Etymology:
(/ˈʒɒ̃rə/, /ˈʒɒnrə/ or /ˈdʒɒnrə/; from French genre [ʒɑ̃ʁ(ə)], "kind" or "sort", from Latin genus (stem gener-), Greek γένος, génos)Wikipedia defines genre as:
any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed upon conventions developed over time. Genre is most popularly known as a category of literature, music, or other forms of art or entertainment, whether written or spoken, audio or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria, yet genres can be aesthetic, rhetorical, communicative, or functional. Genres form by conventions that change over time as new genres are invented and the use of old ones is discontinued. Often, works fit into multiple genres by way of borrowing and recombining these conventions. Stand alone texts, works, or pieces of communication may have individual styles, but genres are amalgams of these texts based on agreed upon or socially inferred conventions. Some genres may be rigid with strictly adhered to guidelines while others may be very flexible.
Genre began as an absolute classification system for ancient Greek literature. Poetry, prose, and performance each had a specific and 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. In later periods genres proliferated and developed in response to changes in audiences and creators. Genre became a dynamic tool to help the public make sense out of unpredictable art. Because art is often a response to a social state, in that people write/paint/sing/dance about what they know about, the use of genre as a tool must be able to adapt to changing meanings.
Genre suffers from the same ills of any classification system. Genre is to be reassessed and scrutinized and to weigh works on their unique merit. It has been suggested that genres resonate with people because of the familiarity, the shorthand communication, as well as the tendency of genres to shift with public mores and to reflect the zeitgeist. While the genre of storytelling has been relegated as lesser form of art because of the heavily borrowed nature of the conventions, admiration has grown. Proponents argue that the genius of an effective genre piece is in the variation, recombination, and evolution of the codes.
Oxford Dictionary
(Click read more below to see more example sentences from Oxford.)
Collins Dictionary and Thesaurus:
- kind, category or sort, esp. of literature or artistic work.
- a) a category of painting in which incidents from everyday life are depicted b) (as modifier): genre painting
Dictionary of Media Studies:
A term that refers to a type of media product or a work of art.
SOME RESOURCES:
- Key Concepts Research into Genre by Wordpress Blogger Rachael
Now for some theorists... soon to come!
EXAMPLE SENTENCES:
George RR Martin:
- ‘We can only guess what the great Dutch genre painters really thought they were doing.’
- ‘Although it may be smartly scripted and ingeniously plotted, this is unapologetically a genre flick.’
- ‘Even in Spanish genre painting, however, women rarely appear uncovered.’
- ‘For the next three years he rivalled David Wilkie as the principal exponent of genre painting.’
- ‘He laments the passing of the tradition of European genre filmmaking.’
- ‘All the genre paintings evince a personal fascination with their subjects.’
- ‘Another genre opportunity that is raised and discarded is that of science fiction.’
- ‘What it concerns itself more with is with replicating the successes of genre titles gone by.’
- ‘It was a great role for a genre film - you don't normally get to do much beyond screaming and running.’
- ‘Accordingly, his Orientalist reputation has rested largely on the drawings and genre scenes.’
- ‘This was such a poor way to end what was one of the most vibrant and exciting genre series on TV.’
- ‘This is something that has never been adequately explained in past genre literature to a full extend.’
- ‘Genre scenes and landscape played an important role in the 19th century.’
- ‘It may then be of no surprise that audiences are widely receptive to this new genre paradigm.’
- ‘The director specializes in quirky, fun genre flicks, and this one continues the trend.’
- ‘He takes his material and wraps it up in as many layers of genre convention as he possibly can.’
- ‘I was doing new things and experimenting and trying to erase genre constraints and traditions.’
- ‘It's not been enough to make me buy any of his books because he's very much a genre writer.’
- ‘As the 1970s began, Italian genre filmmaking was at its very height.’
- ‘Any movie that does not rest solidly on genre formula requires flawless execution.’
I think genre is just a matter of furniture. The furniture doesn't matter. It always comes down to the conflict of the human heart with itself....
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