Understanding Genres Response

In my past education endeavors, I never stopped to understand the depth of the term “genre.” I always assumed that genre was a simple term, merely used to categorize songs, films, or other media into specific groups. However, Chapter One in the Bedford Book of Genres proved my past inklings of the understanding of genres to be correct, but not complete. I never realized how expansive the term “genre” could be and how specific it can be. There happens to be a lot of thought and consideration that goes into defining a piece of work into a specific genre, such as the rhetorical situation and ethos, pathos, and logos. You have to consider your purpose for your work as well as how to convey your work properly to the correct audience, all while trying to persuade your audience, even if one is not aware of it. Then, it can break down even more into what style you want to convey your work on and the conventions of that style. Constructing a piece of work into a specific genre isn't as “cut and paste” as I initially thought it to be. I also never realized how “manipulative” those writing for a specific genre can be. As explained in the rhetorical appeals section of the chapter, everyone is constructing their work to try and persuade an audience, even if they don’t realize it consciously. This can be seen in Shaan Hurley’s blog, for example. He uses the Pathos appeal of emotional, and almost personified, magical qualities of the park to make the audience view it as more than just a park. The use of pictures and other media is used to draw in the correct audience of nature lovers to read and be persuaded by the blog. 

I didn't anticipate genre to have such a broad definition rather than just a categorization tool. It was interesting to learn about and I look forward to see what this lesson will help us with in our future projects.