2. A film genre is a motion-picture category based (for example) on similarities
either in the narrative elements or in the emotional response to the film (namely:
serious, comic, etc.).[citation needed] Most theories of film genre are borrowed
from literary-genre criticism. Each film genre is associated[by whom?] with
"conventions, iconography, settings, narratives, characters and actors".
Standard genre characters vary according to the film genre; for film noir,
standard characters are the femme fatale and the "hardboiled" detective; a
Western film may portray the schoolmarm and the gunfighter. Some actors
acquire a reputation linked to a single genre, such as John Wayne (the
Western) or Fred Astaire (the musical). A film's genre will influence the use of
filmmaking styles and techniques, such as the use of flashbacks and low-key
lighting in film noir, tight framing in horror films, fonts that look like rough-hewn
logs for the titles of Western films, or the "scrawled" title-font and credits of
Se7en (1995), a film about a serial killer. As well, genres have associated film-
scoring conventions, such as lush string orchestras for romantic melodramas or
electronic music for science-fiction films
3. The basic genres include fiction and documentary,
from which subgenres have emerged, such as
docufiction and docudrama. Other examples of
subgenres include the courtroom- and trial-focused
drama known as the legal drama, which is a subtype
of drama. Types of fiction which may seem unrelated
can also be combined to form hybrid subgenres, such
as the melding of horror and comedy in the Evil Dead
films. Other popular combinations include the romantic
comedy and the action comedy film. Alan Williams
distinguishes three main genre categories: narrative,
avant-garde and documentary. Genre movies are
"commercial feature films which, through repetition
and variation, tell familiar stories with familiar
characters and familiar situations". Genre affects how
films are broadcast on television, advertised, and
organized in video rental stores.
4. Films can also be classified by the setting, theme, topic, mood, format,
target audience or budget. The setting is the environment where the
story and action take place (e.g., a war film, a Western film, or a space-
opera film). The theme or topic refers to the issues or concepts that the
film revolves around (e.g., science-fiction film, sports film, or crime film).
The mood is the emotional tone of the film (e.g., comedy film, horror
film, or tearjerker film). Format refers to the way the film was shot (e.g.,
35 mm, 16 mm or 8 mm) or the manner of presentation (e.g.:
anamorphic widescreen). Additional ways of categorizing film genres
may involve the target audience (e.g., children's film, teen film or
women's film) or by type of production (e.g., B movie, big-budget
blockbuster or low-budget film). Genre does not just refer to the type of
film or its category; spectator expectations about a film, and institutional
discourses that create generic structures also play a key role.Genres
are not fixed; they change and evolve over time, and some genres may
largely disappear (for example, the melodrama).