Famous Theorists

Rick Altman
He argues that there's no such thing as 'pure' genre anymore. Genre is progressive in that it will always change. He says that generic conventions are very much a thing of the past. His theory suggests that audiences in general have become tired of the same formula and need more to keep them entertained and to create appeal. Genre offers audiences a set of pleasures:
Emotional pleasures - the emotional pleasures offered too audiences of genre films are particularly significant when they generate a strong audience response.
Visceral pleasures - are gut responses and are defined by how the films stylistic construction elicits a physical effect upon its audience. This can be a feeling of revulsion, kinetic speed or a roller coaster ride.
Intellectual puzzles - certain film genres such as the thriller genre offer the pleasure in trying to unravel a mystery or puzzle. Pleasure is derived from deciphering the plot and forecasting the end or being surprised by the unexpected.

Tom Ryall
Ryan says "Genre provides a framework of structuring rules, which as as a form of guidance over the production of filmmakers and the reading/understanding of the audience." Iconographies - symbolic symbols associated with the genre. Narrative - structure, open/closed. Representations - characters/stereotypes. Ideologies - beliefs and ideas of the "ideal" concept and themes. If we regencies the genre of a text it enables us to feel at home and we gain enjoyment from "spotting the conventions" (repetitions) and making comparisons with other films of the same genre.

Steve Neale
He declares that "genres are instances of repetition and difference."He adds that difference is absolutely essential to the economy of genre: mere reputation would not attract an audience.

Douglas Pye says that "films have to conform to audience expectations about narrative."

Graeme Burton
Suggests that we can understand a lot about film genre. He argues that films from a particular genre will all contain recognisable conventions or key elements:
Protagonist - main characters. Stock characters - minor characters. Stock situations - such as car chases, shoot outs. Icons - props, actors, music, something which becomes iconic of the film or genre. Background and decor - setting, set decoration. Themes. All these elements add up to the genre formula.

Bordwell and Thompson
David Bordwell and Kirstin Thompson constructed a diagram to represent the relationship between story and plot. Story - inferred events which are understood by the audience but not seen and explicitly presented events. Plot - explicitly presented events and added, non-diegetic material.
Bordwell and Thompson refer to three kinds of time:
Plot duration - the amount of time covered by the plot. e.g: in Star Wars episode IV the plot covers about three days. Story duration - the amount of time covered by the story. e.g: Luke's destiny harks back to the clone wars, the fall of the Jedi and the rise of earth Vadar, as told by Ben Kenobi. The story covers twenty years. Screen duration - the amount of time it takes to tell the story. Although Bordwell and Thompson are referring to films, the same idea applies to any kind of narrative.

Todorov
He argues that the basis of conventional narrative structure consists of the following pattern: Equilibrium - balance or stability: an initial situation, the once upon a time moment. Disequilibrium - the balance is disrupted by some problem/event setting off a train series of other events. Resolution - back to the balance with a slight change and difference because of the distinction.

Propp
He focuses on the main eight character roles: villain, hero, donor, helper, princess, father, dispatcher, and false hero. His theory also suggests the six spheres of action: preparation, complication, transference, struggle, return and recognition.

Levi-Strauss
He said that one way of structuring narratives is to have binary opposites: good vs evil, strong vs weak, male vs female.

Barthes
He suggested that there will be one or more codes that will describe the meaning of a text, these codes will be to do with the visuals, audio, etc. Texts can either be 'open' meaning they have multiple interpretations or 'closed' meanings there's on;y one single interpretation. The five codes: Enigma code - refers to the mystery within a text. Clues are dropped but no clear answers are given. Enigmas in a text make the audience want to know more. Unanswered enigmas tend to frustrate the audience. Action code - contains sequential elects of action in a text. Elements add suspense to a text, editing things quickly, fight scenes. Semantic code - refers to parts in a text that suggest additional meanings. Elements of the semantic code are called seems. Adds extra meaning to the story, things connote something. Symbolic code - refers to the symbolism in a text. Exercises opposite to show a contrast and create greater meaning, creating tension, drama and character development. This links to the Levi-Strauss binary opposites theory. Cultural code - refers to anything in a text which refers to an external body of knowledge e.g: scientific, historical and cultural knowledge. This code relies on the audience have existing knowledge e.g: if a text is based in New York it would use known landmarks so that the audience recognises them and understands.