The Action Film Genre The action genre has been a staple in epic filmmaking from the beginning of cinema. However, before we get too much into how to use film genres and begin mixing and matching them, let’s go over some of the biggest and most notable. The “thriller” genre, for example, had the following sub-genres: Sub-genres were developed to give names and expectations to certain types of films within each genre. The basic genres were well defined and included some of the following:įrom there, you could dive a bit deeper. Just as they were in literature and other forms of art and entertainment, people would go to the theater to watch a war film, a musical, or a comedy. In the early days of cinema, genres were much more uniform and defined. The Basic Film Genres Gone with the Wind – considered a drama/romance – is a perfect example of a hybrid genre. The majority of content produced in the last several decades are often genre hybrids, using the rules of genre theory to produce new, unique, and different stories. It’s important to understand, though, that what we consider film genres today are, more often than not, hardly pure film genres, as they were in the early days of film. We see genres while browsing through video stores or scrolling through Netflix, giving us a rough idea of what the stories are like or similar to. But, for writers, artists, and filmmakers, it’s usually the simplest, most practical way to categorize different styles of stories and content.

The term dates back to ancient Greek literature. music, whether written or spoken, audio or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria.” Taking the word at its definition, genre is the “term for any category of literature or other forms of art or entertainment, e.g. What Are Film Genres? A hybrid genre, Forbidden Planet is considered a drama/fantasy.

Here’s a brief introduction into how filmmakers can understand and use “genre theory.” So, what do all those genre names actually mean? And, what exactly are the writers, filmmakers, and storytellers really doing to work within and against these modes? Understanding “genre theory” is both very simple and very complex. It wasn’t until one of the first film theory classes I took that I actually learned how to view, deconstruct, and understand something as seemingly innate as genre. As filmmakers and film fans, we already know about film genres. One of the few rare things that one can actually learn in film school is the simple trick of taking a step back to view something you already know - through a new, academic lens.

Let’s look at genre theory, what it entails, and how to start utilizing genres with a bit more practicality and creativity in your own projects.

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