Miller - Genre, Classification and Recurrence

Miller’s compilation of ideas in her own understanding of genre seems “all over the place,” to use a   cliche. The word ‘genre’ in my eyes, if going to instantly be socially perceived as plainly; a classification. Prior to diving into Miller’s essay, I thought about the concept of what a genre actually is. I immediately came up with two examples of humans using what we label as ‘genres’ on an everyday basis: for music and in the film industry. Genres of music could include hip-hop, classic rock, alternative rock, oldies, pop and reggae… sometimes even combinations of these genres are labeled as ‘sub-genres’ and even genres in themselves. Why do we, as humans, label these differing musical sounds into classifications?

Before delving into what I saw as most notable, I want to jot down my interpretation of genre; without the influence of Miller and her ideology. I simply, as I assume most young aspiring pupils would, immediately think about television show genres, music genres and movie genres. Reality television, child-centered cartoons (Scooby-Doo), adult-centered cartoons (Family Guy) and sports programming… action movies, romantic-comedies and dramas… hip-hop, rock and roll and chamber music. Whilst an avid fan of basically everything I just named, I've come to realize that I have actually never stopped to analyze why I automatically place certain programs or songs into very specific (yet vastly broad) classifications. I think a huge factor in my autonomous placement is the social realm in which we live in. I grew up listening to a wide variety of music, thanks to my Mother and Father’s extremely different preferences.

As I grew into my parents’ selection of music (I’d label as a combination of punk and classic rock from the Pops and 80’s pop and 60’s jams from the Moms [thanks to Nana, too]), I noticed that I myself was building a knowledge of music, based upon what my parents listened to, as well as my friends. Classifying the music I listened to not only pertained to what it sounded like and what it was about; but the social significance of WHO was listening to WHAT. For example, for an quite embarrassing example (that I am genuinely disappointed in myself nowadays for, as I have grown tremendously) … (yet completely pertinent to my perception of genre) … I have this memory of a schoolyard interaction with a young man who was generally disliked and picked-on, back in my elementary school days. I did not antagonize him, nor did I even bother him. I simply asked him what CD he was listening to in his mobile compact-disc player (all the rage in the late 90’s). He responded with “Brittany Spears.” Based on this young man’s low social standing in a realm as unimportant and small as an elementary classroom environment; I perceived the artist, song and entire musical genre (of Pop, as Brittany Spears would likely universally be classified as a Pop artist) as essentially, well, for lack of better term; lame. I didn't give any Pop artists, or songs for that matter, a chance; all because of my social perception of a single person. This exemplifies my thought that social interaction and the resulting rhetorical situation (and dialogue) completely molds the concept of genre, if not completely decides how something is classified.

According to Miller, we classify into genres based upon the similarities shared amongst the highlighted items (hip-hop songs often contain a lot of bass, R&B songs often contain singing over hip-hop style beats, etc.). But what I found to be important was Miller’s noting of the concept of recurrence. Miller quotes an observation regarding rhetoric made my Campbell and Jamieson, stating “’the existence of the recurrent provides insight into the human condition (Pg. 27)’” (Miller, 156). Miller then goes on to state that “recurrence is implied by our understanding of situations as somehow ‘comparable,’ ‘similar,’ or ‘analogous’ to other situations, but as Robert A. Stebbins notes, ‘objective situations are unique – they cannot recur” (Miller, 156). Contrasting these ideas with my own perceptions of genre, this generally makes sense. The repetition of sounds – musical songs – on labeled radio station frequencies and even record labels – causes the concept of a genre to be strengthened over time. I think about radio stations when the concept of recurrence comes into discussion. Do radio stations have an influence of the perception and classification of music? I would assume they do, based on Miller’s interpretation of Campbell and Jamieson’s concept of recurrence. Using the film industry as one final example, the recurrence and prevalence of specific types of scenes in movies like shoot-outs and car chases leads to the immediate classification of the movie; an action movie. This is a very broad classification, as action movies can contain elements of various other genres (i.e. romance, drama and comedy) but are still widely perceived as action movies.

I’d like to use Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky series as an example. When other thinks about the series, one is most likely going to think about Rock-o’s countless head-bashing close-call ring encounters – most often ending with good ole Rock-o’s triumph over the antagonist (Apollo Creed, Mr. T and Ivan Drago). But some elements that may be forgotten until viewing the series with them in mind, are the many scenes that pertain to the developing love between Rocky and his eventual wife, Adrian. This developing love is a very influential aspect of the story, but it is an undertone of love to an overwhelmingly action-packed and intentionally blood-pumping cinematic experience. This is where my perception of genre becomes unclear… how can genre be considered concrete and pragmatic when every individual member of the audience perceives the subject differently. Wouldn't this cause every single interpretation of what the “correct” genre of a song of film is supposed to be a subjective experience, swayed by the personal life and experiences of each individual? Some may view popular entertainer Drake as a rapper (hip-hop, rap), whilst some prefer to label him a singer or even a lyricist (R&B). But if an objective experience, according to Robert A. Stebbins, cannot recur… or be repeated and essentially compared to a similar outlet, then how can genre in itself ever be considered objective?

Works Cited:
Miller, Carolyn. “Genre as Social Action.” Quarterly Journal of Speech 70 (1984): 151-169.