The Importance of Film Genre

WHY IS FILM GENRE IMPORTANT?

By Adam Pluck

What is film genre?

The gene of a film is determined by several factors such as the setting and plot themes etc. (such as wild west and romance).

Genres usually come about as a result of repetition and variation of familiar or popular conventions and themes causing genre to develop and change over time and result in hybrid genres

There are now very often hybrid genres that are a combination of two or more genres such as sci-fi & wild west in Cowboys and Aliens or From Dusk Till Dawn combining Crime Drama and Vampires.

Importance of GenreFilm genre is important for both film producers and audience:

Producers need genre so that they are able to effectively target the audience of their film.

Audiences need to be aware of film genre as often certain groups of people will have film preferences, so it is important that film genre is clear so these people can go see films intended for them.

The genre of films is typically very obvious for this reason and common themes can be seen in the posters of films from the same genre, e.g.

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