genre


 * A genre [ˈʒã:rə], (French: "kind" or "sort") is a division of a particular form of art or utterance according to criteria particular to that form. In all art forms, genres are vague categories with no fixed boundaries. Genres are formed by sets of conventions, and many works cross into multiple genres by way of borrowing and recombining these conventions. The scope of the word "genre" is usually confined to art and culture, particularly literature. In genre studies the concept of genre is not compared to originality. Rather, all works are recognized as either reflecting on or participating in the conventions of genre.


 * Genre is currently a contentious Key Concept. Traditionally Media Theorists have studied the way different Media texts fall into different categories (or Genres) such as Horror, Soap Opera or Broadsheet Newspaper. However as media producers blur the boundaries between different genre the study of the concept itself becomes more problematic. At an introductory level it is still useful to look at the Generic Conventions of a text to see how it fits into the media world.

A type or category of literature or film marked by certain shared features or conventions. The three broadest categories of genre include poetry, drama, and fiction. These general genres are often subdivided into more specific genres and subgenres. Many bookstores and video stores divide their books or films into genres for the convenience of shoppers seeking a specific category of literature.

Examples: For instance, precise examples of genres might include murder mysteries, westerns, sonnets, lyric poetry, epics, tragedies, etc.

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