Media Literacy

​Understanding media messages through Genres

By Kilee M

​Genres are how we categorize things like movies and books. The genre immediately sets up expectations for the audience about what we might expect.

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​What is Genre?

Symbolic- setting, acting, color, and everything within the scene.

Written- anything in text like captions, titles, and how they are designed (font size/style)​.

Audio- this is dialogue, sound effects, background music, narration/ voice over, and background noise.​

Technical- These are things like the lighting, editing, ​and camera work (movement and angles).

Codes: Separate pieces of given information ​that tell us specific things about what is happening.

Conventions: ​Built by codes. Certain codes are often put together, thus a convention (a specific way of doing something).

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​Codes & Conventions

How do we understand what the genre is?

​S.W.A.T (4 codes)

Typically dark lighting, lots of close ups or very wide shots​, fast paced music, sudden audio pauses to build suspense

​​HORROR

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​Vibrant and warm colors are often used, common setting are in the rain, an airport, or a beach at sunset-rise. Ballads are commonly used for the soundtracks.

​ROMANCE

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​The biggest tell for this genre is the clothing, housing, the way and manner that they speak. Music from the era is often used.

HISTORIC​

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​All in the. special effects, editing. Ask yourself, do you live with an alien and feed it Reese’s pieces? Is what is happening in the screen possible in the real world as far as we know?

SCI-FI​

A Couple Common Genre Characteristics ​

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