Consider how I’m defining the following:
- Alter egos
- Avatars
- Artist essay/film
- Essay
- Fiction/fictioning
- Inconsistent
- Genre
- Genre-hopping
- Mimesis
- Style
- Copying
- Remixing
- Re-appropriation
- Ghost writing
- Sampling
- Memeing
- Theft
- Pastiche
- Fan fictioning
- Motif
- Borrowing
Genre: Is a catagorisation, or grouping of things, often media and art by shared style, form or content. It’s used to define a thing by what its like, rather than other factors like when it was made or by whom. It is a category that allows a viewer/listener/reader to know what to expect from that piece of media. Some genre’s are hyper specific, or can contain sub-genres (Heavy Metal: Thrash, Death, Black, Nu etc). Some are reductive (world cinema). A tool for classifcation.
Trope: A recognisable pattern or idea that shows up again and again in a particular media, often associated with film and literature. They might belong, or be more prevalent in a particular genre. They might be a plot element, phrasing, character type, situation, visual or stylistic habit. They can be used as short hand, and can be subverted. They can be comforting, or cliche depending on how they are used.
Motif can be specif to one work, and can differ in form across the work - more like a theme.
Style: Is the distinctive way something is expressed or presented. It is used to describe how something is done, not what it is or what it contains. It might refer to language and tone, visual choices, technique and material choices. It might refer to these things in combination.
What are the dependancies (capitalist dependancies) that these genre’s are forced into (top down). Genre crossing and bending, queering of genre. Horror and B movie sub/counter culture.
Mark Fisher