Blog 2: Genres

When thinking of genres my mind definitely first went to the different media genres. I think because our generation is constantly surrounded by technology and multiple outlets of media, we now crave media and the entertainment that comes with it, like TV, music and movies. There are so many different genres of these media outlets, to appeal to all different types of people. Even TV shows and specific genres of music are created for a certain audience, and the producers have to be aware of the genre they are trying to appeal to.

The way Devitt writes about different genres in everyday life got me to reflect on the different genres of communication I use everyday. When communicating with my friends and peers I obviously speak in a more casual tone, using slang.. even cussing more than I should be.. On the other hand, I work in a restaurant and when I am serving in the dining room, or hosting at the front desk, my language genre is very professional. When in the dining room, the customer expects to be wined and dined, so I put on an act of a professional server that has so much knowledge in the food and wine industry.. But in reality, I just turned 21, I can barely taste a difference between wines, and have only been serving for 8 months and barely know all the ingredients in our food.  I also work in the bar for more causal dining, and my way of speaking even changes from the professional dining room server to a different tone. People in the bar come for a more casual dining experience and I can speak in a more casual genre to all my guests. "Good evening and welcome to the Brigantine, My name is Katie and I will be your server. I was wondering if I could offer you a glass of our house pinot noir" turns into "Hey how's it going! My name is Katie. What can I get started for you to drink?" 

I believe that even the appearance and clothes of a person plays a huge role in determining the genre and tone of an interaction. When serving in the dining room my uniform is a white Oxford button up shirt, and in the bar I wear a blue v-neck shirt. Even in the same restaurant, I can use two different genres of serving. Going back to the different genres of music, the appearance of the artist sets the tone for the genre they are appealing to. A rapper would not be wearing a cowboy hat and boots. I feel like stereotypes of different media genres also correlates with the genre awareness of the artists.

I think that Devitt emphasizes such an importance on genre awareness because if a person uses the wrong communication genre in the wrong interaction, two people cannot communicate effectively. I probably would not use the same language that I use with my friends that I would if I was serving a table of 6 old women. 

When writing for school assignments, my writing style is very formal and structured. Writing for educational and professional purposes give off a different genre of writing than a casual Facebook status or text message, I would not write out an email to my professor that I would send a text message to one of my friends! It would be inappropriate and come off as disrespectful and unprofessional. 

Writing and communication genres play a huge role in everyday communication and Amy Devitt proves how important genre awareness and using the correct genre in a situation can be.