Hybrid genre

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A hybrid genre is a literary or film genre that blends themes and elements from two or more different genres. Hybrid genre works are also referred to as cross-genre, multi-genre, mixed genre, or fusion genre. Some hybrid genres have acquired their own specialised names, such as comedy drama ("dramedy"), romantic comedy ("rom-com"), horror Western, and docudrama.

Contents

A Dictionary of Media and Communication describes hybrid genre as "the combination of two or more genres", which may combine elements of more than one genre and/or which may "cut across categories such as fact and fiction". [1]

Hybrid genres are a longstanding element in the fictional process. An early literature example is William Blake's Marriage of Heaven and Hell , with its blend of poetry, prose, and engravings. [2] In cinema, the merging of two or more separate genres attracts a broader range of audience type. [3] [4]

Examples

Literature

In contemporary literature, Dimitris Lyacos's trilogy Poena Damni combines fictional prose with drama and poetry in a multilayered narrative developing through the different characters of the work. [5]

Many contemporary women of color have published cross-genre works, including Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Giannina Braschi, Guadalupe Nettel, and Bhanu Kapil. [6] Giannina Braschi creates linguistic and structural hybrids of comic fantasy and tragic comedy in Spanish, Spanglish, and English prose and poetry. [7] [8] Carmen Maria Machado mixes psychological realism and science fiction with both humor and elements of gothic horror. [9]

Dean Koontz considers himself a cross-genre writer, not a horror writer: "I write cross-genre books-suspense mixed with love story, with humor, sometimes with two tablespoons of science fiction, sometimes with a pinch of horror, sometimes with a sprinkle of paprika..." [10]

Film

Examples of hybrid genre films include:

TV series

List of named hybrid genres

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Chandler, Daniel; Munday, Rod (2020). "hybrid genre". A Dictionary of Media and Communication (3rd ed.). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0198841838 . Retrieved 21 July 2023 via Oxford Reference.
  2. M. Singer/W. Walker, Bending Genre (2013) p. 21-2
  3. Aldredge, Jourdan (29 August 2022). "A Guide to the Basic Film Genres (and How to Use Them)". PremiumBeat. Shutterstock . Retrieved 3 December 2024.
  4. "The Psychology of Jumping Genres: Why Audiences Love Hybrid Films". Stylesphere Source. 8 May 2024. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
  5. "Reviews: Z213: Exit by Dimitris Lyacos". Write From Wrong Literary Magazine. Writefromwrongmag.wordpress.com. 14 March 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  6. "How I Learned To Love Experimental Fiction As A Brown Girl By Seeking Out Books By Women Of Color". Bustle. 25 January 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  7. ""What to Read Now: Mixed-Genre Literature," Giannina Braschi". World Literature Today. 6 August 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  8. Marting, Diane E. (2010). "New/Nueva York in Giannina Braschi's "Poetic Egg": Fragile Identity, Postmodernism, and Globalization" . The Global South. 4 (1): 167–182. doi:10.2979/gso.2010.4.1.167. ISSN   1932-8648. JSTOR   10.2979/gso.2010.4.1.167.
  9. "13 Latina Fantasy Books For the Sci-Fi Lover in Your Life". Fierce. 9 January 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  10. Koontz, Dean. "Afterword", Lightning, G.P. Putnam's Sons hardcover edition, January 1988. Berkley Publishing Group, mass market edition, May 1989. p. 360
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tibbs, Ros (4 August 2022). "10 essential films that define genre-hybridity". Far Out . Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  12. Ding, Kevin (13 July 2017). "The 20 Best Genre-Hybrid Movies of The 21st Century (1)". Taste of Cinema. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  13. 1 2 Ding, Kevin (13 July 2017). "The 20 Best Genre-Hybrid Movies of The 21st Century (3)". Taste of Cinema. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  14. 1 2 Ding, Kevin (13 July 2017). "The 20 Best Genre-Hybrid Movies of The 21st Century (2)". Taste of Cinema. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  15. "Bones and All review: Timothée Chalamet turns cannibal in gruesome love story". Dexerto. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  16. "'Sinners' Is a Black Musical". Autostraddle. 24 April 2025. Archived from the original on 29 April 2025. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  17. Thompson, Paul A. (22 April 2025). "Sinners Review: Finally, A Transcendental Southern Gothic Vampire Musical Blockbuster". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  18. VanDerWerff, Todd. "The Lost Interviews". Vox . Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  19. "When crime meets fantasy in fiction". the Guardian. 15 May 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2022.

Further reading