Navigating Genre
I liked how Kerry Dirk explained that when something new occurs or someone creates something completely new or different, other people use that first occurrence or creation as a basis for their next creation and then every subsequent creation after that is based on what came before it. This explanation really helps me understand the meaning of genre other than just a type of book or movie or tv show, which is how I previoiusly thought of the word. This also helps me understand how genres can develop with time, and aren't just a category set in stone. Genres help us know how to act in certain situations and can help us accomplish goals. I liked the example of how you act differently when you are in a job interview than when you are telling a joke to your friends. This is because you know certain social standards from people who have had job interviews before or people who have told jokes in a casual setting before.
I love that you focused on Kerry Dirk's explanation about how genres differ based on the specific situation and audience, because this is something I've always had trouble doing in writing. Gearing discussions to a certain audience or formality is difficult, and I love the idea of thinking of it as different verbal conversations with different people because it truly is the same thing. Her bringing up this point is definitely going to help guide my writing the next time I have to decide on the specifics of the genre. I'm just going to think of it as a conversation!
ReplyDeleteI personally also was a fan of how Dirk explained how when something new occurs other people use it as a basis to create a new genre. It was a simple yet elegant way to explain how new genres are made and is easy to wrap your head around when you still think of genres only as fiction, non-fiction, fantasy, etc. Using different genres in different situations is something I've never thought about due to how I used to think about genre, but it certainly makes sense with this expanded definition of genre. I'm glad you mentioned the social standards that influence what genres you need to use when facing different situations, as that has a huge impact on what genre you use when responding to a situation. Overall, good post!
ReplyDeleteHi Dana
ReplyDeleteYou're absolutely right when you say that everyday we act according to our knowledge of genres. I'm happy that the examples of the text helped you understand genre better.