ABSTRACT
This chapter overviews what genre is, how it operates (in theory and in practice), and the roles of the different stakeholders throughout the life-cycle of a genre text. Genre, a French word meaning 'type' or 'kind,' is one way that films and television programs are classified into recognisable groups and sub-groups by privileging particular similarities to (and dissimilarities from) other films and television programs. The content or subject of a story seems to be the most obvious way to classify genre, but Robert Stam argues that 'subject matter is the weakest criterion for generic groupings because it fails to take into account how the subject is treated'. The chapter discusses six key approaches to studying genre: the structuralist, aesthetic, political economy, socio-cultural, family resemblances and discursive approaches. Collectively, the approaches offer a productive way to start thinking about the intricacies of genre in screen media.
