Genericity Elasticity: changing boundaries of genres

Abstract

Genres are flexible context. The stable set of characters, settings and themes can change overtime or genres can incorporate new elements which can belong to completely different genres. This fluidity of genre borders and genre hybridisation questions the tenability of the concept of genres. By observing several genre definitions and how the appropriate flexibility, the western genre shall be assessed to see how this genre copes with changes. The western is one of the oldest genres and has seen many iterations. This paper will assess why genres can be flexible by looking at genre definitions, how genres can be flexible by looking at cyclical production patterns, what makes genre films flexible by analysing specific western films and who decides what makes genre flexible by looking at pragmatic uses of the genre.