How has the academic reception of popular genres changed over time?
When the rise of genres such as comics, science fiction, fantasy, romance and young adult novels became popular, there was a noticeable resistance from academics and literary intellectuals. Classical literature is something that is greatly valued in many cultures all
around the world, and acts as a tool that helps connects these cultures to their heritage and history. The primary purpose that popular genres obtain in their own realm of literature is escapism and entertainment. The sanctity of classical literature was felt to be violated by these new genres which seemed to be way too frivolous to be even called literature, according to the academics.
A lot of stereotypes are associated with popular genres, and act as a barrier between them and the importance of classical literature, such as the use of formulaic plot structure, predictable resolutions and two-dimensional characterisation. Other arguments are that the multi-modality that can be found in pop genres deters from high literature and that technological development is the only reason for the occurrence of these texts. Another widely distributed criticism towards these types of genres was that their fantastical settings do not convey realism, therefore cannot be interpreted as serious literature. Another aspect of popular genres being looked down upon by academics and intellectuals is the fact that surely something that is new cannot be classical or worthy of appreciation.
These views were not condoned by consumers for long, and a noticeable shift occurred as the rise of mainstream media and popular culture became apparent. By infusing literature with topics and fields of interest which were appealing to the masses, it became something that was accessible to everybody, not just the literary intellectuals. Classical literature achieved it’s greatness through exploring the world of philosophy and phycology, one of the most accurate mediums to convey and reflect human nature and complicated questions about life. It is a misconception that popular genres lack this deep, philosophical ability because they operate in the realm of make believe and fantasy. Genres such as science fiction and fantasy often use elements of the fantastical as a metaphor to convey a deeper truth, going by the theory that fantasy is the way to get in touch with reality. Through fantastical creatures and make believe lands, maybe we are able to face ourselves and the world we live in.
Why should we study them?
This ability to be philosophical and serious through literature and still appeal to mainstream audiences changed the perspective of the academic realm and slowly popular genres have becoming more accepted and acknowledged. Besides from the ability to produce multidimensional and deep content, popular genres provide an insight into modern day society and reveal things about our current situation in a way that classical literature is unable to. In a way, popular genres will always lack some of the fundamental and established qualities of high literature, but offers alternative attributes such as the unique connection between image and text. Ultimately the content created in the realm of these genres is widely popular for a reason, and the immense pleasure that their audiences experience is something that should be taken into regard when defining the parameters and qualities of literature.
Pop Genres 2020 