Playing in Genre Fields: A Play Theory Perspective on Genre

Genres exist within complex social structures, making them both the product and productive of that social structure. Consequently, any genre may be as active within the context of its social structure as are any human agents. This paper broadens the concept of genre to include what we call the genre field in the attempt to expand the definition of agent to include the genre-as-agent concept. Through the lens of play theory, this paper develops a grammar of genre fields as a heuristic for the understanding of genre's complex social structure. This grammar of genre fields includes the player-agent and genre-agent, the genre field, and the play scenario. To illustrate the use of the grammar of genre fields, this paper applies the grammar to two case studies; the first of which showcases genre within a dynamic social structure, the second of which demonstrates how rigid and formulaic genres can be when viewed within a static social structure.