ABSTRACT
Genres are types of stories which are an indicator of content as well as structure. There are universal genres: Fantasy, Romance/Love, Action/Adventure, Mystery/Crime, Drama, Horror, Science Fiction, and Comedy. Genres today are often mixed and matched. Disney's Frozen is an adventure/romance/fantasy/musical. Game of Thrones is a fantasy/epic/war/drama. At the same time, genres generally have a negative connotation, for they can easily degenerate into formulas that break down—Delgo, A Hero's Journey. An alternative to genre labels is categorizing stories by what the stories have in common. Blake Snyder advocates using story categories—concepts which reflect universal experiences. These stories embrace variety of characters who find themselves in special situations dealing with the inevitable conflict: Monster in the House, Out of the Bottle, and Dude with a Problem. To work, it is necessary to match characters to situations, that are relatable to the viewer, and identify a viewer's expectations within each category.
