Genre Analysis of Movie Reviews in Malaysian Online Newspapers: Uncovering Structural Patterns

Abstract

Movie reviews are an important indicator of the quality of a movie and help cinemagoers in their decision-making process. With the advent of technology, the consumption of movie reviews has shifted primarily to online platforms, including newspaper websites, blogs and established movie domain sites such as the Internet Movie Database (IMDB). Consequently, it provides more room for the audience to express their opinions about the movies. Despite this shift, there still needs to be more research on the structural nuances of online film reviews in newspapers, particularly in the Malaysian context. To address this gap, this study examines movie reviews published by local newspapers from a genre-based perspective, focusing on their underlying structures. Ten movie reviews were collected from a local newspaper's website and analysed to identify recurring patterns and moves within the genre. The analysis shows that the genre comprised eight steps, ranging from providing information about the movies to making recommendations to readers. The identified moves are M1: Title of the Movie Review, M2: Providing information about the movie, M3: Grabbing readers' attention, M4: Describing the movie, M5: Giving criticism, M6: Offering recommendations to the readers, M7: Concluding the review and M8: Relating to other movies. Notably, Move 5, which involves criticism of the movies, was the most elaborated step with various steps and sub-steps. Further, the analysis also shows a few structural patterns of the genre. This study provides valuable insights for readers who want to understand the elements that shape movie reviews in local newspapers.