In genre studies, a coming-of-age story is a genre of literature and film that focuses on the growth of a protagonist from youth to adulthood ("coming of age"). Coming-of-age stories tend to emphasize dialogue or internal monologue over action, and are often set in the past. The subjects of coming-of-age stories are typically teenagers. The bildungsroman is a specific subgenre of coming-of-age story. It is especially prominent in literature and focuses on the protagonist's psychological and moral growth, and thus character change is extremely important.