The Thlog

The topic of this first week of class has been genres. Of course I knew that genres were everywhere, but I hadn’t associated them with much else other than music, books, and movies. Shockingly, I’d never actually bothered to look up the definition of genre. The term is much broader than I’d imagined. A genre, in the way that I now understand it, is any work that follows social conventions that are expected of a certain topic or way of writing.

Take, for example, a Thank You card. Whether you are thanking someone for a gift, their help in some way, or their presence at an event, the content of the card is simple and familiar. You begin with a greeting, followed by an expression of gratitude, and then you sign the card: “Dear Mr. Smith, Thank you so much for healing my leg. It is so much better know, and I have full use of it! Thank you again, Susie.” That was obviously a simple example and is nowhere near as heartfelt as most Thank You cards are, but it fits the genre.

                Nearly everything you think of can fit into a genre. Food wrappers are a genre; Brand name, flavor/product, sell by date, nutrition information. Music obviously has different genres and each song is categorized into a genre by certain characteristics that is possesses. Everything is defined by its characteristics and that allows us to have genres. We make certain associations between genres and their most prominent characteristics. If you watch a comedy, you expect it to make you laugh. If you watch an action movie, you plan to be on the edge of your seat during parts of the movie.

                Genres are everywhere and in everything. They provide outlines for those who wish to contribute to the genre. Genres are also flexible in that you can retain a few characteristics of one popular genre and combine them with another and create an entirely new genre, like a romantic comedy.