Music videos and genres

The conventions of a music video differ depending on the genre of the music. However, some general conventions are; the artists are shown performing, the lyrics of the song reflect and influence what is shown in the video, the pace of editing is suitable to the pace of the music, and then codes of outfits tend to reflect the mood of the song. 

Theories about genres:

Hartley (1994)- this theorist argues that 'genres are agents of ideological closure - they limit the meaning of a given text'. Giving the effect that genres act as a straight-jacket by limiting creative potential in artists. For example there may be a pop artist who wants to be different and incorporate a different genre into their music but they feel restrained by genres, and what the audience is expecting of them.

Hodge and Kress (1998)- they say that genres 'control the behavior of producers of such text, and the expectation of potential consumers'. Therefore this conforms to the audiences expectations, which is necessary for them, for example if somebody invested money into going to a gig to see an artist because they like the genre of music they are; and they come out with something different to the norm, they may feel like perhaps they have been cheated out of their money. 

Fiske (1987)- genres reflect the zeitgeist (current events). Genre conventions 'embody the ideological concerns of the time in which they are popular. This suggests that genres tell us something about the way of the world. Therefore genres are important in shaping future events and how society functions today.

Rick Altman-  he argues that there is no such thing as 'pure' genre anymore. Audience become tired of the same formula as it needs to still have appeal to audiences. The reason that genres survive is through hybridization borrowing. For example, there may be sub genres withing a genre which may be slightly or completely different to the main genre.