Week 1

How has the academic reception of popular genres changed over time? What might the value be of studying them? 

The academic reception of popular genres has changed over time to become more positive and accepting of them as a legitimate field of study. In the past, high culture and literature was seen as the only legitimate form of entertainment, whereas now it is more widely accepted that popular genres are so permeated in the everyday lives of people that to exclude their legitimacy is to exclude the experiences and beliefs of a wide range of people (McGaha, 2015). The academic reception to popular genres has also changed to be more critical of these genres as well, as many Marxist theorists have critiqued the consumerism around popular genres and how they service the capitalist domination of the upper-class. 

The shift in academic reception to popular genres is a result of many factors, most critically the advancement and development of technology. This includes the evolution of television, the rise of comic books as opposed to traditional books, the shift from black and white to color on TV and film, and the use of multiple forms of media at once. Popular genres such as comic books, sci-fi, romance, fantasy, and horror became more interesting and entertaining than traditional genres. As a result, the need to study them became more important. 

The value of studying popular genres comes from the importance of understanding culture from different social groups. For example, anime as a popular genre can tell us a lot about the culture, history and politics of Japan and how it relates to the wider world. It also tells us about the lives of ‘ordinary’ people, as high culture is typically reserved for members of the elite, as it is written by the elite for the elite. 

Another value of studying popular genres is that it enables people to keep up with the modern world, one that is evolving constantly. Whereas traditional genres and literature can help explain the values, beliefs and politics from the past, popular genres give us a window into our present. This is important because of the constant evolution of technology, which makes our present hard to define in a narrow scope. Popular genres give us a sense of the world around us and the people who live in it, and therefore is a highly valuable field to study. 

References:

McGaha, J. (2015). Popular culture and globalization. Multicultural Education, 23(1), 32–37. 

Mountfort, P. (2020). ENGL602 Popular Genres: Lecture 1/Week: Introduction [PowerPoint slides] AUT Blackboard. https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/