Narrative and Genre Key Concepts in Media Studies

by Lacey, Nick

• ISBN13: 9780312230135
• ISBN10: 0312230133
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-04-22
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

Narrative and Genre introduces students to two key concepts in Media Studies, complementing Image and Representation published in 1998. The book covers the major narrative theorists and is illustrated with numerous case studies including The X-Files , Wuthering Heights , Se7en , and newspaper reporting. A brief history of narrative in literature surveys text from The Epic of Gilgamesh to Paul Auster's postmodern Ghost . The section on genre offers exhaustive case studies on film noir and the "hard-boiled" detective novel, the TV cop genre, and soap opera.

Author Biography

Nick Lacey is head of Media Studies at Benton Park School in West Yorkshire.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	ix
Introduction	1	(248)
The structure of the series of books	1	(1)
The structure of the book	2	(3)
Introduction to Narrative Theory	5	(73)
Introduction	5	(1)
Once upon a time-openings	6	(7)
What is narrative?	13	(10)
Todorov and narrative structure	23	(23)
Propp's narrative functions	46	(18)
Levi-Strauss and binary oppositions	64	(8)
Barthes's narrative codes	72	(6)
A History of Narrative	78	(22)
Introduction	78	(1)
The Epic of Gilgamesh	79	(2)
Aristotle's theory of art	81	(1)
The oral tradition	82	(4)
Le Morte D'Arthur (The Death of Arthur)	86	(2)
Shakespeare	88	(1)
The novel	89	(1)
Romanticism	90	(2)
Modernism	92	(1)
Postmodernism	93	(7)
Theory of Narrative 2	100	(32)
Introduction	100	(1)
More advanced narrative theory	101	(6)
Narrative voice	107	(11)
Ideological narrative analysis-The Searchers	118	(3)
Alternative narrative systems	121	(8)
Alternative narrative and documentary	129	(3)
Theory of Genre 1	132	(79)
Introduction	132	(3)
Generic conventions	135	(1)
The basic schema of genre	136	(6)
Genre and society	142	(1)
Film noir and `hard-boiled' crime novels-the repertoire of elements	143	(20)
The TV cop genre: NYPD Blue-oppositions in genre	163	(4)
Science fiction-repertoire of elements and history	167	(30)
Melodrama-a genre and a style	197	(8)
Genre and format	205	(6)
Theory of Genre 2	211	(38)
Introduction	211	(1)
Genre-the chicken or the egg?	211	(2)
Twelve generic approaches to media texts	213	(2)
Genre as Jungian myth	215	(6)
Genre and gender-soap opera	221	(4)
Generic cycles	225	(9)
Non-realistic genres-horror	234	(4)
Genre and semiotics	238	(5)
Ideology and genre criticism	243	(2)
Genres and scheduling	245	(3)
Conclusion: narrative and genre	248	(1)
Appendix 1	249	(3)
Basic Instinct	249	(1)
Paul Verhoeven
Nora Prentiss	249	(1)
Vincent Sherman
Psycho	250	(1)
Alfred Hitchcock
The Searchers	250	(1)
John Ford
Strange Days	250	(1)
Kathryn Bigelow
The Usual suspects	251	(1)
Bryan Singer
Appendix 2: Popular culture genres	252	(4)
Television	252	(1)
Movies	253	(1)
Video	254	(1)
Books	255	(1)
Bibliography	256	(8)
Index	264