Key Concepts Of Genre

It is argued that there is not definition for genre as anything can be classified as anything and with the developing world the boundaries of genre will always be changing.

Genre is a type of classification:

• sub genre- this is a genre with a certain theme, for example; occult thriller is a different type of thriller to a psychological thriller. This is important within genre as an audience will become desensitised to a certain type of thriller if they see the same thing over and over. The film will no longer have the effect it should have.

• Hybrids- this is a mixture of two different genres. for example; action thriller or  romantic comedy. Hybridisation happened in the 50s.

issues and debates of genre:

genre is a constant state of flux as it is always changing due to external influences; for example the economy, politics or social change. However it is easy sense genre through:

•  familiar narrative
• mise- en- scene
• actors: for example certain actors on acting in a certain genre for example Jonah Hill in comedies.
• style representation
•  iconography- these are symbols that would represent it as a genre; a good example of this is tumble weed in a western. As soon as an audience were to see the tumble weed it would be clear that they are watching a western. 

However some of these traits we expect to see in certain genres could be cross generic (feature in more than one type of film), for example we could see settings in thriller the same as a murder mystery. 

Genre is constantly being renegotiated between industry and audience- a combination of familiar reassurance and new tricks.


 Genre is a way of working through important myths and fears through

• repetition
• variation
• resolution

Genre is a way of making the audience feel a sense of reassurance in the world through the justice that is put in at the end of a film, "baddies" being punchied and the good people ending up on top.