Genreology is one of the main and old theoretical topics in the world of cinema. Knowing about different movie genres helps us to choose the right movie for our taste.
The film genre is used to categorize films based on similarities in themes and stories that the film is based on.
movie genre
The concept of genre is derived from a French word meaning type and category.
In film theory, the genre is a topic used to categorize films based on the similarities of the narrative on which the film is based. Most of the ideas about the genre of films are borrowed from the concepts of literary genre criticism. Regarding the issue of genre in a literary text, there are different ways to deal with the issue of genre and to define and categorize them. In addition to the main difference between documentary and fiction genres in film, genre can also be divided into other types.
Usually, fiction films are categorized based on their location, theme, mode, and format.
Another method is to categorize film genres based on the target audience. Some film theorists do not believe in the two components of format and target audience in genre classification. Most of the time, categorizing movie genres leads to sub-genres. Sometimes a dual genre is defined as a combination of two genres.
Comedy genre
Comedy includes funny movies and stories that are created for the entertainment and laughter of the audience (through jokes) and by exaggerating the situation, language, action, communication, and characters. Such as knock-knock comedy, romantic comedy, screwball, antithesis, black comedy (satirical black comedy), and so on.
Comedy genre
Comedy includes funny movies and stories that are created for the entertainment and laughter of the audience (through jokes) and by exaggerating the situation, language, action, communication and characters. Such as knock-knock comedy, romantic comedy, screwball, antithesis, black comedy (satirical black comedy), and so on.
Drama genre
Drama movies are usually serious movies that show characters, spaces, situations, and true stories about characters and their relationships. Usually, these films do not focus on special effects, comedy, or action, and with many sub-stories, they are considered one of the highest film genres, and biographical drama films are one of the sub-genres of drama films that are considered adult. become Sometimes the drama and romance genres are considered the same, which is not the case, and the drama genre is not necessarily full of love stories.
Musical genre
The roots of this genre go back to musical theaters in America in the early years of the 20th century. These shows were more popular examples of operas and due to their popularity after the introduction of talkies and color cinema, they found their way into the world of filmmaking. The golden age of this genre is in the forties to the sixties, and we can point to an extremely famous example such as “West Side Story”.
The definition of this genre is simple: a film in which the narration of the story is tied to music and singing. Even though the musical is not a dynamic genre and the number of musicals per year does not even reach the fingers of one hand, the film circles and the academy have always looked at this kind of fascination and respect. “Sweeney Todd”, “Les Miserables” and “Lalaland” are among the recent and successful examples of this genre.
Thriller genre
In the Persian translation, it is an exciting or exciting movie genre; In a general sense, its function is to excite the audience, and it has several general components and tools, such as suspense and apprehension.
If we want to examine from a narrative and story point of view, the trailer in the simplest possible form is about a character who has to accomplish a task, but due to the presence of external obstacles and threats, he must constantly move on the edge of the razor along the way. Now, due to the space and story situation, the trailer can have different types.
The political thriller takes place in the context of power and politics, like Oliver Stone’s “JFK” dealing with the Kennedy assassination investigation. The crime thriller, which is a common genre, takes the character to the world of crime, an example of which is “Seven”. In a techno-thriller, the story takes on the color of technology, and we generally deal with hackers and the like, such as “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”. The spy trailer, as its name suggests, is related to spy stories; Most of the adaptations of John Lecarre’s novels fall into this category; Among them, “weaver, tailor, soldier, spy”. And in the psychological thriller, we either face a character who is suffering from a mental crisis or the pressure factor on the character has a psychological aspect, such as “Vertigo” and many of Alfred Hitchcock’s works, which generally can be defined and described with his films.
Thriller is often combined with other genres. For example, the series of films “James Bond” and “Mission Impossible” were spy thrillers in the beginning, but as time passed, the action aspect became more in them.
Action genre
Action movies are high-budget movies that include these features: exciting scenes, stunts, chases, rescues, battles, fights, escapes, and devastating disasters (floods, explosions, natural events, fires, etc.). ), non-stop motion, rhythm and fast pace and adventurous and often two-dimensional positive heroes, and the battle between negative characters. Such as James Bond fantasy and espionage series, martial arts movies, video game adaptations, black commercial cinema, and some superhero movies. One of its sub-genres is disaster films.
Science fiction genre
Science fiction films are often scientific, imaginative, and visual, and heroes, aliens, distant lands, impossible adventures, strange spaces, imaginary places, dangerous and dark villains, future technology, unknown and unknown forces, and strange creatures. (extraterrestrials) created by mad scientists or nuclear effects. These films are often close to fantasy (or superhero) films or have similarities with action-adventure films. According to these science fiction movies, technology can destroy humans and that’s why they are similar to horror movies. Especially when technology or aliens become evil, like in the 1950s “Atomic Age” science fiction movies. The sub-genres of science fiction films include apocalyptic, space, futuristic, noir, thinking, etc.
Romance genre
If we think logically, romance should be considered a subcategory of drama, but the strong literary roots of romantic stories and their wide audience have caused the romance to be considered as an independent genre in many cases. The definition is also simple: the story of love and efforts between two main characters to reach each other, which, of course, increases in complex cases. “Love Story”, “Casablanca” and “Titanic” are famous examples of this genre, although none of them have a happy ending.
The combined comedy-romantic genre is based on the relationship between the two main characters, but the relationships and situations are sweet and you will smile more than you cry while watching the movie. “When Harry Met Sally” is one of the best examples of this type of endearment.
Horror genre
The horror genre was created to create a sense of fear and terror in the audience and often has a shocking and terrifying ending that leaves the viewer riveted and entertained at the same time. Horror films include many different types of films, from the silent classics of Nosferatu to today’s CGI-based monster movies. This genre is often merged with the science fiction genre and shows scenes of technologically created monsters or the destruction of the earth by aliens. The genre of fantasy or supernatural films cannot always be equated with the genre of horror. Among the sub-genres of horror movies are murder, gore, psycho, fight for survival, horror movies for teenagers, detective movies, serial killers, paranormal activity, zombie, demonic, monster, Dracula, Frankenstein, etc.
Western genre
Western is the main genre of the American cinema industry, most of the early Hollywood films were made in this genre. This genre is one of the oldest and most enduring genres whose story, elements, and characters are known (six-barreled guns, horses, desert towns, cowboys, red-skins, etc.). The genre has changed, evolved, been noticed, and forgotten over time. Among its different types are spaghetti Italian westerns, epic westerns, comedy westerns, criminal westerns showing sheriffs as the main character, revenge westerns, and anti-westerns.
Epic and historical genre
Epic films are historical, war, medieval, or period dramas that choose a specific period of history. Epic films also include parts of adventure films and feature historical, fictional, mythological, legendary, or heroic stories. It also adds a period or outer space, costume design along with cinematic grandeur, extensive drama, production stages, and soundtrack. Epic films are usually considered a broader form of a biographical film.
Melodrama genre
This is also one of the controversial issues. Many experts consider melodrama to be a subcategory of drama, and many critics consider melodramas to be diluted dramas in which the priority is to arouse the emotions of the audience. Nevertheless, there is no shortage of sublime and praised examples of melodrama; For example, Douglas Sirk’s films, which have influenced several generations of cinematographers.
Melodrama is not necessarily synonymous with romance because many times the story is focused on human relationships and this relationship reaches depth and emotions through mutual understanding. “Rain Man”, “The Maid” and even the popular French film “The Untouchables” are considered melodrama in some definitions, and if you look at Indian cinema, where melodrama is the dominant genre.
Mystery genre
The title of the mystery movie genre does not necessarily refer to the solving of a mystery during the story, and many times in translation we should consider it equivalent to mysterious and mysterious. According to any definition, the mystery genre takes the main character and the audience to a world where there are unknown elements and the quest to find the answer to the unknown becomes the main storyline. From this point of view, general movies and detective stories like the “Sherlock” series are also included in this genre.
Due to the close and common elements and patterns, the mystery genre is connected with the thriller genre in many cases and mystery thrillers are formed; Like “Secret Window” or “The Game” by David Fincher. We also have examples that by escaping from genre formulas and rules, understanding what is happening in the world of the film becomes the main meaning; David Lynch’s works are the best examples of this category: “Mulholland Road”, “Lost Highway” and “Twin Peaks”.
Fantasy genre
Fantasy or imaginative stories have a similar situation with science fiction in terms of the scope of the genre definition, the only general difference is that the imaginary element in the world of the story usually does not need scientific justification and is based on unknown assumptions such as magic. In a world whose coordinates have changed due to imagination, storytelling has a different form.
The fantasy genre, due to its roots and long history in literature, includes different subcategories, each of which requires a detailed discussion. “The Lord of the Rings”, “Harry Potter” and the anime “City of Ghosts” are among the most famous examples of fantasy in the new millennium, and “The Shape of Water” by Guillermo Del Toro and winner of the Oscar 2017 is also a recent and unusual example of this genre.
Adventure genre
Adventure movies are exciting stories that provide you with new experiences or exotic locations, like action stories. including traditional sword fighting or pirate films, serial and historical films (such as epic genre films), search and travel for lost continents, desert or jungle epics, treasure hunts, action films, or searching for lost things.
Noir genre
There is a lot of controversy in this case, like the western, but everyone else has agreed that noir is not a genre, but a tone and a cinematic style. The roots of noir go back to the years of the Second World War and the phrase that the French used to describe a new generation of American crime films, which both the visual texture influenced by expressionist cinema and the bitter and unsuccessful narratives, all emphasized a dark worldview. “The Maltese Falcon” and “Double Indemnity” are among the famous examples of the golden age of film noir. Later, another definition such as neo-noir came, which recreated the same visual and narrative tone outside the time and place of noir films. “Chinatown” is perhaps the most famous neo-noir in the history of cinema.
It should be kept in mind that from the point of view of genre, noir films are generally classified under crime drama or mystery (and sometimes both).
Crime and gangster genre
Crime and gangster films are based on the actions of criminals, criminals, thieves, underground criminals, criminal mobs, and murderers. In these crime and gangster films, a detective plays the main role and moves the story forward. Detective films were at their peak in the 40s and 50s (classic noir films). Therefore, crime and gangster films are often referred to as film noir or detective films, and are sometimes called crime thrillers. Because these movies have similarities. “Serial killer” movies are also included in this category.
War and anti-war genre
War (and anti-war) films show the fear and horror of war, depicting the battle of forces (against countries or individuals) on land, sea, or air to show the main story or the theme of the action space of the film. War movies are often combined with other genres such as action, adventure, drama, romance, (black) comedy, narrative, and even historical epics and westerns and try to condemn war. Stories of captivity, military and educational operations are also shown in these films.