Genre Analysis
Troubled Teens: Genre Analysis of a website and online video
Every day we hear about teenagers at school being bullied, abused, taken advantage of, or struggling. Not just in schools, but even homes are a reason for teenagers not being motivated in school, or feeling important. Teenagers see trouble around them, and adults watch it happen, but is that how it should continue to be? Is it our fault that we let the troubles gets so far to where the number of teens committing suicide, drinking at an early age, being abused, is only increasing by the day? It has become nothing but a norm to us, a teenager phase that is supposed to just go by. The following analysis of two different genres gives purpose and reasoning to the teenager troubles going on today. The first is a website for a local center called Wayside Teen Center, founded by Robert Cormell. It is a website provided by the non-profit organization to give more information for local teenagers to look into and have hope that someone does care about what they are going through. The website can be found at waysideteen.com. The second is a short video on YouTube called “Wake up call: teen statistics” that hopes the surprising statistics given, will open eyes to dads and even other guardians that they should be aware of what teenagers, maybe even their own are going through, and that something should be done about it. It was first shown at a men’s group at Faith EFC in Waterville, ME. The following will be an analysis of the emotional topic of troubled teenagers advocated in a very serious way through a public awareness of statistics, and an information website that offers local help.
Audience and Purpose
The website for Wayside Teen Center is intended for troubled teenagers who have a hard time at home, school, or any other environment. It also may be just as much intended for parents or guardians who are looking for more professional help and a better environment that they might not be able to provide. However, a website that gives out this kind of help is limited to children who are familiar with troublesome issues they’ve either come across, seen, or heard about. A much younger child may not necessarily have gone through such a phase in life yet, or are not at that maturity. The audience who come across this website may already know that the specific non-profit organization focuses on teenagers. Even someone who randomly comes across this website will know for a fact that is a website for teenagers just by the name of the site, “Wayside Teen Center”. Teens who are specifically looking for a local center will enter this website will know that it is a better environment for teens to go talk, get help, or just hang around other teens who might be just like them. Parents/guardians too will know the general goal of this organization and will know it is a resource of help for troubled teens.
What the audience might want to know is what specific ways the organization has helped teens, or specific stories of teens that have had the experience there. They might also want to know the personal ways they help teens. Parents or teens may have a stopping point where they don’t know how to help anymore, that is why they look deeper into different resources of help. Anyone can spend anywhere from a couple minutes to about half an hour on this website. The reason for the timing is that because of the different tab selections on the website, there is a lot of available information, pictures, contact information, and videos that an audience can spend time looking at. They may just be looking for one specific thing or would like to glance through the whole website. The main purpose of Wayside’s website is to just inform discourse communities of teens, that there is a place they can go to, information on how they work to help troubled teenagers, and might convince teens that they actually do need help.
The YouTube video “Wake up call: Teen Statistics”, was originally intended for fathers at an event at Faith EFC in Waterville, ME. However including discourse communities, this video can have an audience of many other fathers, of parents in general, and of teenagers who could be roaming around on YouTube looking at videos. By reading the title of this video, most viewers will have a pretty good idea that it will contain statistics of teenagers and that it is awareness of what teens are going through to give some sort of audience a “wake up call”. What viewers may not know after this video is how these troubled teens have been helped or even if any movement happened after the men’s grouped showed this particular video. The audience might want to know if there is a way they can help, or what they should do to advocate this issue. Teenagers may also want to know where they can go for help if they feel like they are having a rough time. The amount of time spent on this genre will only be a couple minutes for the video is only about 2 minutes long. However, after viewing this video, the audience may be linked to other similar videos on the YouTube website which may take up more time depending on the amount of interest the audience is in. The main goal of this video is simply a “wake up call” for fathers or even other guardians to see how much troubled times are affecting teens everywhere these days.
These two genres of a website and a video have both similarities and differences. The audiences brought about these genres are somewhat very similar because it will be informational for troubled teenagers and parents themselves. Even though it gives off different information and purposes, the intended audience is the same. The purpose of the website was to inform of the non-profit organization, whereas the video was a general was to inform by giving a “wake up call”, such as awareness in the form of statistics of what teens are going through these days. The website has more information on how teens could get help locally, and the video was a general eye opener to nationwide viewers. Both might include the same discourse communities, yet gave different, but helpful, information on the topic of troubled teenagers.
Rhetorical Issues
The Wayside Teen Center website is successful in establishing good credibility with the audience because of the use of ethos. It has a tab on the website of other useful links that deal with troubled teens around the world. Because of the fact that this problem is occurring national, having a local place provided to teens is pretty credible. It is effective in the sense that it is close to home and makes it possible for teens or parents to look further into the program. The Website provides an emotion of hope throughout everything they present. When opening the site, there is an automatic playing of a song in the background that is somewhat more on the emotional calm side. The reasoning the website gives for choosing to experience their program gives off hope that things will get better and is reassuring teens they someone does care about them. The type of evidence used to support the claims of information is a very risky piece of evidence. The reason it is risky it that they use the morals and beliefs of the bible to state the kind of home, family, and marriage that God wants for everyone. They abide by what the organization beliefs in to teach the teens who attend the center about God. To some people it might be inappropriate, whereas others might believe they are doing the right thing. Even though it is risky, the organization is based by their Christianity beliefs; they hope that others will follow and that it will guide troubled teenagers into the right direction.
The YouTube video establishes some credibility through the actually presentation itself. The majority of the video is teenager statistics. Such as, the number of teens pregnant, starting drinking habits, abused, etc. Even though the statistics provided large numbers in the information to get the viewers to open their eyes, it does not provide the source from where these stats were picked up from. The video doesn’t have accurate evidence for the amount of information given because it does not give the resource of where the presented statistics were found. Some people may have heard a different number in another resource, but the point of the video is to still gain the attention of viewers that the number of troubled teens is getting too big. Not only to gain the attention, but to evoke an emotional response that something must be done to help these teenagers out. As soon as the statistics finish showing, the video says “Dad, wake up”. Just by seeing that one name Dad, is it an emotional attention grabber for fathers to realize their teens might be in a troubled spot and they need to be aware and do something about it. It is very appropriate for them to call out all Fathers, and even any guardian of a teenager to realize what is going on and that it is real.
The pathos used in both genres turn out to be very similar when making the issue of troubled teens very emotional. Both genres evoke some kind of emotion to advocate what they are emotional about and believe in. The website gives a sense of hope that there is help out there, and the video is a broader public announcement that gets the audience to recognize that this is a big problem and parents should be more aware. So in a sense, the website is the next action to take, once the video opens eyes that more things should be done to better teenagers’ way of living.
Structure
The way the website is set up makes it accessible for users online to find out certain information about the center. The different tabs structure the site by organizing the information on the center, provided videos, pictures, contact information, and even a way you can be involved in and offer donations to the place. However the tabs are not that easy to read by the font and size they chose. The text throughout the website is either white or bright colors on a dark background. Also as soon as you open the site there is an inspiring song playing and you have the option to either listen to it or not while you look through everything. A major limitation of the site is that there is no one to contact if you have additional questions or are curious about something. However, that is where the contact information tab comes in on the website. It gives the number and location of the center, a phone number for the owner, and even a little bit about the owner. So even though there is a limitation, there is ways provided to help you find out more.
The video has a very limited space and time layout. Throughout the two minutes of the video a slow song is playing called “How to save a life”. While the statistics are presented, there are pictures in the backgrounds of teenagers in different environments. The text is readable and changes every couple of seconds so it gives you enough time to read each statistic. Since it is a video, it can only be accessible if there is internet access. The time of the video is very short, so the big message of what teens are going through, has to catch the audience in a very short amount of time. For that reason, the video starts off by giving teenage statistics right away. It wastes no time in relaying the message and it is just a good enough length to not let viewers stray away from the video getting board. At the end of the video, it gives the final message of a “wake up call” for dads right away, which is why the video can’t be that long. It is a short amount of time for a big message that needs to be heard.
The website and video are both limited in the way that internet access must be available in order to view these messages. However the website provides more local accessible information, and the video conveys the message in a more personal sense for one main reason only, to get an audience to open their eyes and be aware of what’s going on around them.
Style/Language
The language of the website is very formal, yet some of it is risky. By talking about religious beliefs of the bible and Christianity it is either comforting or inappropriate, depending who the audience is. However there is no foul or offensive language. It is only describing what the organization believes in and abides by. The website is set up with dark colored backgrounds and bright yellow and white text to show it off a little more. The media part of the website is found easily on the side of pages and on a separate tab to view them separately.
The video is very straight forward and formal language. The whole video is only speaking in statistics, and pictures in the background. It is short and to the point. The statistics are not complete sentences but give the message and numbers right away. While reading the stats, you have changing pictures in the backgrounds of every day teenagers creating the image in your mind that they are in a discomforting environment.
The two genres structures are very organized but give off very different language. Both are formal, yet one is more risky in language, and the other is short fast language of one type of structure. Both relay the message across in a different way but keep it appropriate for teenage audiences to see.
Conclusion
The two genres have very different goals in the message they are relaying to the audience. The website is a very informative place for a local audience to attend to. The youtube video was more of a very general statement for the public to open there eyes. However I feel since the purpose of the website was a way to already take action, I feel that it is more affective. By there being a local center where teens can already go to get help, it is the step following being aware of the troubles going on. Both genres have an emotional message, yet one has taken a lot of action in the topic they are advocating.
References
Wake up call: Teen Statistics (2009). Retrieved from
Wayside Teen Center.(n.d.). Retrieved September 25, 2011, from
