PB1B

Genre generator websites automatically create words and/or pictures within the genre category with fixed conventions.  They are helpful in understanding the usefulness of conventions within a genre.  When asked the question, what makes a genre a genre, conventions are used to describe what is normally associated with that specific genre.  As one cycles through these random generators, more and more conventions of a similar type are presented and allows the audience to understand the genre better.

The SCIgen genre generator created computer science research papers, probably used in an academic or research environment.   These papers are usually intended to be turned into a conference and read by those in the computer science field.  Each research paper is structured neatly so that it shows an introduction to present the theory or discovery, analysis and specifics, and data and graphs to display the results.  They are also very presentable, with a long list of references of each one and creative titles that directly correlate to the work that is described in each paper.  Interesting and scholarly-sounding titles such as NoonQuet: Simulation of DNS or PANIM: Wireless Epistemologies suggest that the writer must have been intelligent and that the rest of the work must be of good quality.  But to the surprise of the intended reader, these articles that are randomly generated are bogus and are to be submitted to conferences of low-submissions standards, as stated on the website.

The random comic generator was my favorite.  Each comic strip was comical and a contrast to the generated examples from SCIgen.  The drawings were one of the main reasons why the comics lightened the mood.  Each character, which were the two same boys every time, was sketched in a non-realistic way.  For example, they were very simply drawn, and their huge eyes popped out in a hilarious fashion.  The dialogue from person to person is funny and their actions are like that of two dumb kids in a comedy cartoon inappropriate for little kids. The comic-like way the dialogue is presented in word bubbles makes this genre different from any picture book.  This gives it a more relaxed feel to reading, and it makes it easier to know who is speaking.  My assessment from these conventions from the random comic generator are that comics are an easy to read, comedic style of genre.

The meme generator is also another comedic genre.   Similar to that of the comic strips, this genre is intended for a younger audience to generate laughs.  But memes were not created that long ago, so this genre is common among the newer generation who consider social media to be a big part of their life.  Each generated meme has a humorous picture complemented by funny text.  It often makes fun of something, and this form of satirical genre is spread throughout social networking websites.  The pictures used are either real or a cartoon, and the descriptions, usually very short, are written in bold.   This makes it so that the memes are short and simple, and easy to read.  More people would be willing to actually take the time to read it when scrolling their news feed on a social media website with the easy-to-read message and picture.  

Another generator website I came across is jbdows.com/genres.  On this site, a random music genre name is created with a click on any part of the page.  This combines several types of music and creates interesting names, many of that are either made up of I have never heard of.  Some are Shangaan techno-soul, highlife-juke, and silent cabin hip-hardcore.  

In these random generator websites, I came a pattern of conventions for each genre, such as the word bubbles in the comic strips or the use of a creative title for the computer science research papers.  This helps us understand the use of conventions in each genre, and will help us process the creation of new and changing styles of genre.

Here is a meme I thought was funny