The minimal genus problem is a fundamental question in smooth 4–manifold topology. Every 2–dimensional homology class can be represented by a surface. But how small can this surface be? A generation ago, techniques from gauge theory were used to solve this in a large class of 4–manifolds with extra geometric structure, namely symplectic 4–manifolds. Recent work on trisections if 4–manifolds has revealed a deep connection with symplectic geometry and gives a new perspective on this result.