Uptake Post 3 :]

 I'm gonna be completely honest...

I feel like before this class, I had a very good grasp of what the word genre meant.

It is simply a form of categorization of media...right?

Well...kind of 

when you think of the word genre, you specifically think of literature or movies or music

but if I told you that "genre" wasn't just limited to those things, but it is a spectrum of the forms of literature, symbols, and many other types of media we consume regularly, would you think I'm crazy?

I mean, heck, I thought it was crazy when we talked about it in class, it is at least a little crazy, but as I think about it more, it really starts to make sense.

As I have learned more throughout this class and put my antecedent knowledge of genre behind me, it has given me a new understanding of what genre truly is, and how the world thrives off of literacy.

To put it simply, I would say genre is any form of media that serves a purpose, such as a map, a menu, a street sign, or even a stupid meme online for that matter. It is all a genre in its own right. 

The reality is, we interact with genres on a daily basis. I mean, seriously, they help us to navigate life and even decide right from wrong.

That sign in the movie theater telling you "hey! put your phone away you attention deficit freak of nature!" Well...It sets the standard for the environment, and as good abiding citizens, we conform to this genre. We conform to the purpose it serves. 

Or, even those Pokémon cards you collected as a kid but inevitably shoved in a box and stored under your bed...even those are a genre! They serve a purpose! I mean, maybe not anymore, but they once were the height of excitement in your childhood, the feeling of possessing that one rare card, it just couldn't be beat.

This is what genre is, it is personalized and it is flexible, and overall it is a part of anything and everything you can think of.