Week 1 Answers – Khushaal Singh

1. How has the academic reception of popular genres changes over time?
2. What might the value be of studying them?

1. The academic reception of popular genres has slowly changed over the years. Matthew Schneider-Mayorson; a scholar of environmental studies whose research combines sociology, media studies, and literary criticism, states that “Popular fiction as a general object of study has rarely been explored, in part because it is often subsumed under the umbrella of popular culture. This is a mistake: just as film, and television have developed their own approaches that reflect the unique social, cultural, political and industrial dimensions of each medium, so popular fiction should occupy its own critical space.” (Schndeider-Mayorson, 2010). Schneider states that in the past, popular genres/fiction fell into the category of popular culture thus deemed ‘unworthy’ in an analyitcal point of view when it comes to literary. The literary analysts of that time saw popular genre works (such as comics, sci-fi and fantasy) to not be considered as ‘serious’ or ‘high’ literature, thus meant that it was not worth studying its own unique intricasies. Nowadays, we see popular genres to be included in various literature courses and have their own papers alongside ‘high’ literary texts (e.g. this course).
   
2. I personally think that there is value in studying this ‘low’ form of literature. The multi-modal and contemporary nature of popular genres allows us to gain insight through various modes into the thought process of the artist and (more often than not) the greater public. Taking Harge’s Tintin: in the Congo for example. Nowadays we view Harge’s representation of the African to be highly stereotyped and racist, drawing them with little facial features, big lips with their dialogue consisting of broken English and stereotypical afro-voodoo language. However at the time of release (1930), the world was a very different place. This was the west’s view of Africa due to ignorance.

Schneider-Mayerson, M. (2010). Popular Fiction Studies: The Advantages of a New Field. Studies in Popular Culture, 33(1), 21-35. Retrieved August 6, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/23416317