Genre

• Media products can be classified into categories or genre. The word 'genre' comes from the French word meaning 'type' or 'class'. Media genres appear within a medium (film, television) such as the "horror" film or the television "situation comedy".

• A genre can be recognised by its common set of distinguishing features. These features associated with a genre's style and content may be, for example, a particular setting, character types, technical codes (lighting or music). You may also find that some media texts blur genre boundaries.

• Audiences recognise these features and therefore expect certain things. For example, at the end of a romantic comedy film the two lead characters will realise they are in love. Audiences may even select a text on the basis of its genre.

• Producers market texts according to genre because a niche audience has already been identified as taking pleasure in that type of text.

• However, a genre is not static – it changes all the time – resulting in hybrid (or sub-) genres and changing codes and conventions. There is also a relationship between genres and the societies in which they are created.