The Feeling and Mood of Recipients

Many popular artifacts are assessed in conjunction with a genre definition. If it is said in a review that a thriller is exciting or a comedy is funny, that statement often includes the supposition that all ‘normal recipients’ (or is it just the reviewer?) feel suspense or laugh or enjoy themselves while receiving the artifact in question. In this case, a positive judgment is tied to the fulfillment of genre expectations while a negative judgment is tied to their disappointment. Yet it is also possible for a positive or negative assessment to be based on the claim that certain parts of the artifact have contributed to a different, broader feeling (e.g., at one point a comedy could trigger anger or a thriller could trigger contemplativeness).