John Martinez Navigating Genres Response
When it comes to genre, the first thing I think of is the stereotypical meaning it possesses, along with the commonly known genres for media. I think of things like fiction, non-fiction, mystery, horror, fantasy, and more when I hear the word genre, because of dor the longest time that is what genre meant to me. Reading this article has let me change my position on what genre means to a wider, more encompassing definition. According to the author, new genres are born out of the necessity for a response to something new. The example that Dirk gives is Washington's first state of the union address, which required a new format entirely in comparison to other situations. Washington had entirely free reign to format this genre how he wanted and how he went about this set a template that all presidents follow to this day when giving a state of the union speech. For people, they subconsciously choose the genre they respond in depending on the situation they are in. If someone texts you, a proper response would be to text back in a genre that reflects your response. Personally, I had never thought about it that way, with the genre being how I responded to a rhetorical situation presented to me. Another thing that was new to me was in regards to rules when it comes to genre or the difference they have. I hadn't before considered that different genres such as texting and posting stuff online would have different rules when it came to it, but it certainly makes a lot of sense to me when I think about it. Social media seems to have had a profound impact on the genre as a whole, with countless situations that require people to modify genres to fit in order to properly respond. These genres can range from anything like text messages from friends to memes a person posts online on a spam account. While at first, I didn't agree with this expanded idea of genres, after reading this article, I can say for certain I am definitely questioning what genre means to me as a whole and how to apply this to myself as a writer.
I feel the same way about the expanded definition of genres. It makes me question my whole life honestly and I don't know how to feel about that. I didn't think of my everyday speech and texting and stuff as all different genres but now I think I will be more conscious of the changes between the different people I interact with.
ReplyDeleteI'm seriously questioning what things can be considered genres now in my daily life as well. I never really saw it that way either but this article changed my mind too. I think there are a lot of things that we don't really think about but are still aware of, so reading this makes me want to try to become more aware of how much I really use a variety of genres.
ReplyDeleteI feel like when we were younger we were made to understand genre as something black and white and set in stone but with all the reading we have done on genres I definitely see it in a new light. I feel like there is so much that goes into genre, about the text message thing I would think of me sending a text in a certain way because of who it was intended for (my audience) i never thought to factor genre into the equation. I agree with the social media having a profound effect on genre because it opens the door to so many new things and possibilities.
ReplyDeleteHi John
ReplyDeleteYou're absolutely right when you say that we act in our everyday lives according to the genres that surround us, and that genres are not limited to written texts. I'm glad this text made you think how you apply genres to your writing. This awareness can make you realize better which strategies would work more properly in a given assignment.