Popular Genre 2020 – Week 1
- How has the academic reception of popular genres changes over time?
We all have different tastes and by academic standards popularity is no indication of good storytelling that comes now in the form of cartoons, comic books, science fiction, fantasy, detective stories, film noir, graphic novels, television series and anime. Even though many people enjoy this type of entertainment it was often not considered as ‘serious’ or ‘high’ literature by the academic elite who tended to be white, male and English speaking. We are now a more literate society than at any time during the past and nowadays authors can reach a wider selection of the public.
Serious literary works, unlike popular genre fiction, had not transitioned well into the age of digital media. Universities offer courses now that reflect this change to examine practices associated with popular genre to examine humanity that has become part of the cultural gestalt.
- What might the value be of studying them?
The value of these courses is potential future employment. By exploring the foundation of popular genre gives one an insight into development of structure, characterization, setting, context, mode(s) that contribute to an audience’s understanding of a composition, use of technology and other literary devices to reach readers in all corners of the publishing industry. Additionally, works by writers from different backgrounds eg gender, ethnic, sexual orientation or other marginalized group gives different perspective, themes and messages the author wishes to impart that maybe more pleasurable relevant and tell us more about society today than do literary classics.
REFERENCES
Mountfort, P. (2020). AUT Blackboard. Popular Genres ENGL602. Powerpoint Week 1. Retrieved from https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz
Pop Genres 2020 