Genre

Genre is a key part in the classification of film. By definition, genre (which originates from a French word meaning 'type') is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or entertainment. Genres are formed by conventions, that change and evolve over time, as new genres are invented and the old ones discontinued. Genre began as a classification system for Greek Literature. Poetry, prose and performance had a specific, calculated style that related to the theme of the story. Speech patterns for comedy would not be appropriate for tragedy, and even actors were restricted to their genre under the assumption that a type of person could tell one type of story best.