Genres

Genres are a classification of art or creative work. Some genres have formal criteria that must be met, while others are more open to interpretation.

Genres can be classified by:


 * The content of the work.
 * Its general artistic style, which may also reflect on other aspects such as gender roles and cultural backgrounds. Music genres are often divided into subgenres that represent a style based around one instrument or a type of song.
 * The geographic origin of that genre, such as regionality and ethnicity.
 * Its popularity (or lack thereof) in society at large.

Types of genres
Throughout every type of popular medium of entertainment, genres can generally be categorized into three groups.

Music Genres

Music genres are a classification of music style. You can find these in:


 * Music, in general
 * Anything with a score or soundtrack, such as film, television, and video games

Narrative Genres

Narrative genres are the types of stories told, or narrative modes. You can find these in any medium that has a plot, such as:


 * Film
 * Television
 * Literature or any print media
 * Video games (for the most part)

Gameplay Genres

Gameplay genres are types of games, and are classified by the player's goal or motivation. You can find these in:


 * Any type of game, but these ones usually refer to video games (the only popular medium to have all three)

Evolution of genres
An import part of this wiki is examining how each genre evolves throughout the years. This is why each genre is divided into smaller subgenres, styles, or movements - each subgenre will, for the most part, have a decade(s) it was most popular, or was most associated with. For example, Disco, a subgenre of R&B music, will be categorized as having peak popularity in the 1970s.

Numerous factors will be taken into account to determine a subgenre's peak popularity.