The linked essay uses 'transformation' to describe how "Chinatown" compares against classic hard-boiled detective stories, but then falls into the trap you describe.Quoting baby doll (view post)
This is clever, starting with Stu and ending with the slight twist of il n'y a pas de hors-genre. I laughed, but then felt sheepish for laughing. TBH, I'd kinda like to come across that kind of discussion in the wild, outside an academic context. But in ~20 odd years on the internet, I've only seen it once.