Genre Theory

Another of the key concepts essential to the study of the media is genre. At its most basic level, genre means 'type'. Genre is a key concept due to many different reasons. The main individual theorist we consider when considering genre theory is John Fiske. He described genres as 'attempts to structure some order into the wide range of texts and meanings that circulate in our culture for the convenience of both producers and audiences.' Genre is, therefore, simply a way of categorising texts in our media-saturated culture.