In this Genre Analysis, I analyzed two different genres, an online video and a newspaper article. After comparing and contrasting both, I conclude which one was more effective.
Deferred-Action Immigration Policy: Genre Analysis of an Online Video and a Newspaper
On June 15, 2012 President Obama made a huge change on immigration policy in America. President Obama, without the help of congress, signed the Deferred-Action for Childhood Arrivals or DACA for short, policy into action. As a result, hundreds of thousands even millions of “dreamers”, as they have come to be known, will have the opportunity to continue their education or enter the job market, both things that were nearly impossible to do prior to the new policy. There are restrictions on those who qualify, with the most important being that they be between 15 and 30 years old at the time of their application and have lived in the U.S. for five continuous years prior to applying. This new policy will also protect them from being deported. While this act brings new hope to the dreamers, it does not provide a pathway to legal residency or citizenship and will have to be renewed every two years. The application and processing will cost the applicant $465. The applications have to be 100% truthful and correctly filled out. Improper filing of the application could result in its denial. Since this is a very delicate matter, applicants have turned to different resources to get the best informed about the whole process and consequences.
These resources play an extremely important role on getting the applicant prepared and informed ahead of time. Different genres can be used to convey the same message with some being more effective in different aspects of the message. Two different genres that present information about deferred-action policy are “DACA for Dreamers is finally here and ready” an online video by attorney Brian Lerner and “Illegal Immigrants Flock to Youth Program” a newspaper article in the Wall Street Journal written by Miriam Jordan and Ben Kesling. The video by attorney Brian Lerner can be found at youtube.com and is a monologue by the attorney about the new law. The newspaper article can be found on the August 8, 2012 edition of the Wall Street Journal or on their website, online.wsj.com. Both present information about the same topic, but in different ways. The thesis for the video is stated in the description for the video and is “This video will deal with and explain the DACA or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals for DREAMERS.”(Lerner 2012) The thesis for the newspaper article is “Armed with foreign birth certificates, school records and proof they have grown up in the U.S., tens of thousands of young illegal immigrants across the country applied Wednesday to a program that could allow them to remain in the country and work legally”(Jordan & Kesling 2012) and is stated as the first sentence in the article. Both genres need to be analyzed on their style, structure, rhetoric, language, and how they communicate in order to come to a conclusion on which genre is more effective in conveying a message about the same topic to the audience.
Purpose and Audience
The online video “DACA for Dreamers is finally here and ready” by attorney Brian Lerner is intended for individuals that are planning on applying for DACA or know someone that is planning to do so. Since it is an online video however, its audience is limited to individuals with access to a computer with internet access and have experience searching for videos online. The intended audience should have some previous knowledge on the subject considering the fact that otherwise they would not have searched for this video which is very specific. Only those with previous knowledge about the new policy would know the acronym used and thus search for this specific video. The video wants to help the audience expand on what they already know and at the same time provide information that they might not have known beforehand. The length of the video of twenty minutes lets the reader go line for line through the application with the attorney and possibly answering specific questions they might have had on a certain section of the application.
The newspaper article “Illegal Immigrants Flock to Youth Program” by Miriam Jordan and Ben Kesling also provides information about DACA. The intended audience is different to that of the video in that this article is to inform all readers, not just applicants, about DACA and what it is and what it does. Its audience more specifically, would be subscribers of the WSJ. The audience for the article is smaller to that of the video. This genre, just like the online video, has its limitations. You have to have bought this specific issue of the newspaper in order to read this article. It’s possible to access this article online, but it’s also limited to individuals that have access to an internet enabled computer. Overall, the audience is much more limited for the newspaper article than it is for the online video which can easily be found using most search engines. The article sets out to inform the reader about the aspects of the new policy in a very general way. The article may be repeating information the reader already knows, considering the publication of the article is two months after the announcement of the new immigration policy.
Rhetorical Issues: Ethos, Pathos, Logos
The video concerning DACA does a good job in establishing its credibility with the viewer. The video was created by a California BAR certified Immigration attorney Brian Lerner and is conducted by him as well. The viewer will feel that the information being given is accurate and must be true. His credentials as a certified attorney build his credibility because people will assume he knows what he is talking about. Him wearing a suit may also help make the viewer deem him more credible. The pathos in the video is not as effective as the other rhetorical appeals. The way he is speaking doesn’t really evoke any emotion from the viewer. He is trying to appeal to the viewer but does not do as good a job as he should’ve or was hoping for. The logos on the other hand is very good. Attorney Brian Lerner is very organized as he goes along through the application. He presents what he is going to talk about and explains it vaguely and then goes into more detail after he has introduced the question or topic.
The newspaper article also has good logos in the fact that it is very well organized and well written. The ideas seem to flow perfectly together and make sense the way they are presented. The article could've strengthened its logos by providing maybe more statistics. It does a better job of conveying pathos than the video to the reader by providing direct quotes by several “dreamers” that describe their new hope for the future and also providing various different accounts of people lined up at different offices waiting to fill out their paperwork. One of the quotes that is used was “So many opportunities are going to open up now” (Jordan & Kesling 2012). The article is trying to appeal to the readers’ sense of hope by presenting first-hand examples of whose being affected by the new policy. The ethos is strong just by the fact that it is an article from the Wall Street Journal, but other than that the article does very little to add to its credibility which it might not need to do anyways.
Structure
The video is organized very well, with it having an introduction a main body and a conclusion. Time was not a hindrance as the video is twenty minutes long and not once did it seem like he was rushing through it. During the introduction attorney Brian Lerner introduces himself and presents the topics he will be discussing throughout the video and lasts a little over a minute. The main body, as it should be, is the longest part of the video, the most informative, and the most important. Here is where he begins to go through the DACA application line by line until he has completed the entire document with the viewer. The conclusion is relatively short and just recaps what he went through in the video.
The Wall Street Journal article is structured like a typical newspaper article and is divided into twelve paragraphs. Space is an issue with the article as newspapers only have a limited amount of space they could provide each article. The video is superior in this category, it has virtually unlimited space to get its message across. Text size could also be a limitation also related to the space allocated to each article. While it has an introduction, it is lacking a conclusion. It seems to just end abruptly with “’People want to come forward,’ said Lawrence Benito, head of the Illinois immigrant coalition, which organized the Chicago workshop” a sentence that could easily fit in one of its body paragraphs. It does not provide a proper closing
Style and Language
The spoken language in the video is formal and employs a neutral tone to convey the message. He uses legal terms such as “removal proceedings” that the viewer might not understand. He achieves a neutral tone by being relaxed and not rushing to fulfill some sort of deadline he could have possibly had if it were a different genre. There are no images included the video and no text is used, it is all spoken, so the fact the he is speaking clearly is very important. The entire video is just the attorney speaking to the viewer via his webcam.
The text language throughout the Wall Street Journal article is formal. One image is provided and shows a line being formed of individuals that are going to apply for DACA and shows the reader the things it is saying. The WSJ typically uses a very formal type of font similar to Times New Roman which helps strengthen its credibility. The font stays the same throughout without using bold, underlined, or italicized words. The text is in black with a white background, making it easy to read.
Conclusion
After analyzing both genres carefully, the online video “DACA for Dreamers is finally here and ready” an online video by attorney Brian Lerner more effective in providing its audience with the information about DACA that they wanted to learn about. It has a wider potential audience and is easier to access. It also provides substantially more information and more detailed information than the WSJ article does. The article skims the topics’ surface and only provides a very broad interpretation due to its limited space confinements. Overall the video was more detailed and thus better for its audience in fulfilling its goal.
These resources play an extremely important role on getting the applicant prepared and informed ahead of time. Different genres can be used to convey the same message with some being more effective in different aspects of the message. Two different genres that present information about deferred-action policy are “DACA for Dreamers is finally here and ready” an online video by attorney Brian Lerner and “Illegal Immigrants Flock to Youth Program” a newspaper article in the Wall Street Journal written by Miriam Jordan and Ben Kesling. The video by attorney Brian Lerner can be found at youtube.com and is a monologue by the attorney about the new law. The newspaper article can be found on the August 8, 2012 edition of the Wall Street Journal or on their website, online.wsj.com. Both present information about the same topic, but in different ways. The thesis for the video is stated in the description for the video and is “This video will deal with and explain the DACA or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals for DREAMERS.”(Lerner 2012) The thesis for the newspaper article is “Armed with foreign birth certificates, school records and proof they have grown up in the U.S., tens of thousands of young illegal immigrants across the country applied Wednesday to a program that could allow them to remain in the country and work legally”(Jordan & Kesling 2012) and is stated as the first sentence in the article. Both genres need to be analyzed on their style, structure, rhetoric, language, and how they communicate in order to come to a conclusion on which genre is more effective in conveying a message about the same topic to the audience.
Purpose and Audience
The online video “DACA for Dreamers is finally here and ready” by attorney Brian Lerner is intended for individuals that are planning on applying for DACA or know someone that is planning to do so. Since it is an online video however, its audience is limited to individuals with access to a computer with internet access and have experience searching for videos online. The intended audience should have some previous knowledge on the subject considering the fact that otherwise they would not have searched for this video which is very specific. Only those with previous knowledge about the new policy would know the acronym used and thus search for this specific video. The video wants to help the audience expand on what they already know and at the same time provide information that they might not have known beforehand. The length of the video of twenty minutes lets the reader go line for line through the application with the attorney and possibly answering specific questions they might have had on a certain section of the application.
The newspaper article “Illegal Immigrants Flock to Youth Program” by Miriam Jordan and Ben Kesling also provides information about DACA. The intended audience is different to that of the video in that this article is to inform all readers, not just applicants, about DACA and what it is and what it does. Its audience more specifically, would be subscribers of the WSJ. The audience for the article is smaller to that of the video. This genre, just like the online video, has its limitations. You have to have bought this specific issue of the newspaper in order to read this article. It’s possible to access this article online, but it’s also limited to individuals that have access to an internet enabled computer. Overall, the audience is much more limited for the newspaper article than it is for the online video which can easily be found using most search engines. The article sets out to inform the reader about the aspects of the new policy in a very general way. The article may be repeating information the reader already knows, considering the publication of the article is two months after the announcement of the new immigration policy.
Rhetorical Issues: Ethos, Pathos, Logos
The video concerning DACA does a good job in establishing its credibility with the viewer. The video was created by a California BAR certified Immigration attorney Brian Lerner and is conducted by him as well. The viewer will feel that the information being given is accurate and must be true. His credentials as a certified attorney build his credibility because people will assume he knows what he is talking about. Him wearing a suit may also help make the viewer deem him more credible. The pathos in the video is not as effective as the other rhetorical appeals. The way he is speaking doesn’t really evoke any emotion from the viewer. He is trying to appeal to the viewer but does not do as good a job as he should’ve or was hoping for. The logos on the other hand is very good. Attorney Brian Lerner is very organized as he goes along through the application. He presents what he is going to talk about and explains it vaguely and then goes into more detail after he has introduced the question or topic.
The newspaper article also has good logos in the fact that it is very well organized and well written. The ideas seem to flow perfectly together and make sense the way they are presented. The article could've strengthened its logos by providing maybe more statistics. It does a better job of conveying pathos than the video to the reader by providing direct quotes by several “dreamers” that describe their new hope for the future and also providing various different accounts of people lined up at different offices waiting to fill out their paperwork. One of the quotes that is used was “So many opportunities are going to open up now” (Jordan & Kesling 2012). The article is trying to appeal to the readers’ sense of hope by presenting first-hand examples of whose being affected by the new policy. The ethos is strong just by the fact that it is an article from the Wall Street Journal, but other than that the article does very little to add to its credibility which it might not need to do anyways.
Structure
The video is organized very well, with it having an introduction a main body and a conclusion. Time was not a hindrance as the video is twenty minutes long and not once did it seem like he was rushing through it. During the introduction attorney Brian Lerner introduces himself and presents the topics he will be discussing throughout the video and lasts a little over a minute. The main body, as it should be, is the longest part of the video, the most informative, and the most important. Here is where he begins to go through the DACA application line by line until he has completed the entire document with the viewer. The conclusion is relatively short and just recaps what he went through in the video.
The Wall Street Journal article is structured like a typical newspaper article and is divided into twelve paragraphs. Space is an issue with the article as newspapers only have a limited amount of space they could provide each article. The video is superior in this category, it has virtually unlimited space to get its message across. Text size could also be a limitation also related to the space allocated to each article. While it has an introduction, it is lacking a conclusion. It seems to just end abruptly with “’People want to come forward,’ said Lawrence Benito, head of the Illinois immigrant coalition, which organized the Chicago workshop” a sentence that could easily fit in one of its body paragraphs. It does not provide a proper closing
Style and Language
The spoken language in the video is formal and employs a neutral tone to convey the message. He uses legal terms such as “removal proceedings” that the viewer might not understand. He achieves a neutral tone by being relaxed and not rushing to fulfill some sort of deadline he could have possibly had if it were a different genre. There are no images included the video and no text is used, it is all spoken, so the fact the he is speaking clearly is very important. The entire video is just the attorney speaking to the viewer via his webcam.
The text language throughout the Wall Street Journal article is formal. One image is provided and shows a line being formed of individuals that are going to apply for DACA and shows the reader the things it is saying. The WSJ typically uses a very formal type of font similar to Times New Roman which helps strengthen its credibility. The font stays the same throughout without using bold, underlined, or italicized words. The text is in black with a white background, making it easy to read.
Conclusion
After analyzing both genres carefully, the online video “DACA for Dreamers is finally here and ready” an online video by attorney Brian Lerner more effective in providing its audience with the information about DACA that they wanted to learn about. It has a wider potential audience and is easier to access. It also provides substantially more information and more detailed information than the WSJ article does. The article skims the topics’ surface and only provides a very broad interpretation due to its limited space confinements. Overall the video was more detailed and thus better for its audience in fulfilling its goal.