses
4. Providing instruction
5. Offering escape
6. Comfort
7. Fostering community
8. Socialization
9. Providing role models
10. Other (explain)
b. Can you identify any other functions? Explain and support your
observations.
c. How does the primary function operate?
d. Are there latent functions? Explain.
e. Identify any competing functions.
f. What does this analysis of function reveal with respect to:
1. The essential appeal of the genre?
2. Cumulative messages?

Be specific in your analysis. Use aspects of the programming to
illustrate, support, and extend your observations.

2. Examine a selection of programs belonging to a particular genre,
focusing on the impact of the medium on the genre:
a. How does the medium affect the style, structure, and content of
the genre?
b. What is the impact of new technologies on the genre?
c. What is the impact of the medium on the structure of the genre?

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