Una creazione, ma guidata : i generi nell’industria culturale

Abstract

In production systems such as film and TV, freedom of invention has a different status than in the creative processes typical of the so-called creative “genius” : it has to come to terms with the collective nature of the production processes and the need to reach large masses of viewers in order to be economically viable. In regulating this type of system that is both creative and industrial, the notion of genre is crucial, which tends to impose predetermined themes and forms on producers and conditions audience expectations. This article will discuss genre in the audiovisual industry in its almost paradoxical nature, as a system of rules that potentially constrains but also stimulates creativity. It will be semiotically analysed in terms of interactional syntax as a device connecting producers / creators and potential viewers by means of specific repertoires of figurative, narrative, moral and pathemic elements used within production and distribution routines.