It's possible you are thinking of:
* Genre: A category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter.
* Meta-genre: A genre that draws on and comments on other genres. For example, a meta-comedy film might be a comedy that makes fun of the tropes of other comedies.
* Genre theory: A branch of literary theory that explores the nature of genres and their role in literature and culture.
If you could provide more context or information, I might be able to help you better understand what you are looking for.