Page 75 - A Handbook Genre Studies in Mass Media

CHAPTER 3

d. What messages does this morphological study convey with
respect to the cumulative worldview of the genre?
16. What does an analysis of plot conventions reveal about the appeal
of the genre? Examine a selection of programs belonging to a par-
ticular genre, focusing on plot conventions.
a. What plot conventions can you identify?
b. Do these plot conventions provide insight into the basic appeal
of the genre? Explain.
c. What do the plot conventions reveal about the expectations of
the audience?
17. Examine a sample of programs belonging to a particular genre,
focusing on elements of plot.
a. What is the conflict that is characteristic of the genre?
b. What do the plots reveal about cultural attitudes, values, behav-
iors, preoccupations, and myths? Explain.
c. Identify patterns in the plots to detect popular attitudes, values,
behaviors, preoccupations, and myths.
18. Examine a sample of programming, focusing on subplot.
a. Identify the subplots that make up the program. What themes do
these subplots share? What cumulative messages are conveyed
by these subplots?
b. Can you identify any latent subplots not formally acknowl-
edged but of more interest to the audience than the manifest
plot?
19. Conduct a genre analysis, focusing on stock characters.
a. Describe the characteristics of the stock characters appearing in
a genre.
b. Why do these stock characters appear in this genre?

How does the function and formula of the genre account for the ap-
pearance of these types of characters?

c. What clues and cues do these stock characters provide with
regard to the worldview of the genre?
20. Compare/Contrast the stock characters that appear in two (or more)
genres.
a. Identify any similarities
b. Identify any differences
c. Discuss whether this analysis can be indicative of:

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