The Battle of the Genres: Who Will Win?
In researching information, the common person wants the facts in their simplest forms. Whether it is watching a video, reading an online article, a pamphlet, or a feature in a magazine, the genre must be constructed in a manner that includes all the important information, without providing too much detail that will overwhelm the reader. We will be looking at two different genres of communication that include information on how to refrain from getting sick. The first genre is a blog on Huffington Post’s website titled How to Not Get Sick and the second is a video on YouTube titled How to NOT Get Sick / Proven Health Hacks / Doctor Mike. Most genres provide beneficial information that the intended audience will find useful, but presentation is key and limitations and freedoms impact the way the message is conveyed and the way it is received.
Both genres attempt to answer the same question, “What can I do to not get sick?” Both target audiences are those who are looking for this specific information and both genres include information that is commonly known by the audience. The person researching this information is most likely to know the times of year in which he or she is more susceptible to getting sick. The audience also knows that washing their hands before meals, drinking plenty of water, getting enough rest, and exercising all contribute to remaining healthy. What they really want to find out is additional information that they may not have known that will assist them in their research. Some people who investigate this specific material may already be sick and are seeking ways to get better quickly and how to remain healthy.
The purpose of the article, How to Not Get Sick, on the Huffington Post’s blog section is to inform the reader of this valuable information. The video, How to NOT Get Sick / Proven Health Hacks / Doctor Mike, does the same, however it takes a comical approach to entertain, while providing the viewer the knowledge they need. The article attempted to entertain, as well, but did not succeed in the same level as the video. Analyzing the Exercise section, the author, Chloe Spencer, states:
6. Exercise! Exercise keeps your body healthy in all aspects, which in turn keeps your immune system up and running. Ha, get it? Okay, okay, but I swear to you that bad joke happened on its own without premeditation! Back to the important point I was trying to make; exercise is important at all times, but especially when you want to remain healthy and ward off illness.
In this article, Spencer is supposed to be giving information that is new to the audience to fulfill the intent of the information. While no fault of the genre itself, she mainly included quite a bit of well-known information, with little material that would be considered new to the reader. This results in the reader just skimming through the post and find what they need. If it includes plenty of new intelligence, they will spend more time engaging in the author’s work. Doctor Mike’s video included an abundance of knowledge and its comical approach keeps the viewer watching, even through the data that they already know.
To support the claims of credible material, Doctor Mike’s YouTube video discusses topics that will assist the viewer in boosting their immune system, rather than just advising it will assist in not getting sick. He points out the fact that exercise not only improves the white blood cells and the antibodies that fight off bacteria in the body, but it also prevents the release of stress hormones which are stated to be the culprits that lend a hand in getting sick. Spencer simply states in her article, “Exercise keeps your body healthy in all aspects, which in turn keeps your immune system up and running,” with no scientific facts that back up this claim. They both also discuss the topic of drinking enough water. Spencer’s article states, “Water flushes your body of the bad stuff, gives it energy and strength to fight off infection, and keeps you healthy.” She also points out that sugar shuts down the immune system. Doctor Mike goes into more detail by stating, “It’s so important that you stay hydrated because when you don’t have enough water, your body isn’t able to maintain your immune system, flush out toxins, and when you’re sick, your body loses more water than usual.” The lack of information in the written text lends a hand to recognizing that the video contains more credibility and it did so in less time it would have taken to read through information we already know. The video provides additional information on how it helps. One point that they both make that greatly contrasts in truth would be to take vitamin supplements. Spencer’s article recommends taking multivitamins to benefit from various nutrients that have different effects on our immune system. Dr. Mike claims that it is just flushing money down the toilet because we essentially urinate them out. He states that it has never been proven that they will prevent illness and that it is marketing hype designed to sell the supplements. This causes the reader to do more research, rather than make the article a one-stop-shop for valuable information.
The How to Not Get Sick article is structured in a manner that helps the reader find the information that they are looking for quickly and easily. With bold headings allow for quick skimming and concentrated areas. It can get a little confusing to the readers when they see two sets of numbers. This could have been avoided by creating main headings that are clear to the reader that the first set are steps they can take when they are already sick and want a speedy recovery. The second set needs a heading that lets the reader know that they are steps on how to avoid getting sick altogether. This is needed because the title of the article does not match the body of the text and main headings, along with the existing subheadings would clear up any confusion. The video separates each section with a title of what is going to be discussed. Each title is structured together with the word, “more”. With sections titled, “More Water”, “More Sleep,” and “More Honey” create a sense of uniformity that make the topics easy to remember. The video also includes images that work well with the genre. The lack of images on the article makes it plain and easily forgettable.
Both genres also face their own limitations. Taking a look at the article, Spencer is faced with having to create more text to explain a joke that may have been executed poorly, as noted in the example above. Since words can be perceived differently by various people, there was additional and unnecessary text to explain the intended meaning. Written text lacks the inclusion of body language to assist in detecting actual meaning. While the video has the capability of adding humor to entertain, this genre still has limitations of its own. A video cannot be viewed anywhere, where as a written article can. The viewer needs to ensure that they can listen to the video with volume to understand and hear its context. In addition, the video does not allow for quick and easy skimming as an article does. The viewer would need to try to locate the information that they want to rehear, rather than a reader just has to look for the header that includes the section they need.
Both genres include an informal language to better relate with their targeted audiences. The styles still contrasted greatly. The video was more entertaining and seemed to include more details on the information provided that lent to its credibility and enjoyment. They both have styles that can be shared with others, such as friends or family members, or bookmarked for later, when the need arises. The video just executed the delivery of the information in a better manner than the article. Again, this is not just due to genre limitations, but also the author of the article did not successfully execute in the ethos, logos, and pathos areas.
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Works Cited
Spencer, C. (2012, October 17). How to Not Get Sick. Retrieved October 25, 2017, from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/chloe-spencer/flu-season_b_1944377.html
Doctor Mike. (2017, October 22). How to NOT Get Sick. Retrieved October 23, 2017, from
