Criteria(分类标准） Generic categories are generally defined on the basis of subject matter, formal properties（属性）, style or affective response. subject matter：The science fiction and gangster genres, for example, are defined primarily on the basis of their subject matter: We expect science fiction to immerse us in an imaginary futuristic (未来主义的）world，and we expect the gangster film to tell the story of a gangster. formal properties： Action films and musicals, on the other hand, are distinguishable on account of certain necessary formal qualities: action set-pieces(固定套路） in the case of the former, and song and dance routines for the latter.
Action
Musical Formal Criteria
Presence of action set-pieces
Presence of song and dance performances
Blockbuster Style Film Noir
Comedy Horror Thriller
Spectacular events Chiaroscuro (明暗对照法) lighting and dark mise-en-scène（<法语>场景调度）
Affective Intended to generate laughter Response Intended to horrify Intended to thrill
Romance
Romance films are love stories, or affairs of the heart that center on passion, emotion, and the romantic, affectionate involvement of the main characters (usually a leading man and lady), and the journey that their love takes through courtship( 求爱) or marriage. (The Sound of Music) Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus. Oftentimes, lovers in screen romances face obstacles and the hazards(冒险) of hardship,（Twilight ） finances （Titanic）, physical illness（The Fault in Our Stars ） , racial or social class status （Shakespeare in Love, Jane Eyre occupation (Roman Holiday), psychological restraints(Brokeback Mountain), or family that threaten to break their union and attainment of love (Romeo and Juliet). As in all romantic relationships, tensions of day-to-day life (American Beauty， Revolutionary Road), temptations（The Bridge of Madison County ,The Piano） and differences in compatibility (兼容性) enter into the plots of romantic films.
Subject Matter
Gangsters in urban America Specific military conflicts Futuristic technologies/future worlds Impossible worlds/fantastical characters
Western Disaster
Western
Musical
Comedy- comedian comedy
v
War- Vietnam war
Horror and science fiction seem relatively unproblematic, if one ignores the fact that their edges are blurred and it is sometimes difficult —as in the case of the Alien《异形》 series—to say which is which. The blockbuster may, as some critics are increasingly willing to argue, constitute a new genre, or may instead constitute a mode of post-industrial production. Social drama，is a category that has been used by the industry, but less commonly in the academic community.
Genre
Defining Criteria
Differentiating Criteria
Serious social topic Romantic relationship between lovers
Social drama Romance Gangster War Film Science Fiction Fantasy
ቤተ መጻሕፍቲ ባይዱ
For example, The silence of the Lambs《沉默的羔羊》 could be viewed as both a horror film and a thriller. The Matrix(《骇客帝国》)，although analyzed here as a ―blockbuster‖, could also be classified as an action film or alternatively as science fiction; The English Patient《英 国病人》)is a romance, but as it is set against the backdrop(背景)of the Second World War, it could also be seen as a variant(变体) of the war film; 2001,A Space Odyssey(《2001：漫游太空》)is science fiction, but delivered with a grandiosity(壮观) more commonly associated with epic(史诗). This reflects the way that filmmakers and audiences in practice use the concept of genre—as a loose , flexible, and overlapping system.
Categorization of genres
From Appreciating Cinema (9-11)
Categorization of genres
Much academic ink has been wasted in the fruitless(徒劳的) attempt to give a definitive list of the Hollywood genres. Both the Western and the musical constitute well-defined genres, the former is now basically extinct ,and the latter very nearly so. Comedy and the war film —two enduringly popular forms —are problematized by prominent subgenres (e.g. comedian comedy/Vietnam war films) and generic hybrids (混合物) e.g. romantic comedy）. The gangster film (reflects gangdom黑社会) seems to qualify as a genre on the grounds of its relatively predictable structure a subgenre of the crime film.
Crime Epic
American West Natural or man-made catastrophe
Criminal activities and investigation Biblical(有关圣经的）or ancient history