#NewsBytesExplainer: What are major genres of films?
What's the story
Every cinematic offering is categorized into a certain genre, which specifies its themes, core content, and comprehensive nature. By definition, genre refers to "any category of literature or other forms of art or entertainment, e.g. music, whether written or spoken, audio or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria." Let's dive deeper into some broad genres that films are categorized into.
Horror
The chills, the goosebumps—here's what defines the horror genre
Let's begin with the genre that is perfectly capable of snatching away our sleep for days and making the hair on the back of our neck stand up. Teeming with a lot of spine-chilling moments and gore, horror has various sub-genres, such as slasher, paranormal, gothic, zombie flicks, and dystopia. Dracula, The Exorcist, The Conjuring, Psycho, Scream, and The Shining are some genre-defining films.
Romance
'Mohabbatein' or 'DDLJ,' what's your go-to romance film?
Oh, the sweet symphony of passionate romance! Perfect for the days when you want to allow emotions to overwhelm you, or have a date night, romantic films almost always follow the same trajectory—the lead pair's meeting, some (necessary) conflict, and usually, a happily ever after. Bollywood has no dearth of romance films—from DDLJ and Mohabbatein to Rockstar and Jab We Met. What's your pick?
Action
Nothing like hardcore action extravaganza on the big screen
The audience's favorite, and the one that has repeatedly proved to click with the masses, especially in India. Like people flying in the air, people falling off cliffs, cars getting overturned, bloodbaths, and more broken bones than you can count? You may be a fan of this genre. Some classic films that belong to this category include John Wick and Mad Max: Fury Road.
Thrillers
Cliffhangers, nail-biting suspense, edge-of-the-seat apprehensions constitute thrillers
The atmospheric tension, the pulsating performances, the what-ifs and could-haves, the nail-biting suspense leading up to the third act, there's nothing like a well-executed thriller backed by potent performances. There are different kinds of thriller films, like psychological thrillers, slow-burn thrillers, and erotic thrillers. Alfred Hitchcock, David Fincher, Roman Polanski, and back home, Sriram Raghvan are some directors considered the master of the genre.
Fantasy
Want to imagine an alternate reality? Fantasy films work best
We all want to break out of the daily rigmarole of our lives and transport ourselves to a land far, far away. That's where fantasy films swoop in to rescue us. From the Harry Potter series to Lord of the Rings to numerous fairy tales brought to life by Disney, there's quite nothing like savoring an excellent fantasy film on a Sunday afternoon.
Comedy
Comedy genre is multilayered and can have different variations, interpretations
As a genre, comedy is multilayered and cannot be straitjacketed into simply one broad category. Comedy films can have different ideas at their core—crime, funeral, spoof, horror, friendship, action, superheroes, or societal critique. In Hindi cinema, Priyadarshan is arguably the frontrunner of the genre in contemporary times, having directed films such as De Dana Dan, Malaamal Weekly, Hera Pheri, Hungama, among numerous others.
Drama
India has some classic examples of drama films
Another genre that has a huge number of loyalists globally, drama movies are defined as "more serious than humorous in tone" and can include several sub-categories such as police drama, family drama, teen drama, coming-of-age drama, historical drama, and psychological drama, among others. Some breakthrough examples include Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Forrest Gump, Rear Window, A Star is Born, Devdas, and Taare Zameen Par.
Information
That's not all; there are other genres, too
While these are the most relevant and common genres, the list goes on. There are some other categories such as apocalypse films, superhero dramas, sci-fi movies, cyberpunk, anime, martial arts, sports, biopics, war films, true crime, arthouse films, and magical realism, among others.