Memes, science research papers, and comic strips don't have much in common, except for having their own random generators and being individual genres. After spending some time with all of these generators, I found them highly amusing and amazed at how much randomness can appear. Even though each of these generators produced random science papers or comic strips, they all still had things in common, which I guess is where conventions in genres come in.
Meme images are a new concept in our culture, they have not been around for decades but are extremely popular. These hilarious captions pop up everywhere and anywhere, during award shows, political debates, etc. They could be about anything from politics to celebrities to world hunger, most of the time they are amazingly hilarious, even if they are about serious topics.
An ideal meme is about current cultural events, its witty, entertaining, hilarious (if it can make nearly anyone laugh, it is can up there on best memes). Memes usually contain one to two pictures (that are already known) and two to three short lines that are sort of related to the picture. While I would like to think most people know what a meme is, if you don't, the home page of the generator website gives you tons of examples where you can probably think of your own meme after just a couple of minutes exploring, and it allows you to make a meme with a few easy steps. On the meme generator website, you can choose an image that is commonly used in memes like the Willy Wonka image, the Dos Equis man, or you can upload your own picture of whatever you'd like.
Then, the generator instructs you to insert a top text and a bottom text and that completes your customized meme.
As a result, even if you aren't familiar with memes, this generator shows you some of the conventions in this genre that will allow you to make your own image like a professional.
The random comic generator is especially great because the user does not have to input any information, you can just click a button and read funny comic strips.
The generator produces three squares with drawings of the same two guys have some sort of funny conversation within thought bubbles.
From the random comic generator, I can recognize the conventions within this genre. Comics are separated by different rectangle shapes that contain drawings of characters that are partaking in some type of conversation. They are for people who want to read something that isn't really formal or studios, it's more for relaxing and passing time. The comic strips in the generator are mostly funny, but being amusing is only a convention for comics not a rule.
As someone who has never written or read an official scientific research paper, I found the science generator extremely enlightening. After generating a bunch of "scientific papers" with just imputing names and skimming through a few, I recognized some of the conventions and format for this genre.
Every paper started off with a centered, bold title and the names of the authors, then it is broken into specific sections: summary, introduction, model, etc.
These science papers include different types of graphs called figures with explanations to each and all end with many references.
The science research generator has allowed for someone who has never read a scientific paper because they aren't in a science field and wouldn't have a reason to write or read one, the ability to identify some of the common components within these papers, or the conventions.
Every one of these generators is helpful in revealing the conventions each genre can contain.
Jocelyn,
ReplyDeleteSo you’re a Cheesehead, huh? Could be worse—Molina’s a Cowboys fan. (Unbelievable.)
Re: PB1A, yep, movie reviews are definitely their own distinct genre. This is a smart observation: “Typically, and I say typically because we are talking about conventions here…” Plot summarization, lots of adjectives, a persuasive (or anti) element, looking at the title for clue’s about the author’s stance/attitude—these are all major features of movie reviews. I also appreciate how you incorporated images into this post—make for an even cooler read for me. ☺
Re: PB1B, I like how specific you’re getting here—“Memes usually contain one to two pictures (that are already known) and two to three short lines that are sort of related to the picture.” Also think, though, about what those two lines are doing, i.e., how they’re functioning—it’s almost always a setup and then a punchline. Together, this kind of structure/system gives memes their rhetorical effect.
All told, I appreciate the time’n’energy you’re putting into these blog posts. Your writing is witty and insightful, and the images you’re incorporating are a great addition.
Z
Jocelyn, you did a good job explaining the generators and addressing the "So What? Who cares?" questions we are continually trying to answer. You explained how memes are for a wide audience looking for humor and laughs. I did think that your PB could have included a little more analysis or 1st order thinking. The structure here is good, but I would like to see how the conventions you found for each of the generators taught you something about genres and how they are portrayed and situated in different scenarios. For example, even with a lack of true content, one would recognize the scigen pieces as science papers because of their general structure, tone, and visuals. Also, the Pandyland comics were very random and had almost no conversation development, but they are still considered part of the comic strips genre.
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