Likewise, musicals and animation are not considered genres but rather “treatments” as to how a particular movie genre is told, even though people, over generations, refer to these types of movies as genres. These labels reflect or accentuate the movie genre rather than defining the genre. They are considered director’s style because their characteristics include cinematography and editing, which are not among the four elements that make up a genre. Film noir, thrillers, and action movies are not actually genres but a director’s style, which will be discussed in a later chapter. Other movie labels cannot be considered genres. Movies often have genres that overlap, such as adventure in a spy movie, or crime in a science fiction movie. The shaping determines the plot and best setting to use. If the movie elements are serious and cannot fit into a more limited genre, then it can be considered a drama.Ĭategorizing a movie indirectly assists in shaping the characters and the story of the movie. This is why this chapter is longer than the others because of the discussion of these variations.ĭrama can be considered a genre, even though some critics do not consider it a genre because it is too general.
![find any movie find any movie](https://www.lifewire.com/thmb/5aP2o2v75nohGhY9Xqkf4GdnSKI=/1500x846/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/004-download-watch-google-drive-movies-4582822-8cf9af13edac433c933e96b0c388ae76.jpg)
Other genres are crime, war, Westerns, spy, adventure, science fiction, horror, fantasy, biography, and mystery. The sub-genres of comedy differ from one another based on the fluctuations of the characters and the story. Some genres may be as general as comedy but do not have sub-genres like comedy. These elements are discussed regarding how their variations create a different category of movie. The above elements of story, plot, setting, and character equal a specific category of movie. An equation for remembering the genre is: Story ( Action) + Plot + Character + Setting = Genre. This becomes an easy way to remember the elements of a genre. Genre consists of four elements or parts: character, story, plot and setting. Putting a movie into a particular genre or category does not diminish the quality of the movie by assuming that if it can be put into a genre, the movie is ordinary and lacks originality and creativity.
![find any movie find any movie](https://images.fandango.com/fandango-www/screenplay/assets/images/shared/theater-safety-illustration--grayscale.2b43e699ee8.png)
Categorizing movies makes it easier for the viewer to discover what he or she likes and will want to see. In other words, genre categorizes movies. Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language defines genre as “a category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content.” 5