Navigating Genres
I felt the essay “Navigating
Genres” was a complex yet eye opening read. The author, Dirk, explained how
different genres could range from country music to even research papers. This
took me by surprise considering I felt genres were strictly for different types
of books or television shows. When she started describing how social media was
its own genre, I was intrigued. Dirk did a great job connecting to her audience
because she touched on subjects that students are interested in.
What I appreciated most throughout the essay
was the amount of examples she included. This allowed me to follow along with
the complex points Dirk was making and really understand what she was trying to
get across. My favorite example given was the line, “I imagine that you would
probably not share a risqué joke with your mom, send a “Hey Buddy” email to
your professor, or update your Facebook status as “X” has a huge wart on his
foot.” These were clearly relatable and humorous situations that nobody would
do, and it is simply because of genre. Writing would be more complicated if it wasn’t for guidelines and previous examples from specific genres. I never realized how much genre has a
role in so many aspects of my life and this class is really bringing attention
to it.
At first I was dreading reading the
fifteen-page essay, but in the end was happy I read it. It made me realize how
much genre comes into play in our everyday lives and how different it would be
without it. As I am sure I speak for the
rest of the class, songs and social media are a large part of our daily lives
and entertainment. Without genre, these outlets would not be the same. Overall,
a good and interesting read!
I completely agree about not originally being excited to read such a long passage. But after reading it, I too was very happy that I did. I thought the many examples and "relatable scenarios" she used helped make the topic a lot more approachable and easier to tackle. I think this is true because when we relate difficult things to everyday conversations or actions, they make a lot more sense to us.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same as both of you not so exited about reading a very long passage. Also after reading it I also found it to be very helpful and it was well worth the read. I did also enjoy your facebooked email example.
ReplyDeleteHi Jordan
ReplyDeleteThe text is indeed great at providing several examples so that we can understand it better. I'm glad you enjoyed the text regardless of it being lengthy. Most college-level readings are long and not always enjoyable, unfortunately.