Neale's Genre Theory

Neale's Genre theory

• He thinks genres are made up of repetition and difference. 
• Repetition - A genre is made up of something that are repeated making them something we are very familiar with. Like in a horror film we might get the repetition of conventional elements like dark low key lighting, atmospheric tense music etc. These conventions are repeated in horror films until they are something we are familiar with as an audience.
• Audiences enjoy familiarity of repeated conventions- We like repetition because it makes it easy to identity genres, if we see elements we are familiar with.
• Difference - Genres are notable for anything they do different to other media products within the genre. Cabin in the woods would be expected to be a typical horror genre because it had repeated familiar conventions that we recognise. But actually it goes against a typical horror, which made it enjoyable as we are not expecting it. 
• We enjoy repetition of conventional elements because it is familiar to us and easy to understand and sometimes we understand the different elements because it's unusual, different and enraging and makes us sit up and take notice. 
• Have a look at my media set texts and see if they are conventional of its genre or are they different have they challenged conventions. Audiences find conventions familiar and engaging. Look at both conventional and unconventional elements.  

TV Drama

How Homeland follows crime drama conventions in terms of:

Mise-en-scene

In terms of lighting Homeland uses high key lighting when the scene is lacking in dramatic effect.

Low key lighting is used in homeland to give lots lots of shadows which gives of lots of negative connotations. 

The costumes in homeland such as the army uniform are used to show which authority. Brody only ever wears his Army uniform when he is at a public event or on TV. This is represents his character lot. Other costumes are very everyday normal wear.

Characters

Carrie doesn't follow stereotypical conventions in terms of being a women. She is often shown to be brave, daring, smart and independent. However she does have a mental illness which makes her venerable and hormonal.

Brody is a caring dad but he was absent for most of his children's young childhood, this goes against conventions for being a good dad, however it wasn't his fault. Brody it often strong minded and very manly however he can often break down into tear and show's his emotional side.

Narrative

The narrative does follow conventions 

Editing

Panning to reveal something hidden.

Sound

Non diegetic is often shown in Homeland. It is sound that the characters can't hear on the screen but if fit the action to make audience feel emotion. 

Camerawork

Close up empathises characters emotion. 

Themes

• Despair
• Mystery
• Frustration
• Terrorism
• Crime

Evaluate the relevance of Neale's theory to long term television drama.

In Homeland season one, a long term crime drama Neale's genre theory of 'intertextual relay' is supported because it follows a number of crime drama common conventions. This makes the drama relevant and entertains to the audience who have come to expect, and be entertained by, these conventions.

Carrie the main protagonist in homeland follows the conventions of the lead role despite her gender. The protagonist in crime drama's are often strong minded, brave and independent. Carrie shows all of these characteristics and traits throughout season one; for example when she had to do an interrogation on a man it could of been quite intimidating but she was very argumentative and got him exactly where she needed him. This is very relevant to Neale's theory as she fits the role of a main protagonist detective. Carrie however can distrust Neale's genre theory as she has a mental illness, this can often make her vulnerable and a stereotypical hormonal woman. This is strange as the criminal is often the one with the illness. The audience would find this interesting  as it is different to what would be in a normal crime drama. I still agree with Neale's theory since when Carrie was recovering from her illness she still showed determination. For example in season one, episode 12 she was meant to be resting but still went to the presidential election to try and stop Walker who shot many people.

Mise-en-scene follows conventions, and therefore Neale's theory since in Homeland the lighting is often Low key. Low key lighting often has the same effect as pathetic fallacy. When Carrie bumped into Brody she started to panic she ran outside and it was pouring down with rain. Carrie's embarrassment and panic was reflected by the weather making the scene more dramatic and tense for the audience.