Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Notes on Mittell 2001 A Cultural Approach to TV Genre Theory

Mittell, J. (2001). A cultural approach to television genre theory. Cinema Journal 40, No. 3, pp. 3-24.

This is a theoretical essay that advocates a cultural approach to genre theory as it applies to television.

"Industries rely on genres in producing programs... self-definition... scheduling... Audiences use genres to organize fan practices... personal preferences, and everyday conversations and viewing practices." p. 3



"Importing genre theories into television studies without significant revision creates many difficulties when accounting for the specifics of the medium." p. 3

He's talking about the inadequacy of importing film genre theory into television; the same hold for importing any media studies genre theories into classroom video practice.

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