The shifting definitions of genre : essays on labeling films, television shows and media / edited by Lincoln Geraghty and Mark Jancovich.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Geraghty, Lincoln, 1977-

Jancovich, Mark.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Film genres.

Television program genres.

Physical Description:

viii, 260 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland, [2008]

Summary:

"Histories of science fiction often discuss Fritz Lang's Metropolis as a classic text within the genre--yet the term "science fiction" had not been invented at the time of the film's release. Does retroactive assignment to a genre change our understanding of a film? These provocative questions are at the heart of this book"--Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction: Generic Canons / Lincoln Geraghty, Mark Jancovich 1

Part 1 Institutions of Genre

1 Pale Shadows: Narrative Hierarchies in the Historiography of 1940s Horror / Mark Jancovich 15

2 The Independent Film Channel: Creating a Genre and Brand Across Small Screens, Big Screens, and the Virtual World / Liza Trevino 33

3 "Off-Beat" as a Generic Designation in Variety Reviews / Jason Scott 52

Part 2 Textual Negotiations

4 Film Noir as Male Melodrama: The Politics of Film Genre Labeling / Janet Staiger 71

5 Beyond the Valley of the Classical Hollywood Cinema: Rethinking the "Loathsome Film" of 1970 / Harry M. Benshoff 92

6 Rethinking the History of European Horror: Television, La porta sul buio and Historias para no dormir / Andrew Willis 110

7 Can Rock Movies Be Musicals? The Case of This Is Spinal Tap / Andrew Caine 124

8 "A Most Historic Period of Change": The Western, the Epic and Dances with Wolves / James Russell 142

9 "A Term Rather Too General to Be Helpful": Struggling with Genre in Reality TV / Su Holmes 159

Part 3 Heritage, History and Memory

10 Repackaging Generation One: Genre, Fandom, and The Transformers as Adult/Children's Television / Lincoln Geraghty 181

11 Subcultural Tastes, Genre Boundaries and Fan Canons / Brigid Cherry 201

12 Monster Legacies: Memory, Technology and Horror History / Peter Hutchings 216

13 "Just Men in Tights": Rewriting Silver Age Comics in an Era of Multiplicity / Henry Jenkins 229.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780786434305

0786434309

OCLC:

173240850