Journal 1: Genre

Genre

              As a student, I have been familiar with multiple different genres, including classrooms, friend groups, and study groups. Each setting can be considered a genre, because each setting conveys to me, the student, that I should be acting in a certain way. For example, in the genre of a classroom, I would not be acting the same as if I were with my friend group. In a classroom, I would try to be quiet, focus on the instructor, and work diligently on the subject material for that class only. It would be unexpected of me to start acting how I would with close friends; that is, I would not be constantly talking, laughing, and sharing stories with classmates. In a study room, this would be even more impolite. I would be completely silent and never talk at all while working on material from each of my classes, rather than one specific topic like in the classroom. 

             In Kerry Dirk's "Navigating Genres," he mentions that "recurring situations" are what forms a genre. Dirk is emphasizing the fact that genres must be created and shaped over time, and are not created from the very first instance of that particular genre. To identify a genre, there must be multiple instances of people reacting to that certain genre. That is the way to determine what is that genre and what isn't. If I were to be watching a "horror" movie that did not invoke any fear in me, then would it even be considered a horror movie? No, because horror movies are identified because of the reactions of the people watching the film. If I was not afraid of the movie, then it should be considered something other than horror. This is what Dirk is trying to convey when he talks about "recurring situations."