Popular Culture Genres: Theories and Texts [2, 1 ed.] 0803947259, 0803947267

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Foundations of Popular Culture

Popular Culture Genres

FOUNDATIONS OF POPULAR CULTURE Series Editor: GARTH S. JOWETT

University of Houston The study of popular culture has now become a widely accepted part of the modern academic curriculum. This increasing interest has spawned a great deal of important research in recent years, and the field of “cultural studies” in its many forms is now one of the most dynamic and exciting in modern academia. Each volume in the Foundations of Popular Culture series will introduce a specific issue fundamental to the study of popular culture, and the authors have been given the charge to write with clarity and precision and to examine the subject systematically. The editorial objective is to provide an important series of “building block” volumes that can stand by themselves or be used in combination to provide a thorough and accessible grounding in the field of cultural studies. 1. The Production of Culture: Media and the Urban Arts

by Diana Crane 2. Popular Culture Genres: Theories and Texts by Arthur Asa Berger 3. Rock Formation: Music, Technology, and Mass Communication by Steve Jones 4. Cultural Criticism: A Primer of Key Concepts by Arthur Asa Berger

5. Advertising and Popular Culture by Jib Fowles

_ 6. Sexualities and Popular Culture by Carl B. Holmberg

Popular Culture Genres Theories and Texts

Arthur Asa Berger Foundations of Popular Culture

Vol. 2

SAGE Publications International Educational and Professional Publisher

Newbury Park

London

New Delhi

Copyright © 1992 by Sage Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information address: SAGE Publications, Inc. 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, California 91320

E-mail: [email protected] SAGE Publications Ltd. 6 Bonhill Street London EC2A 4PU

United Kingdom SAGE Publications India Pvt. Ltd. M-32 Market Greater Kailash I New Delhi 110 048 India

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Berger, Arthur Asa, 1933-

Popular culture genres : theories and texts / Arthur Asa Berger. p. cm.— (Foundations of popular culture; v. 2) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8039-4725-9 (cl.). — ISBN 0-8039-4726-7 (pb.) 1. Mass media. 2. Popular culture. 3. Literary form. I. Title. II. Series. P91.B445 1992 302.23—dc20 92-10599 99° 00-01

G2 03: 0410

9.8 765

Sage Production Editor: Astrid Virding

4

Contents

Series Editor’s Introduction Preface

vii

xi

Acknowledgments

xix

PartI Theories

1, On the Structure of Genres 3 . Propp, de Saussure, and the Narrative . Formulas and Texts 29 . Genre Theory 43 . Genre, Society, and Culture Dy WN or . The Classic Mystery: A Case Study

13

81

Part II Texts

zB 8. 9. 10. 11. FZ:

Murder on the Orient Express

95

The Maltese Falcon: The Hard-Boiled Detective Novel Dr. No 119

War of the Worlds

131

Frankenstein: The New Prometheus Conclusions

157

References Name Index

160 163

Subject Index About the Author

165 171

147

107

For Aaron and Mary Wildavsky

Series Editor’s Introduction

The very essence of popular culture is its ability to provide its public with a sense of the familiar, while at the same time also infusing this with enough variety to ensure continued interest. All forms of popular culture walk the fine line between what the scholar John Cawelti (1971) has called “conventions” and “inven-

tions.” The conventions ensure that the subject matter falls into a recognizable and comfortable category, while the inventions provide the surprise (which can be either in the narrative, or in the

aesthetics of presentation) which differentiates this item from the many others competing for the public’s attention and money. To succeed, popular culture cannot stray too far from the recognizable formula, or categories, because the audience will experience difficulty in relating to it; but it must also constantly provide an interesting variation on the theme. It is within the context of these recognizable categories, or genres, that all of popular culture is created. In this study, Arthur A. Berger has brought together all of the major theories relating to the nature and structure of genre. He has performed an invaluable service by explaining the significance of such important figures as Ferdinand De Saussure, Vladimir Propp, and Umberto Eco in a manner which makes the work of these philosophers accessible to readers new to the fields of popular vii

viii

POPULAR CULTURE GENRES

culture studies. Also, as an aid to the reader, Berger has used a variety of figures and tables to illustrate how plot and character are structured within each genre. One of the main strengths of this book is the way in which the author develops a series of case studies of widely known texts to illustrate the various genre theories. Because the subject matter is familiar, the reader has an immediate grasp of how genre formulas work. For the student just starting in the field of popular culture studies, this book will serve as an invaluable introduction to the complex issues of narrative and structure in cultural texts.

—GARTH S. JOWETT Series Editor

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