(2016 final exam assignment) Sample Student Final Exam Essays 2016 Essay 1. Define "genre" + examples

LITR 4370 Tragedy  Model Assignments

Tedra Mendoza

Blended Together (Grey's Anatomy as hospital drama)

          Often times, many people have considered genre as a simple word to define although it is not. We would like to think that each piece of art that we encounter can be placed into one specific genre; however, it is a little more complicated than that. Dr. White suggests that “genre is not a box in which to put a work of art but a yardstick to measure it by” (White, Genre notes, 2016). Genres can overlap and blend together much like weaving something together. There are many different genres but one that stands out to me is hospital drama. One show that falls under this genre is Grey’s Anatomy that is now going on its thirteenth season.

          Grey’s Anatomy has a very high rating due to its subject/audience genre. This is when the audience “identifies with the content or characters” (White, Genre notes, 2016). This television show appeals to the audience because of the medical issues that happen within the show, the romance between multiple characters, and the horror that takes place in most of the episodes. The audience engages in the show because we are all interested in the human body, we all have some type of romantic interests, and when someone is bleeding out on the table or whenever there is a hospital shooting, the audience continues to watch because much like a car accident we can’t help but stare at the accident. This show keeps the audience on the edge of their seat because something drastic happens every episode and they leave the audience wanting more. They have even killed off multiple popular characters but that has not dropped the ratings. This show could fall under a chick flick, comedy, romance, hospital drama, horror, thriller, etc. The list goes on and on because genres begin to morph together which is perfectly acceptable.

           The formal genre of Grey’s Anatomy also blends together. Formal genre is defined by Dr. White as the “"form" in which the text appears” (White, Genre notes, 2016). The show has a narrator and dialogue between the characters. When the episode begins, the main character, Meredith, begins speaking. She is talking directly to the audience in order to gain our attention. After she ends her one to two minute narration, the dialogue between the characters on the screen takes place. This happens for the remainder of the show until the last two minutes of the episode where Meredith concludes the episode by speaking directly to the audience once again.

It’s important that she is the one speaking directly to the audience because this show is about her and the people around her but also because it invites the audience to engage and relate to what is going on. She is opening up to the audience which makes the audiences want to listen because she is showing vulnerability. Although most of us do not work in a hospital or aren’t surgeons, the things that take place within the show such as the drama between friends and family, relationship problems, and losing or having a loved one healed happens in most of our lives. It’s also important that she concludes the episode the same way that she opened the episode because she shows that she is going to continue to walk the audience through what just happened while also preparing us for the next episode. She gives advice that is beneficial and also relatable to the audience that is watching.

          As Dr. White states, “narrative genre refers to the type of story or plot that a work of literature tells or enacts” (White, Genre notes, 2016). There are four types of story lines but Grey’s Anatomy falls under the romance story line. In the majority of the episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, there is always a conflict that arises with two lovers but typically they resolve the situation by the end of the episode.

There is always a problem to solve medically speaking as well which also translates into romance because the patients need some type of saving. If they do not resolve the problem, it continues onto the next episode. The doctors become the heroes because they are the ones who are saving or coming to the rescue of the people who need medical care. Anyone who goes into a hospital for a medical reason wants their doctor to save them, give them answers, or some type of diagnosis in order to get a treatment plan in action. We all want our doctors to be knowledgeable because we all want a happy ending. Grey’s Anatomy does a really good job of portraying the romance within the show.

          This popular television show along with many other works of art, we have come to see that many genres overlap and blend together. Just as Victoria Webb states in her paper, “when we stop looking at genres like primary colors, and begin to mix them together, we create a brilliant spectrum of genres.”