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

Popular literature, such as comic books, manga, sci-fi and fantasy, are becoming increasingly more popular, not only with the audience but also with the academics and it has now become a serious object of study (Wegrodzka, 2018). As Berger (1992) points out, the essence of pop culture is its ability to supply the reader with material that feels familiar. It’s confusing but also contains enough variation to keep the reader interested Berger, 1992). The growth of popular literature has resulted in increase in academic publications, studying every aspect from the historical, theoretical, cultural, industrial to the philosophical, sociological and specific genres (Wegrodzka, 2018).
According to Schneider-Mayerson (2010) popular fiction has rarely been explored as a general object of study.
Mountfort (2020) popular genres have tended to be rejected from the “authorised literary canon” and that literature such as poetry, high prose and drama holds a more privileged status.  
Genres such as comics, sci-fi and fantasy works are often considered to be unserious literature, although many literature programmes include them as part of their educational plan (Mountfort, 2020)

What might the value be of studying them?

Mountfort (2020) points out that popular genres often are excluded because they are new, though they are gradually accepted into the academic world. According to Mayerson (2010) the study of popular fiction requires specific attention and he writes that “a novel is “popular fiction” if its success is measured (by the public and its publisher) as much by its sales and the devotion of fans (by its author) as opposed to timeless literary quality.”
         Batzke (2018) writes that the fact that fantastic texts and elements in literature are being widely accepted is very beneficial development and that opening up for the studies of popular literature has “created an almost impenetrable thicket of research.”
Eagleton (n.d) points out that modern genres such as tv programmes and pop might tell us more about today’s society than literary ‘classics’ (Mountfort, 2020).
Comics, manga, science fiction etc. often point out problems with our society and allows the reader to encounter issues in a different way than ‘normal textbooks’. These medias also allow the reader to connect and understand the story on a more personal level then something created in the 1900s, because it’s easier to relate to.
I also believe it’s worth studying just because of the way it engages and captures the audience and bring people together. 

Sources:

Batzke, I., Erbacher, E. C., Heß, L. M., & Lenhardt, C. (Eds.). (2018). Exploring the fantastic: Genre, ideology, and popular culture. Transcipt Verlag

Berger, A. (1992). Popular Culture Genres: Theories and Texts. SAGE Publications.

Mountfort, 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

Schneider-Mayerson, M. (2010). Popular Fiction Studies: The Advantages of a New FieldAuthor(s). Popular Culture Association.

Wegrodzka, J. (2018). Popular genres and their uses in fiction. Peter Lang GmbH, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften.

Popular Genre 2020  – Week  1  

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.  

2. 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/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_96250_1&content_id=_5273101_1&mode=reset 

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

In the field of literature, popular genres such as science fiction, fantasy, and comics were not considered categories of literary worth. For a long period of time, literary convention consisted of theatrical drama, prose literature and poetry that appealed to academics and such niche audiences. Literary convention followed or consisted a set of rules and criteria to which ideal compositions adhered.

Over time, the introduction of novel forms of literature, more modern canon such as comics, fantasy, and science fiction were initially considered trivial and not worth being categorised as literary works, as their basics of composition did not consist of dimensions of complexity that is observed in conventional literature. Fortunately, with time and its gradual increase in acceptance from a growing audience normalised its literary components, such as two dimensional plot structures, multi-modal elements such as visuals and audio embedded, and its constant improvement due to technological innovations in terms of cinematography and visual effects. The aspect of such popular genres that portray fictitious realms is what led critics to categorise such productions apart from conventional literature and deem them as trivial. Plot structures are generally inspired of ancient mythology and stereotypical characterisation.

Although it may not adhere to factors of realism, modern productions have crafted plot structures around contemporary issues to address them on screen and raise awareness. With the increase from television screens to modern media platforms such as Netflix, such productions are now widely accessible. Popular genres is also recognised as academic courses in various universities, and explores them in different perspectives in terms of craft and cater to audience perception. Studying popular genres can allow people to understand, accept new concepts, and break free from predispositions about societies and marginalised groups that popular genres attempt to highlight.

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

Popular genre’s, also known mass literature, encompasses a wide arrange of literary fiction that is not considered authorised literary canon by academics and highbrow educational organizations.

Literary canon consisted of poetry, high prose literature, and dramas were classical mega-genres and enjoyed by ledged status such as Shakespeare and Greek tragedy. Popular genre’s however included para-literature, pulp fiction, trivial literature. Melodramas, romance, spy novels, criminal detective series and costume-historical novels as well as thrillers, action novels, fantasy, science fiction, comics and manga. Popular genres were considered the “lowest level of literature”. They were books that were not part of the official literature hierarchy of its time due to certain elements explored within it such as the sketchiness of the plot, stereotyped ideas and topic content, clichés in the artistic shape and was “predictable”. Characters were often poorly characterised, others were used as plot devices rather than people and were considered simplifications of artistic ideas, making them primitive in nature.

One of the reasons why the perception of popular genres has changed, is because they are multi-modal and easily adapted into various other mainstream forms of entertainment such as books being transformed into television series or films, or alternatively even into plot driven games. This allows for a wider audience of readers or viewers to engage with mass literature.

2. What might the value be of studying them?

One way in which studying mass literature or Popular genres in an academic setting is further exposure to diversity. There higher inclusion of women, people of colour and members of the LGBTQ+ communities, allowing greater representation for post-colonial and other marginalised groups which would otherwise be excluded from today’s “literary classics”. Popular genres expands the literary field, branching into other genres and concepts that can and are explored within mass literature.

References

McAlister, J. 2018). Defining and redefining popular genres: The evolution of ‘new adult’ fiction. Australian Literary Studies 33.4.

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

Genre fiction was historically excluded from the sphere of authorized literary canon for a long time, with its establishment as a new form of literature being resisted by many academics and intellectuals. Bias for what we know as classical literature was challenged with the influx of multi-modal texts that conveyed imagined worlds and unconventional characters, thus not seen as something that could be taken seriously alongside literature that has been regarded as a threshold by the elite.

The emergence of popular genres are often the product of technological development, and society in itself is a structure that has constantly developed and changed over time. To have access to media that does this simultaneously and unconventionally, and to have an openness to understand it’s creation, existence and purpose, will only further develop our capacity to understand and dissect a myriad of ideas that have and still dominate many societies. The acceptance of popular genres and their inclusion in education allows an abundance of creatives from all sorts of walks of life to share their stories in a multitude of ways, coming with them an abundance of culture, experiences and worldviews.

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

Popular genres as a field of academic study has not always been widely accepted and studied among universities. Some notable forms of popular genres include anime, comics, fantasy, and science-fiction. Historically, academics have viewed popular genres as simple, exaggerated and formulaic forms of literature (Schneider-Mayerson, 2010). As a result, they were not taken as seriously in comparison to more elevated literary classics at the time. Additionally, the academic elite, typically white, Anglo-Saxon, English speakers, were able to maintain this perspective for many years. However, as popular genres continued to evolve and make use of technological advancements, they have slowly become accepted into the academic realm. Nowadays, popular genre papers are more commonplace in the university curriculum and often sit alongside, or are integrated with, traditional literary papers.

What might the value be of studying them?

Popular genres can be a beneficial subject to study for numerous reasons. As forms of popular genres continue to challenge genre conventions and evolve through new multi-modal techniques, popular genres continue to gain a wider global audience. Consequently, popular genres will hold greater cultural importance and will serve as a cultural artefact of a particular time and place. Additionally, through the accessibility of popular genres, traditionally marginalised groups and individuals can bring their unique experiences and perspectives into new forms of storytelling. Terry Eagleton (Prof. of Cultural Theory at the University of Manchester) argues that because of this, popular genres can now be used as a form of social commentary.

References.

Schneider-Mayerson, M. (2010). Popular fiction studies: The advantages of a new field. Studies in Popular Culture, 33(1), 21-35.

Popular Genre is a new type of literature, that are ‘multi-model’ comprise of visual and/or audio elements with written material, often than not have imaginary worlds. Popular Genre are produce with technology, so technology development has a lot of impact on this new literature. 

However, many do not consider it to be a literature, as it is recent and are seen as not serious or classic enough when compare to the traditional literature like Shakespeare. As well as characters within popular genre are often being seen as two-dimensional with their characteristic having very little character development. But with the more technology is developed the more popular genre also evolved, especially with the New Media. So there was no study of this genre, until recently universities started to study the topic of Popular Genre as a form of literature.

This is due to its product being seen as artifacts in these time and age to younger generations. As popular genre also has quality and aspect that are interesting worth to study. Such as image and text relationships, concept and idea within the story like social and political issues that can be seen in the real world.

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

Over time, popular genres have been typically excluded from literary canon, and were often overshadowed and seen as inferior to other types of literature such as poetry and other classical genres. Popular genres were not considered a serious form of literature which mostly resulted in their exclusion, however, through the years, many literature programmes included pop genres into their curriculums, and some even have their own designated academic papers. Some of these papers have aims to analyse the theories of the literary genre through various mediums of media such as, novels, stories, film, comics, etc. Some papers also examine different genres of fiction and the importance of popular genres in relation to understanding contemporary life, values, and meanings. The stereotypes of popular genres that used to limit them from being considered a serious genre are now becoming a study of their own, such as their formulaic plot structures, their multi-modal way of production, technological development, etc.  

2. What might the value be of studying them? 

Studying popular genres is valuable as they often include a range of diverse ideas and stories through a range of mediums like books, films, comics, etc. Popular genres has been and still sometimes is considered a form of lowbrow literature, but often holds carefully crafted pieces of media from different times and places which, can be valuable to critique in the present day. It is also valuable in the way that popular genre may include interesting aspects and qualities that more traditional and ‘high’ literature lacks. Often popular genre can distort realism through creating imaginary worlds and themes which can present new ideas.  

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.