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| Types of Genre |
Genre as defined by Dr Van Luyn, is the expression of
yourself though a product, which in turn can have either “Standard” or “flexible
and creative” generic terms. (Van Luyn, 2013) YouTube, in my opinion expresses
both of these forms. The main form of expression is through the video medium, which
is the standard form of expression. However, there are sub-genres in the videos
such as reviews, comedy and music (among just a few). YouTube also provides opportunity
to comment upon and add descriptions of videos, which adds other sub-genre to
the overall structure of YouTube.
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| This image shows the most popular types of genre within YouTube. |
In this way our verbal and non-verbal discourse is shaped
(Van Luyn, 2013) by the power of the structure that YouTube provides for us.
Videos for instance are infinitely free to express whatever form of discourse
their up loader wishes to place upon them. Comments however are less free, and
often take the form of just a few sentences. The dominating genre here is often
expression of opinion, based on the video above. Descriptions vary in their
length but again they are often limited to just a textual explanation of the video
and possibly its intentions regarding the audience.
These genres all allow for discourse to be created within
the social network. John Frow, as cited in Dr Van Luyn’s week six lecture,
states that, “Discourse allows for meaningful representations that allow
identity to be created and social relationships to be constituted.”(John Frow,
2013, as cited by Van Luyn, 2013) This is expressed within the YouTube network
through the creation of “YouTube channels”. The channels allow video’s to be grouped
together, based upon similarities and shared conventions (Van Luyn, 2013)
allowing the audience to pinpoint areas of common ground or interest (McNeill,
2011, p. 320). In this sense the YouTube genre is creating social relationships
as the audience can then subscribe to a video channel and begin to interact
with the video up loader. This interaction is best expressed on the YouTube site
as comments, but interaction can be seen in the video as the up loader asks
their audience to comment below, tweet them a message or interact with them
over other social media sites such as Facebook.
In sum, YouTube provides a multi-platform for genres to be
expressed, be it through video or comments. It has provided an identity to the amateur
video up loader, who has now become a YouTuber. It allows for interaction
between individuals and audiences creating social relationships between these
groups. YouTube’s genre is hard to define in any concise or quantitative way,
but it is best expressed as a platform for story telling that allows individuals
to express their own genre whilst integrating it into a social network.
Other Discussions:
For more information on popular genres inside the YouTube network go to Social Blade.com or click on the link below:
Social Blade: YouTube Views By Genre
References:
Van Luyn, A. (2013) BA1002: Our Space: Networks, narratives and the making of place, Lecture Six: Genre (Power Point Slides), Retrieved from http:learnjcu.edu.au
Image Sources:
http://bubblecow.net/a-list-of-book-genres/
http://socialblade.com/blog/2013/05/20/youtube-views-by-genre-infographic/
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ReplyDeleteGreat blog James. I think you describe succinctly what Van Luyn (2013) was trying to say when she cited Frow. However reading some of the comments on You Tube the discourse is not meaningful but rather childish, for example, swearing and abuse towards the updoader. One could be deflated by such comments especially when the video is controversial, otherwise you would need to have confidence with your upload or a very thick skin. Perhaps this type of unfettered comment is free speech but also could be seen as bullying especially when it is done under a pseudonym. I think such anonymous comments give an individual power to say what they want!
ReplyDeleteVan Luyn, A. (2013). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, narratives and the making of place, Lecture 6: Genre [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http: learnjcu.edu.au
That didn't even occur to me thanks.
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