Journal 4

In the past, when I thought of genres, I thought of the different playlists that I scroll through on Spotify, or the suggestions Netflix gives me based on my previously watched shows, and most pertinently the various types of story lines I’d read in fiction tales and the facts I’d learned in nonfiction books. However, after taking this class, I’ve come to realize that genres are much more complex than just a category or classification. Genre can be broken down to the tiniest thing—the colors used on a website, the font, the amount of white space, the medium used to convey information—and thus, completely alters the way we create and read texts. For instance, the way I read Romeo and Juliet, tears streaming as Juliet weeps over her lost love, and the way I read the political rants and odes to late dogs on my Facebook feed are very different. They are different genres.

            The audience receiving the medium of information play the biggest role in how we read and compose certain genres. For instance, when writing an academic paper, I try and use the biggest words I know how to use and go into great detail to explain my point. I know my professors are far more intelligent than I am on the subject, but will appreciate my effort to understand the subjects as well. I am appealing to my audience. On the other hand, when I’m typing up a tweet in 140 characters or less, I do not care about my grammar or the use of big words. I’m all about getting those favorites on my funny tweets about the mess that is my life. My audience on twitter is a bunch of college kids who can relate to what I’m going through, so I try to appeal to them and what they will think is funny and relevant.

            Genre choice has a huge impact on circulation and distribution processes. If we take it back to when the first printing press was created and the first novels were being bound, distribution was as high as ever. However, books now are decreasing in popularity with the efficiency and portability of e-readers, phones, and laptops. Circulation and distribution on new-age technology is much easier, tipping tangible books to the way side. The same goes for newspapers, which can now be read online, and textbooks, which all have online versions.