Journal 4 - 387 words

According to Wysocki (who I feel I relate to the most about composition), genres relate to what the audience is expecting/ what may be popular at a certain time. There is no distinct rule in what exactly a genre is because it is based solely on social circumstances. For example, I would compose something about an issue or situation that is going on that affects people socially because it is recent and would appeal to the audience. Genre is all about understanding whom you would expect to read your work. To understand exactly what a genre is, Wysocki explains that we must first name the visual elements, and then name the design relationships among those elements. After we do these two things we can look at and digest how these different relations connect with the audience and how they are reading it. Each of these design aspects can relate to people in different ways based on their experiences and how they interpret certain things. This is an important key element to note because you need to keep your audience in mind on how they may perceive things.

When looking at the circulation of a piece of work it is important to note whom the work was done by as well as what it is about. Current event pieces such as news articles, whether they are digital or print, normally circulate quickly within a large audience because everyone wants to stay up to date on what is going on around them. Looking at texts such as books could go either way. If a book/ book series is more culturally known it will circulate faster than one who may have been written by a first time novelist regardless of the genre. For example, the “Harry Potter“ series are known and recognizable by everyone whether you’ve read them or not. It is a famous series because it is something that my generation has grown up around and is still continuing today. Noticing these things can help with circulation, if you are familiar with an author or composer you might be prone to read their work more often, especially if you feel as if you relate. This is something that can help us understand genre because you want your audience to feel connected and like they are a part of something.