In this article, we will try to broadly describe what a genre is, where it can be found to us, and what types it is divided into. We also consider the history of the origin of this term, reveal its etymological essence and understand when its use is appropriate in both domestic and scientific-artificial cases.
Generalized concept
Speaking simply about what a genre is, we come to the following formulation: this is one of the varieties of a work in any branch of art. Genres are found in painting, literature, music, theater and cinema. They can also be found in speech, in relationships, in traditions and other branches of our lives. Any of the selected genres is characterized by certain stylistic or plot features, by which any work is identified. Simply put, we can say that this is an ordinary style. In each individual branch of art, a specialist can determine the stylistic affiliation of a particular work.
A short list of genres
In order to become clearer, we will try to consider this concept in various forms of art. Mostly, genres are found in literature, and among them the following stand out:
- Comedy is an absurd work that has a mocking character.
- Drama is a story based on a conflict of protagonists.
- A tale is a story that highlights a series of events.
- The novel is a large form in which the fate of the heroes are closely intertwined.
- Tragedy is a work of a sad, often deadly nature.
- A poem can make any sense, but is characterized by the presence of a rhyme.
This is not a complete list of literary genres. In the past centuries, the division of literary forms was more strict, there were few stylistic trends. It was also characteristic that each genre could be very easily identified, since all authors strictly adhered to the established framework.
Features of modern genres
Over time, such restrictions became more flexible, and so-called artistic possibilities in each individual style expanded. Since about the 19th century, writers and poets began to combine two or more directions in one work. Nowadays, the main literary genres are closely intertwined with cinema style, that is, with those categories that are more relevant to cinema. This is primarily due to the fact that in the first half of the 20th century, literary works began to be screened, and in subsequent years, this trend not only became an integral part of art, but also had a reverse course of events. That is, some books that you can buy and read today were written according to a script created for a film or series.
What is a genre in cinema
The basis of the styles related to this type of art is in literature and in the theater. Among the films, the vast majority are comedies and their opposite tragedies, dramas, epics, melodramas, detective stories, musicals and so on. However, thanks to the rapid development of world cinema in these ranks, a considerable replenishment is observed, and now we can name three to four times more genres that are related to various paintings. We list a few of these:
- Anime - hand-drawn paintings, where the movements of each drawn character are successively created. Among these "cartoons" there are quite meaningful works, the completeness of which even not every adult can understand.
- Action - a clash of the protagonist most often with the world of crime, where issues are resolved with fists and shooting.
- Western and Eastern are two opposite genres that have much in common with the action movie. It is characteristic that in the first events are based on the traditions of the Wild West, and in the second - on the "concepts" of the East.
- Suspence - a kind of mixture of horror, detective and action, which does not release the viewer for a second from the screen.
- Fantasy is an ordinary story about heroes, which is accompanied by unrealistic events and characters.
Musical style and trends
Speaking about what a genre is, one should not lose sight of music. In this form of art, stylistics is especially pronounced. Based on it, people determine their musical tastes, change the music in their players, depending on their mood. In the past centuries, works were not divided as such into various genres, but today the situation is exactly the opposite. All ancient music belongs to the classics as the main category. All those works that were recorded in the second half of the 20th century and in recent years are divided into the main genres, among which pop, rock, jazz, blues, rap, indie, chanson, folk music, country and electro stand out. The latest musical style has many varieties (ambient, house, trance, EBM, synth pop, drum and bass, techno, dubstep, etc.).
Genres in other forms of art
Such a concept as a genre is found in painting, in sculpture, even in everyday speech and in human behavior. Observe yourself and what you say - and you will understand that this term has to be used in direct and figurative meaning more than often.