What Is Genre?

What Is Genre? 

Genre is Latin and is any category of literature, music or other forms of art or entertainment, whether written or spoken, audio or visual, based on some set of criteria. Genres form by conventions that change over time as new genres are invented and the use of old ones fade out. This often works by the use of multiple genres keeping but also changing these conventions.

The setting is the setting or environment where the story and action takes place. The theme or topic refers to the issues or concepts that the film revolves. The mood is the emotional tone of the film and the effect it has on the environment. The Format refers to the way the film was shot (e.g. Widescreen) or the way it’s presented. Additional ways of categorizing film genres is by the target audience (e.g., children's film, teen film or women's film) or by type of production (e.g., B movie, big-budget blockbuster or low-budget film).

Film genres often split out into lots of different sub genres. Genres that at first may seem unrelated can be combined to form hybrid genres, such as the mixing of horror and comedy in the Evil Dead films. Other popular genre combinations are the romantic comedy and the action comedy film.