What tools help us define genre?

What elements can we refer to when we need to differentiate between genres?

1. Subjects and themes
2. Presentation (in the musical for example – musical = signing + dancing)
3. Emotional effect (horror = fear, comedy = laughter)
4. Genre conventions of narrative and style
5. Plot elements
6. Thematic meanings (example: road movies = on the road, searching for something)
7. Film techniques (dark, light somber, mysterious, or happy, colorful)
8. Genres can also be defined through conventional iconography (recurring symbolic images that carry meaning from film to film, ie the cars in the old gangster movies, the space ships in Sci-Fi, the suits in Film Noir. Actors can also work as icons like Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger = action movies)
9. Elements of its form like costumes, music, etc.

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