1. How has the academic reception of popular genres changes over time?

Prior to the late 20^th century and beyond, popular genres were largely viewed as ‘below’ the ‘higher’ forms of literature, such as novels and poetry, and ‘not worthy’ of the analysis and criticism the latter received. In part, this was due to how relatively new the genres were. The majority of what we recognize as ‘popular genres’, for example, television, comic books, anime, and so forth, came about due to advancements in technology. Television and film being obvious; comic books, a result of improvements in the printing press, anime an advancement in both animation and the ability to share cultural media between Japan and America. Due to this, many of these ‘popular genres’ only came to wider public awareness in the 20^th century, and their reliance on new and still not entirely explored technologies gave them an aspect of the ‘unknown’. Critics were uncertain how to deal with them – and so they didn’t. (Lister, Dovey, Giddings, Grant, & Kelly, 2009) (Schneider-Mayerson, 2010)

It wasn’t until around the 1980s that ‘popular genres’ began to be viewed and criticized at a similar level to traditional ‘high’ literature. This period brought with it a change in the way texts were being critically analysed in general; where previously much analysis had been focused on the text itself, it’s structure and content, that focus began to shift onto other influences such as the contextual, historical, environmental, ideological, and, most especially, audience. This favoured popular genres due to their intrinsic connection with the time period in which they were created and their unique, often ‘new’ forms of delivery, as critical analysis was no longer as closely tied to the form. (Schneider-Mayerson, 2010)

2. What might the value be of studying them?

Popular genres have a tendency to be a product of their time – or at least act as a mirror of it at the time of their creation. Because of this, by studying popular genres, we can get an insight into aspects of the time period they were made in, such as human interests, perspectives and trends. This is exemplified with the ‘Tintin’ series, that ran from the 10930s through to the 1970s, beginning with the early Tintin albums, which carry many propagandistic and (to use the ‘popular’ term of today) problematic aspects which stem in large parts from the context in which they were created. Tintin in the Land of the Soviets, the first album, shows rather clear anti-Soviet and anti-communist ideologies that were common during the period it was produced (1930s) – and would continue to be throughout the 20^th century. Tintin in the Congo is perhaps the most egregious example, with both the art and writing throughout the book depicting highly offensive race-based stereotypes – the character design resembling that of blackface caricatures and the roles and speech depicting the Congolese people as dumb and sub-servient. This is notable not just in that it mirrors how black people were viewed in many places throughout the world, but also in that it very specifically mirrors the perspective of the author, Herge, and the context he was writing in – a Belgium that was doling out one of the harshest colonial regimes onto the Congo that had ever been seen. However, as Herge’s career in writing Tintin would continue and as both he himself along with the world around him grew more racially sensitive and aware, he would alter go back and edit out some of the worst of the offensive racial aspects, and later albums would show at least some sensitivity in depictions of other races (even if still containing ‘problematic’ moments). (Mountfort, 2012)

References

Lister, M., Dovey, J., Giddings, S., Grant, I., & Kelly, K. (2009). New media: A critical introduction. Taylor & Francis Group.

Mountfort, P. (2012). ‘Yellow skin, black hair…Careful Tintin’: Herge and Orientalism. Australasian Journal of Popular Culture, 33-49.

Schneider-Mayerson, M. (2010). Popular Fiction Studies: The Advantages of a New Field. In Studies in Popular Culture, 33 (1) (pp. 21-35). Popular Culture Association in the South.

1. How has the academic reception of popular genres changes over time?
   Popular Genres has been known as the not as serious form of literature and have often been excluded from the authorized literary cannon but as of late many places of learning have added it to their curriculum of study such as MetraNet and Central Queensland University
   
   
   
2. What might the value be of studying them?

Being able to extract why people enjoy them more than high literature is the essence of making literature more accessible, with popular culture being undefined by the conventions of realism we can explore facets that would be otherwise very difficult in high culture.where high culture is bound by the world we live in popular culture exist in imaginary worlds where things could be plausible or outright imaginary.

Referneces

Mountfort, P. (2020). Pop Gen Week 1 Intro [PPT]. Auckland: Auckland University of Technology.

1. How has the academic reception of popular genres changes over time?

Traditional academic studies of culture have tended to focus on “high” culture subjects, such as Art, classical music and literature. This academic study was based on European and Western culture. Contributors to this kind of culture were predominantly White/European males with access to education and wealth. To create such cultural contributions the authors needed independent wealth or wealthy benefactors. This made it unlikely for the mass population to be able to contribute to culture in this way.

With the technological progression of printing presses rose a new form of cultural literature. These were often in the form of pamphlets, newspapers, short stories and novellas. Further technology rose to include coloured printing and the ability to print pictures in mass. These mass produced materials became popular with the less educated classes and were described by academics as being of “low taste” verses the “high taste” literature studied by the elite.

“Despite the popularity and critical impact of comics and graphic narrative, academics have been late to the examination of the field.” Freedman, A. (2011).

With the increased publications and creation of more than classic literature, telling stories, academics must accept that these forms of popular genres have a place in the study of society, McAlister, J. (2018). Popular genres, such as television, film, comic books, radio, fantasy and science fiction are also using subject material to give voices to those more marginalized members of society.

2. What might the value be of studying them?

“The mixture of advocacy and analysis, fandom and critique, amateur and professional study, and artistic self-definition and critical examination characteristic of comics criticism poses challenges to the border between high art and popular culture and between word and image.” Freedman, A. (2011).

Popular genres offer another window into society’s popular culture. By studying these works we can ascertain more about societies political, social and religious beliefs. Popular genres often give voices to those not traditionally celebrated in classic literature or “high taste” culture. These included women, the working class, sexually diverse, gender diverse, culturally diverse and indigenous voices and those affected by post colonization.

Furthermore, popular genres are less constrained by classic literature. They can explore notions of magic, science fiction, the future, fantasy worlds etc. For example Tolkien (1954) Lord of the Rings Trilogy explores the notions of philosophical consequences, Mountfort, Paul (2020). Likewise, Hergé’s series of books give Tintin an opportunity weave in social and political discussion, as is shown in Hergé (1931)The Blue Lotus, where Japanese invade China.

References:
Freedman, A. (2011). Comics, Graphic Novels, Graphic Narrative: A Review. Literature Compass, 8(1), 28.

Hergé, (1931) The Blue Lotus

McAlister, J. (2018). Defining and Redefining Popular Genres: The Evolution of “New Adult” Fiction. Australian Literary Studies, 33(4), 1–19.

Mounfort, P (auth). (2020). ENGL602 popular genres. Retrieved from https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=96250_1&content_id=_5273101 1&mode=reset

Tolkien, J. R. R (writ). (1954). The lord of the rings. United Kingdom: George Allen & Co

How has the academic reception of popular genres changed over time?

– Popular genres refers to the broad spectrum of new media that is often overlooked by ‘serious’ authors. Throughout the earlier centuries, popular genres were disregarded and other types of literature such as poetry, drama, and non-fiction were the peak of popularity. However, in today’s society, popular genres have become a growing market for many new authors. Some of the most popular genres that are taking over from Shakespeare include fantasy, science fiction, anime/manga, and action and adventure (Mountfort, 2020).

Popular genres has changed drastically over time. During the earlier periods of literature, it was very much romanticised and related to its own specific time era. For a while Shakespeare took over with many of his works which became the normal back then. Today however, we have our own types of literature that have changed and will consistently change as we and the earth ages.

One of the biggest changes that has happened over time is the introduction of pictures into literature. Categories such as Manga and comics have become incredibly popular through the twentieth century, up until now. Newer genres seem to be getting more creative and they really let the author do whatever they want to do, whilst letting readers imaginations run wild.

What might the value be of studying them?

– Popular genres have generally not been used with teaching and studying primarily because they are a new type of literature. It is argued that the value that may come out of studying the newer genres is they have the potential to offer us a better perception into society which is something that classical literature could not do. It is also noted that newer genres of literature actually give us better images, adventures, and relationships which many of us understand and like a lot more than the ‘high’ literature.

Another reason that popular genres should be studied today is that they seem to interest a wider range of society and they could teach us and give us a better insight into the world of reading and literature. The newer genres help us to understand ourselves and our ever-changing society. Science fiction is often set up to show its readers and watchers about the future and what possibilities await.

Much like people, the world and society change almost every ten years. New trends are discovered and forgotten just as easily but they always find a way of coming back. Popular genres are much like that. Of course, no one will ever forget geniuses such as Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, and Edgar Allan Poe, but many of their works do not and cannot relate to modern age studies, which is why introducing new genre’s is so important.

Mountfort, P. (2020). ENGL602 Pop Gen Week 1 Intro [PowerPoint slides]. Blackboard. https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/

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/ 

W1

1. How has the academic reception of popular genres changes over time?

2. What might the value be of studying them?

The popular genre is not be defined precisely as literature, and the popular genre is not authorised the literary canon. A popular genre is a new development of novel, where it can be visual or audio elements through various material such as anime, manga. 

Popular genres such as comics, science fiction and fantasy novels are often not considered as “serious” literature (Mason, 2017). These characters in the popular genre have been seen and developed in many ways. Through time, the target audience has changed to become younger and younger over the years, in addition, changes in society and issues that will influence representation and trends in the media, such as emigration and immigration, violence, conflict and disease. The similarities and differences between genres have effected through the author to experience the contrary evidence of two different concepts draw from interviews and the autoethnographic in Disney genres such as Tangle and fantasy. Therefore, for two different types of audiences are children and adult to reconnect their relationship with Disney films, also with books. (Mason, 2017).

Popular genre popular fiction was not explored as much as it should be until later on. Film and television have developed its approach that reflects the unique social, cultural, political, and industrial dimension of each medium; therefore, a popular genre such as fiction should maintain its own critical space. The popular genre has been defined in several ways over the last half-century (Schneider-Mayerson, 2010). The pop genre also adapted it in a new media; it is not only in real life but in the imaginary world such as animation, comic strips, sci-fi etc. with these themes of magic, robots or heroes. These elements are worth to explore through an academic lens. 

In a popular genre are creating characters development and imaginary worlds not in classical literature. Nowadays, people learn and accept the way of popular genre gradually has been out there, and popular reception genre in a way that they learn in literature (Schneider-Mayerson, 2010). According to Berger (1992), he said that popular culture should not be told from what the target audience’s familiarity because the audience will have a hard time to understand and relate to it; it should provide a piece of prior knowledge in an impressive variety on the theme.

Studying popular genre values of exploring a range of different medium such as books, film, comics, animation, anime in different ways of stories has been told in new ideas. Also, they can know the difference between popular genre and literature, the gap between authentic or high literature and everyday literature which provide our modern life. In the end, it presents the issues that we have today in society through popular genre to show these topics in exciting ways. Nowadays, more and more universities introduce the student to this paper. Therefore, students can consume popular genre media, and they can critically and academically analyse. They can use an exciting technique to write their point of view to send messages or reflection on society through the popular genre.

Reference:

Berger, A. A. (1992). Popular culture genres: Theories and texts (Vol. 2). Sage.

Mason, J. R. (2017). Disney Film Genres and Adult Audiences: A Tale of Renegotiated Relationships (Doctoral dissertation, University of Leeds).

Schneider-Mayerson, M. (2010). Popular Fiction Studies: The Advantages of a New Field. Studies in Popular Culture, 33(1), 21-35. Retrieved August 15, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/23416317

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

The stereotypical nature of Popular Genres has accounted for the heavy resistance it has faced as a standing genre, amongst the academic community. The rising of popular genres accumulated defiance amongst academics, who believed that the genre threatened the sanctity of the more conventional genres that allegedly belonged to the literary canon. The argument posed, depicted that numerous popular genres disobeyed the orthodox conventions of realism, and followed well worn formulaic plot structures with two dimensional characterisation, resulting in predictable resolutions while giving little room for character development. Despite the associated stereotypes, and backlash faced by the genre, recent times and technological developments have resulted in an uprising of Popular Genres; permitting  it to be studied in tertiary institutions such as Auckland University of Technology, London Metropolitan University and Central Queensland University.

The academic reception of popular genres changing overtime is due to multiple factors, the most important being the advancement of technological developments. This includes the evolution of television which is a transparent artefact of the present times, as well as the introduction of comics from  traditional books, shifts from black and white to colored films, and the use of multi-modal conventions within the genre. Great interests sparked within comics, science fiction,young adult novels, romance and fantasy as it became more entertaining than traditional genres. Accordingly, the need to study popular genres became progressively demanding, due to a rapid increase in popularity. “Terry Eagleton (Prof.of Cultural Theory at the University of Manchester) argues that contemporary genres – incl. tv programs and pop – may tell us more about society today than do literary ‘classics’.” However, the plight for freedom of the genre is an ongoing process similar to the struggles of post colonial marginalised classes including women, blacks and Jews. Their restrained acceptance within society and literary studies, draws attention to the discrimination, as well as the privilege of the Anglo-saxon speakers of english who excluded the genre, based on preference.

Through studying popular genres, people are keeping up with contemporary times. They are not limited to what was popular in the past as there is an understanding that as the evolution of new media continues, as does change in audience and readers’ likings within academic literature and entertainment.  Furthermore, there is a better perception of what academic literature consists of, the traditional values it once held are ever present however, the contemporary aspects of popular genres such as the inclusion of visual and audio elements alongside written material allows the creators to express themselves in new ways that don’t seem far-fetched. For example, Youtubers can climb their way to fame using a single idea,  smartphone,  and the Youtube platform, the affordability seems surreal.  Popular genres are artefacts of our time that should be researched into in order to better understand the ever changing world and thought processes of the creators. The development of new ideas can only be based on what is already there, therefore the need to study them is substantial. The value of studying popular genres is prodigious due to the overwhelmingly large number of possibilities and places it can take you. 

Mountfort, P. (2020). AUT Blackboard. Popular Genres ENGL602. Powerpoint Week 1. Retrieved from https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_96250_1&content_id=_5273101_1&mode=reset 

For my first blog, I will be answering the questions “How has the academic reception of popular genres changed overtime? What might be the value of studying them?”  I will mention the marvel cinematic universe, harry potter series, the Lord of the ring’s series, and Veep the television series.

“Genre refers to a group of text that share certain similarities whether of form, performance context, or subject matter,” as said by William Allen (Allen, 2014). Popular genre refers to a grouping of more modern genres such as anime, science fiction, fantasy, film noir, and graphic novels (Mountfort, 2020). Though consumed and enjoyed by many, in forms of major blockbusters such as the marvel cinematic universe () or the harry potter series(Rowling,), the popular genre is often considered on the lower end of the genre hierarchy, with popular genres beginning its academic reception by being viewed as separate and lesser text when compared to other mega genres such as poetry and drama (Mountfort, 2020). Looking into popular genres there were and still are many expected stereotypical features attributed to a piece of the popular genre such as predictable plotting and two-dimensional characters (Mountfort, 2020). However, a shift has occurred with popular genre text now being included in literature programs, alongside texts on the higher end of the genre hierarchy, as well as being taught separately and a good example of this is the very paper I am currently writing this blog post for. Therefore, the change in the academic reception of popular genres is the fact that there is now a space within the academic field for it to be discussed within, something that wasn’t there when the genre itself first formed.

On the second question what might be the value of studying them? About popular genre the value in the studying of them I believe might stem from the very reasons for its “gradual acceptance in the academic field” (Mountfort, 2020). The look into the supposed popular genre stereotypes would allow for a great study into why these familiar beats resonate with such large audience, we can ask why orphaned male leads such as Captain America, harry potter and Frodo who then find themselves as the only one to be able to complete a task to save the world draw in such large followings when not many of the audience resembles these characters within these fictional worlds. While at the same time the study of why the antithesis of these heroes often garner similar amounts of praise such as Selina Meyers a female politician and her goal, like many of the characters in the show, to become president of the united states(). I would love to know to understand why I, as a teenager, found myself enamored by the story of this middle-aged politicians fight for a chance to be president when in reality voting for or even rooting for her would be a far from my thinking. It’s the question of the validity of the popular genre’s stereotypes and the question of why such large audiences are drawn to these texts gives just two of many reasons why I believe there is a great value of studying them.

Allen, W. (2014). Why literary genres matter. Retrieved from https://blog.oup.com/2014/05/why – literary-genres-matter/

Iannucci, A (creat). (2012). Veep [Television]. United States: HBO

Johnston, J (dir). (2011). Captain America: the first avenger [film]. United States: Marvel Studios

Mounfort, P (auth). (2020). ENGL602 popular genres. Retrieved from https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_96250_1&content_id=_5273101_ 1&mode=reset

Rowling, J. K (writ). (1997). Harry potter and the philosopher’s stone. London: United Kingdom

Tolkien, J. R. R (writ). (1954). The lord of the rings. United Kingdom: George Allen & Co

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

One of the reasons that genre changes over time is due to that fact of audience expectations but when it comes in terms of the academic reception of such genres. Although asides from this, after some research that had been done, in terms of contemporary audiences they are likely to be far more sophisticated viewers than in comparison to the audience who had first seen moving pictures or television programmes. Thus which then leads the audience to be more familiar with established genres that they have for instance read texts from, this is primarily because they feel the connection and once more a sense of familiarity due to such codes and conventions they have come across before. For instance, if one was to watch an action/adventure film and supposedly the protagonist dies and does not manage to save the damsel in distress, you are bound to be surprised and be caught off-guard as this was not something you were to expect; or for example if you are watching a romance film then typically you would expect the female to end up with the male she is in love with (“Why genre changes over time?,” 2014). However, because there are certain aspects of familiarity with these codes of conventions such as for instance the character, setting and music which all then further tends to raise expectations, and again these expectations are based on the readings of similar content of texts. More or so due to such popularity of certain texts it tends to prove that for a lot of the viewers “familiarity breeds contentment rather than contempt”(“Why genre changes over time?,” 2014). Despite this, these texts still need to repeat the pattern of certain codes and conventions all the while adding something new and the purpose of this is to keep the audience from seeing the same context and keeping the genre supposedly to be “fresh and new”, this for example can be done by a motive of contemporary setting, means of a plot twist or perhaps even a scene where the antagonist acts or behaves unexpectedly. The value of studying such changes is beneficial as it greats a better understanding amongst what sorts of different types of content that there may be; Finding out about the highlights of various sorts of such given genres enables perusers of these types of texts and/or content to perceive what they are perusing and rapidly modify their understanding and preferences in terms of reading styles. In actuality, readers tend to frequently go over novel structures and kinds. The primary concern to watch is that a sort is positively not a resolute shape which these genre  works must fit into, yet a social occasion of compositions that share certain resemblances – whether or not of structure, execution setting, or subject. For example, all the compositions that make up the more established kind of per state misfortune share certain ‘family likenesses’. They are sensational works written in a particular method for language, they consider human feelings, for example, for example pity, they show divine beings like for instance gods and goddesses speaking with human individuals, and so forth and so forth. That at that point further allows us to consider them to be an undeniable social occasion. Regardless, yet certain ‘middle’ highlights depict any given sort, the restrictions of each class are fluid and are consistently penetrated for academic effect (“Why literary genres matter,” 2014).

References:

https://www.jstor.org/stable/23416317?seq=3#metadata_info_tab_contents

Why Genre Changes Over Time? from Fateh Khaled

Why literary genres matter. (2014, October 1). OUPblog. https://blog.oup.com/2014/05/why-literary-genres-matter/