The Shifting Definitions of Genre
Geraghty, Lincoln / Jancovich, Mark
Histories of science fiction often dicuss Fritz Lang's Metropolis as a classic work within the genre-yet the term "science fiction" had not been invented at the time of the film's release. If the genre did not have a name, did it exist? Does retroactive assignment to a genre change our understanding of a film? Do films shift in meaning and status as the name of a genre changes meaning over time? These provocative questions are at the heart of ...