genres
Types of art
Genres are categories that group creative works by shared characteristics—style, form, subject matter, or conventions.
Literature has genres like mystery, romance, and science fiction.
Music has rock, jazz, classical.
Film has horror, comedy, documentary.
The boundaries blur: Is it thriller or horror?
Works that mix categories are cross-genre or genre-bending.
Genre fiction, often contrasted with literary fiction, prioritizes plot and convention over stylistic experimentation.
Imagined narrative work
- nonfictionLiterature about real events
- fantasyImaginative mental wandering
- romanceLove and its excitement
- thrillerSuspense-driven narrative genre
mystery · biography · memoir · science-fiction · historical · horror · satire · drama
Enormously successful entertainment property
- thrillerSuspense-driven narrative genre
- documentaryFactual film about reality
- animationTechnique creating movement illusion
- indieProduced outside majors
horror · comedy · action · drama · western · noir · romcom · biopic
Solid earthen material
- popFizzy drink, regionally
- jazzImprovisational American music genre
- classicalOf ancient Greece/Rome
- hip-hopRhythmic spoken-word music
country · blues · electronic · folk · reggae · metal · punk · soul
fiction
Imagined narrative work
- nonfictionLiterature about real events
- fantasyImaginative mental wandering
- romanceLove and its excitement
thriller · mystery · biography · memoir · science-fiction · historical · horror · satire · drama · adventure
blockbuster
Enormously successful entertainment property
- thrillerSuspense-driven narrative genre
- documentaryFactual film about reality
- animationTechnique creating movement illusion
indie · horror · comedy · action · drama · western · noir · romcom · biopic · sci-fi
rock
Solid earthen material
hip-hop · country · blues · electronic · folk · reggae · metal · punk · soul · funk
punk
Raw, fast rock genre
- gothMelancholic music subculture
- emoConfessional rock subgenre
- steampunkRetrofuturistic Victorian science fiction
cyberpunk · metal · ska · rockabilly · mod · grunge · hardcore · industrial · synthwave · vaporwave
RPG
Explosive launcher or fantasy genre
- shooterOne who fires weapons
- platformerLeap-based video game
- puzzleChallenge testing ingenuity
simulation · strategy · sandbox · survival · horror · racing · fighting · roguelike · MMORPG · battle-royale
- literaturebooks, book, fiction, poetry, stories
- literary studiescriticism, literary history, modernism, literary movements, literary themes
- Media DatabasesIMDb, AllMusic, Goodreads, movie database, TV Guide
- media librariesmovies, music library, photo library, video library, audiobooks
- categoriestypes, category, kinds, class, classes
- musicmusic, song, songs, singing, singer
genresmiscellany
Assorted collection of items
hodgepodge · grab bag · chaos · disorder · formlessness
genresavant-garde
Innovative cultural pioneers
genre-bending · cross-genre · originals · one-of-a-kinds · hybrids
- thriller genreFiction built on tension
- game genresClassifications for interactive entertainment
- film genresClassifications for cinema styles
- metal genreHard rock classification
- dramatic genreClassification of stage works
- horror genreFiction meant to terrify
genre, subgenre, subgenres, genre fiction, genre-bending, cross-genre, film genre