Understanding film genre

Genre is a quite an abstract concept and it is easiest to explain with examples. Sone common genres include western, film noir, horror, love stories, comedies, bio-pics, rites of passages, science fiction, war film and etc.

Each of them has its own characteristics so it is easy to realize which of them it is.

For example, in horror genre the central character is usually a victim, religion and belief are significant, conflict is often between good and evil, children are usually significant and have special powers or insight and the location is usually very important.

Thriller is a broad genre of literature, film, and television programming that uses suspense, tension and excitement as its main elements. Thrillers heavily stimulate the viewer's moods, giving them a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, surprise, anxiety and/or terror. Films of this genre tend to be adrenaline-rushing, gritty, rousing and fast-paced.

A thriller provides the sudden rush of emotions, excitement, and exhilaration that drive the narrative, sometimes subtly with peaks and lulls, sometimes at a constant, breakneck pace. It keeps the audience on the "edge of their seats", akin to a sensation of hanging from a cliff, as the plot builds towards a climax. Literary devices such as red herrings, plot twists and cliffhangers are used extensively. A thriller is usually a villain-driven plot, whereby he or she presents obstacles that the protagonist must overcome.

Common subgenres are psychological thrillers, crime thrillers, erotic thrillers and mystery thrillers. Another common subgenre of thriller is thespy genre which deals with fictional espionage. Successful examples of thrillers are the films of Alfred Hitchcock. The horror and action genres often overlap with the thriller. Thrillers tend to be psychological, threatening, mysterious and at times involve larger-scale villainy such asespionage, terrorism and conspiracy.

Here is an extract from Alfred Hitchcock movie "Birds".