"Genre" films.

[FordSVT]

Regarding the recent trend of people using the word "genre" as synonymous with "sci-fi/fantasy".

Up until recently, I had only heard the word "genre" used when attached to another word: action, comedy, romance, etc.

From Merriam-Webster: "a category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content".

Google the word "genre" and you will find several hundred movie sites that arrange their categories by genre. Note that they are not links to sci-fi sites.

Please, stop saying "genre films" or "genre TV shows" when you mean "sci-fi genre".

And before anyone brings it up, this is not a case of "common usage" being the determinate of a definition. This is not common usage, this is a few stupid people who don't know the language.

And yes, this was prompted by the "non-genre action movie" thread. The title made my brain hurt.

 

[Hermiod]

Well, this is a board for a Sci-Fi show so I always understand what people mean.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

The practice of referring to SFF films and television as "genre" films and TV isn't recent. It's been going on for ages. It is incorrect usage, but it's pretty widespread and ingrained at this point.

 

[Paxil]

I agree. This is a stupid and incorrect use of the word and it drives me crazy.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

"Genre" is shorthand around here for sci fi and fantasy together.

Suits me just fine, even if it's a term that's only understood around here.

 

[FordSVT]

And when my two year old nephew tries to construct a sentence I usually know what he means, but I'd hope no one would use his grammar as a template of how to speak the English language and pronunciation.

Replace the word "genre" with "category" and tell me if any one of you would dare use the word in this manner. And in this case the misuse of the word is actually ironic which makes it even worse.

I still maintain that anyone who uses genre in this manner is an idiot, and those who approve and tolerate it are tolerating blatant stupidity because they're lazy.

 

[Jack Bauer]

The practice of referring to SFF films and television as "genre" films and TV isn't recent. It's been going on for ages. It is incorrect usage, but it's pretty widespread and ingrained at this point.

I wonder how the misuse of the word got started.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

In the publishing industry the word "genre" is also used in a manner that differs from the dictionary definition. Strictly (and correctly) speaking every novel belongs to a genre, but that's not the case in publishing industry parlance. "Genre novels" are commercial novels that fall into one of the major, easily defined genres: science fiction, fantasy, romance, crime, mystery, horror, adventure, western.

What are termed to be "genre novels" are distinct from what are called "literary novels" (novels which are seen to be more about the artistry of their use of language and characterization). So, for example, Cold Mountain is called a literary novel and wouldn't be called a genre novel, even though one can of course ascribe a genre to it, as one can with any novel.

At some point many of the SFF magazines and fanzines, and the SFF community in general, started using "genre" even more narrowly than the publishing industry and applying it to just science fiction, fantasy and horror. In my experience this has been going on for at least a decade, and perhaps quite a bit longer.

 

[Starbreaker]

I'm not stupid because I use the word "genre". It's been shorthand for science-fiction & fantasy on this board since the beginning and it's not confusing when someone else uses it, I imagine. Maybe you just need to let it slide?

I get pissed off every time I read a post that says "I need to loose weight" or "You are a looser", but I understand what someone is talking about.

 

[FordSVT]

In the publishing industry the word "genre" is also used in a manner that differs from the dictionary definition. Strictly (and correctly) speaking every novel belongs to a genre, but that's not the case in publishing industry parlance. "Genre novels" are commercial novels that fall into one of the major, easily defined genres: science fiction, fantasy, romance, crime, mystery, horror, adventure, western.

What are termed to be "genre novels" are distinct from what are called "literary novels" (novels which are seen to be more about the artistry of their use of language and characterization). So, for example, Cold Mountain is called a literary novel and wouldn't be called a genre novel, even though one can of course ascribe a genre to it, as one can with any novel.

But that still falls within the definition because they're still talking about classifications of novels. The point is that a genre novel is easily classified into a variety of categories. Sci-fi is a genre, not the genre. Now one could say " genre" or "the genre" or "this genre" when they've already established what genre they're talking about, but taken with no context or as the title of a thread is pretty poor usage, IMO.

At some point many of the SFF magazines and fanzines, and the SFF community in general, started using "genre" even more narrowly than the publishing industry and applying it to just science fiction, fantasy and horror. In my experience this has been going on for at least a decade, and perhaps quite a bit longer.

Then a decade ago, someone decided to be an idiot. Doesn't make them right, just too cheap to pay for ink.

 

[Paxil]

Its bad enough when science fiction and fantasy are shoe-horned into the same "genre".

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

But that still falls within the definition because they're still talking about classifications of novels. The point is that a genre novel is easily classified into a variety of categories.

Not exactly, no. If a publisher was holding a Louis L'Amour western in one hand and Cold Mountain in the other he would say, "This, the Louis L'Amour novel, is a genre novel, and this, Cold Mountain, isn't." That's not strictly correct usage of "genre" under the dictionary definition.

 

[Captain Craig]

I get what the OP is saying.
Its like "urban" has come to mean black/african-american
Gay is homosexual and not just a bubbly happy person.

Words get co-opted and misused.
Genre is just the latest and it will not be the last.

 

[Paxil]

The difference is, those are well known terms with the general public. I have never seen this one used anywhere but here.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

The difference is, those are well known terms with the general public. I have never seen this one used anywhere but here.

I've seen it used in a lot of places. I'm not saying it's correct usage - it isn't. But when a term enters common parlance, as annoyed as a stickler might get, there's not much to be done about it. People aren't going to stop using it.

 

[Jack Bauer]

The difference is, those are well known terms with the general public. I have never seen this one used anywhere but here.

I've seen it used in magazines like Starlog which cover sci-fi/fantasy and horror movies.

 

[Paxil]

when a term enters common parlance

I'd bet this one never will. I sure hope not.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

when a term enters common parlance

I'd bet this one never will. I sure hope not.

It won't enter common parlance amongst the general public, but it's already common parlance in much of the SFF community. I've even seen an SFF author, although I forget which one, comment on it, making much the same point as the OP, albeit with more wry humor than annoyance.

 

[Daedalus12]

when a term enters common parlance

I'd bet this one never will. I sure hope not.

If frak can enter the vernacular then I bet this one will also. The former is infinitely more annoying.

 

[Spot's Meow]

I find this incredibly annoying as well. I've only seen it here and it confused me for a long while. The "genre babe" or "genre hunk" threads made no sense, or I thought they might do babes/hunks from a different genre each week. Substituting genre for scifi/fantasy just doesn't make sense and is one of those things I really can't stand reading.