Prototype - this includes the seminal/original texts (for example, 'NME' in relation to music magazines). These establish the conventions of the text which are carried on for years onwards.
Classic - these include the typical examples of the genre which show the conventions perfectly. 'NME' is also a good example of this because it was one of the first rock magazines and so is the one magazine that has set the genres and is going to portray them perfectly. In terms of the type of magazine I am producing (pop), 'Top of the Pops' is probably the most classic example.
Parodic - this is when classics are made into comedies or spoofs. This stage can't really be applied to pop or any other style of music magazine and is only really used in the film industry.
Revisionist - this is basically the re-writing of conventions. Re-writing happens when the "classic" examples become boring, when it becomes less popular and when styles/ideologies begin to change. This stage of evolution can be easily linked to pop magazines because in recent years since the decline of pop magazines, their conventions have changed a lot. For example, pop magazines used to be totally centred around music and nothing else, whereas pop magazines are much more based on celebrity style or celebrity relationships (as addressed in previous posts) rather than purely music.
Hybrid - this is where lots of different genres are combined. For example, 'Q' magazine covers a wide variety of different music genres such as rock, pop, indie. This types of texts generally appeal to a wider mass audience. In terms of pop magazines, different genres of music are not so much combined but the interest in music of pop stars is combined with the interest in celebrity style and relationships etc.
Post-Modernism - this stage can be broken down into different types. For example, Bricolage is the combining of old elements from different cultures and different eras to form new things. This is often applied to style and the easiest example to give is when someone is wearing a 1950's jacket, has a 1960's haircut and then shoes from the present day (or something similar). Another type of the post-modern approach is Homage. This is usually a deliberate tribute to someone or something from the past. For example, you will often find that you listen to a song and it reminds you of another song you have previously heard. The artist of the new track may be aware of this fact and may have used it as a deliberate attempt to rediscover the previous track's exploration into music, or on the other hand they have possibly never actually heard the song from the past that the new track has been related to, meaning it's purely coincidence. This then relates to the theory of memes that I have touched upon on a previous post.
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