What is Genre?

   gen·re

/ˈZHänrə/

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noun

1. a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter.

        Genre has been a concept since the beginning of time. From Disney to Pixar to Apple and more companies coming out with many more movies per year grossing billions of dollars. The genre is what appeals to the audience. It is part of what determines interest and wonder. Some stereotypical genres include, but are not limited to: action, comedy, drama, fantasy, horror, romance, thriller, and western. Sometimes you can even mix and match them to create a sub-genre from there.

Action:

        The genre of action films has been very popular in recent years, starting in the late 1900s. The target audience is between 16-25 years old.  Some examples include the Fast and Furious franchise (one of my favorites), Jason Borne franchise (love this), Red Notice, Black Widom, and Die Hard. These films usually contain violent scenes, car chases, shootouts, a hero/villain, with a plot that is fast-paced, they often contain stunts and special effects.

        I found this interesting because over time action movie elements can change. Over time new elements become incorporated and it still stays within the confinement of the action genre. Such as technical elements that have changed. For example lighting, CGI elements, and they have more cuts.

Romance: 

        

        In recent years romance movies have become popular among 20-70 year olds. The characters incorporated are meant to intrigue an older audience than a younger audience. Elements of this genre include love at first sight, tragic love, destructive love, sentimental love, drama elements. The entire point is to invoke the emotions of the audience. The stereotype of people that watch romance movies is women. Any movies that show the characters watching a romance movie incorporate snacks, ice cream, and tissues.  Some of the most popular romance movies are The Notebook, The Fault in Our Stars, Titanic, 10 Things I Hate About You (A personal favorite), Midnight Sun, and The Last Song (pretty good). As you can see I totally hate this genre ;).

Drama:

            

        This genre typically has stories with conflicts and high stakes, it tends to have many twists and turns, many unexpecting things incorporated through plot elements. The target audience is typically women aged 17-50, but that doesn't stop my grandmother in her 80's from watching her telenovelas (soap-operas in Spanish). Some examples include Black Panther, Moonlight, House of Gucci, Grey's Anatomy (yes I watched 17 seasons of this and loved it), and Jane The Virgin (this one is another personal favorite, I watched all 5 seasons and enjoyed it, but I'm also related to Gina Rodriguez (Jane)).

                               

Comedy:

       

        This genre was made to make the audience laugh. The target audience tends to be very generalized, meant for all ages. It tends to be identified through exaggeration, language, and characters. There are stand-up comedy shows as well as movies with the genre. Some examples of comedy movies include the Grown Ups franchise, Ted, American Pie, Legally Blond Franchise. Some of the stand-up comedies include Kevin Hart's " Let Me Explain", Ali Wong, Kee and Peel, Lily Singh, Iliza Shlesinger, Liza Koshy,  Chris Rock, Seth Rogan, and more.

    

Sci-Fi:

        Sci-Fi stands for science fiction. This genre usually includes fantasy elements, futuristic elements, more unrealistic elements (time travel, parallel universe, magic, etc...). The target audience is people in their 40's. Some examples include The Walking Dead, E.T., Dune, Venom, The Host, The Giver, Back to the Future, and Guardians of the Galaxy. Sci-fi films tend to have CGI, conflicts between science and technology, human nature, magical elements, social organization, or/and the impact of science on human society.

                                   

Sub-Genre Examples and Ratings:

Drama/Rom: 

- After - Movie Franchise                                        7/10    Teenage version of 50 Shades of Grey

- Jane The Virgin - TV show                                   8/10    One of my fav TV shows

- LOL                                                                       9/10    Similar to 10 Things I hate About You

Action/Drama: 

- Twilight - Movie Franchise                                   4.5/10    Its literally twilight

Sci-fi/Drama: 

- The Magicians - TV show                                     7.5/10    Was Good but became trash

- IZombie - TV show,                                               8/10     I loved this one, it's a good show

Rom-Com: 

- Young and Hungry - TV Show                               6/10    Remember Hanah Montana, 

                                                                                             Emily Osmond. 

- Love Hard                                                               5/10 - love Nina Dobrev, but it's a bad movie

- Shes The Man                                                         9/10 - funny and similar to 10 Things Movie

Action/Comedy

- The Hustle                                                               4/10 - not memorable

- Despicable Me - Movie Franchise                          10/10 - if you hate this, you're a monster

- Jumanji- Movie Franchise                                       8/10  

- The Zohan                                                               10/10 - a personal favorite, pls watch with                                                                                                           caution, some people get offended 

                                                                                               from this movie.

- The Starving Games                                                10/10 - so funny my friend laughed so hard 

                                                                                               soda came out of his nose

Sci-Fi/Action

 

- Divergent - Movie Franchise                                   6/10 - watched as a kid, not memorable       

- The Hunger Games - Movie Franchise                    6/10 - not memorable

- The 100 - TV Show                                                  8/10 - was really good but then became

                                                                                               trash at the end                                                           

- Ready Player One - Move/Book Franchise              8/10 - enjoyed the movie, but wouldn't be

                                                                                             the first movie I chose to watch