he word "genre" itself is older than your grandma's record player, dating back to ancient Greece where it meant "kind" or "class" of art. But how did it jump onto the silver screen? Back in the silent era, movies were like silent discos – everyone knew the moves, but there weren't many words. To tell stories, they relied on visual clues and recurring themes. Think cowboys and saloons in Westerns, or pratfalls and pie fights in comedies. These became the building blocks of the genres we know and love today.