Popular Culture as Mass Culture: Differing Perspectives on Formulas and Genres (AKA CMN 2180B - Fall 2019 - Class 3)

Mass culture (and popular culture more broadly) is often criticized as being repetitive, homogenous and formulaic. But are formulas (and genres) a bad thing? Before we can answer that question, let’s take a minute to explain what we mean by genres and formulas.

Screenshot 2019-09-15 16.10.06.png

According to Berger, genres are conventional systems for structuring cultural products. They have a narrow set of plots, characters and settings. Westerns, romantic comedies, sci-fi, fantasy are all examples of genres. A formula is the elements or conventions that are found within each genre.

To apply the concept of genre in another context. Let’s think about baking. For our purposes, baking is the equivalent to television shows, films, or books. It’s a cultural product.

If CAKES are a genre, then CHOCOLATE, VANILLA, ICE CREAM, and CARROT could all be sub-genres of cake. The formula - or RECIPE - would then be the ingredients that you need to bake a cake. So, coming back to genres, what kinds of ingredients can we find:

Tracycakes-CAKES-31-1024x683.jpg

  • Time: A specific or certain time where a story takes place

  • Location: A specific place

  • Heroes: Every genre has its own kind of heroes

  • Heroines: Every genre has its own kind of heroines

  • Villains:

  • Secondary characters: Always need the help of the hero

  • Plots: Vary from genre to genre

  • Theme: Different genres have different themes

  • Costume: Different genres have different costumes

  • Locomation / Transportation:

  • Weaponry:

Jsr_UGrE.png

So, why do genres and formulas matter? The elements of a formula (like the costumes, the location, the characters) act as signs or signifiers. They allow content creators to quickly and economically establish a genre and attract audiences. They also create audience expectations – while audiences expect some variation and the elements of a genre can be shifted around, too many changes can alienate or confuse audiences.

All stories, all narratives, are based on formulas. Fairy tales and fairy tale narratives are the first genres that we encounter and are the starting point for many other genres. In these stories, we see a hero overcome adversity, confront an evil force, fall in love and live happily ever after. We see this in Westerns, Detective stories, Sci-fi novels, and Superhero movies too. Ultimately, these stories, these formulas, shape our expectations for our own lives.

Jennifer Dumoulin