Blog Post #7

After reading Chandler's "Genre Theory" I am aware that there are several similarities between multi-modality and genre. As defined in the text, a genre is a "typical form of text which links kinds of producer, consumer, topic, medium, manner and occasion". In relation to multi-modality, the use of multiple modes acts as a form of communication which links together a medium and its audience. Modes and genres tend to link parts of a medium together. The article also mentions how genres tend to be seen to "constrain and inhibit authorial creativity", which I found interesting because as I was creating my remediation I felt as though the modes I had to use to appeal to my audience were characterized by the message I was trying to provide. Because my genealogy essay was remediated into a newspaper I had to work with certain modes, such as color, images, and text, whereas the use of a mode such as video or sound would not have fit the medium. In essence, the medium and modes I decided to use "constrained" the ways I was able to give my audience the information I wanted to share. In relation to genre, an author must stick to the characteristics of a genre they choose to portray, as including honor scenes in a comedy would be entirely out of place. Like modes, genres are essentially used to clarify what the author or creator is trying to portray to his/her audience.

Another aspect of Chandler's article that demonstrated a clear relation between genres and modes was the idea that "genres are not simply features of texts, but are mediating frameworks between texts, makers, and interpreters...genre makes possible the communication of content". Like the use of genres, the use of multiple modes in collaboration mediate between the text or medium being provided and the audience it is being provided to. In my remediation the modes of color, paper-type and materials, headings, and images mediate the newspaper medium to the target audience to give the audience an idea of what type of information would be included in the work.

Chandler's discussion of the textual features of genres in the context of film and television from Appendix 2 show another relation to multi-modality. The use of multiple modes within a medium helps an author send a more effective message, whereas the use of multiple textual features within a genre helps a filmmaker or producer send a message alike. The modes of color, paper-type, headings, images, text, and font allowed me to send the message to my audience that it would be reading a newspaper about the genealogy of the rose flower. The textural features of a genre, such as narrative, characterization, theme, setting, iconography, and filmic techniques also inform the audience of what type of genre they are viewing. Creators of work with genres and multi-modality must pay attention to 'mode of address' because the ways they accommodate to their audience will help deliver their message in a clear and effective way.