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Corshonda Johnson
Prof. Joy McDonald
English 102-11
February 10, 2016
Black Lives Matter: Genre Analysis You Tube Video and News Article
Within the last five years police brutality among the black community has been in
its prime. Due to the act of violence and death towards the African American community
from police officers, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the topic. Many
people are outraged due to the act of violence in America, the home of the free. As a
result, there has been many protests by nonviolent groups, one of the nonviolent groups
that has been organized due to the trend of violence in the African American community
is Black Lives Matter.
The Black Lives Matter campaign was created in 2012, after the death of Trayvon
Martin. The Black Lives Matter campaign is a call to action and a response to the
virulent anti-Black racism that permeates our society (AboutBlack Lives Matter). The
black lives matter campaign has caused much controversy among society with many of
its beliefs. Much of the controversy that surrounds the black lives matter campaign is
centered around peoples perception on the ideals and the way the organization protest.
The Black Lives matter movement has caused and uproar among many people in the
political community. Since the start of the black lives matter movement many genres
have been used to communicate the importance of the movement and the issues
surrounding the movement. The two genres that best address this topic and the
controversy surrounding it include a YouTube video entitled SheriffClarkeon"Black

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LivesMatter":It'savile,vulgar,slimymovement,andanewsarticleentitledT.I.
TakesOnBlackLivesMatterMovementInSpokenPoem.
Audience and Purpose
The intended audience for the YouTube broadcast includes a wide range of people
including parents, adults, politicians, young adults and the elderly who are interested in
all of the injustices that happen in society specifically surrounding the African American
community. With much of the controversy surrounding the topic the audience will know
about all of the injustices including police brutality, discrimination, and other acts of
inhumanity targeted toward African Americans. If a person decides to learn more about
this topic through that of a video, they will be presented with relevant, up to date
information on this topic. With the specific genre of a video many different perceptions
are presented which causes for the viewer to have a broad overview of the topic. The
purpose of the information presented in the genre is to inform the reader about the
different repercussions of the black lives matter movement. The audience ties into the
purpose because the information presented by the news reporters in the video is targeted
to the African American community and their perception of police brutality and the black
lives matter movement. The audience will spend approximately ten minutes listening to
and digesting the information presented in the video. The some of the language used in
the video includes words such as vulgar, vile, vicious; this language indicates the
intensity and the significance of the topic presented.
The intended audience for the poem presented in the news article are primarily
young adults and adults, along with admires of poetry and Hip Hop. The purpose of the
information presented in the poem is to inform and to entertain. The poem is present in

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the way of spoken word, which is considered entertaining to many and is also informative
at the same time. The article informs the African American community and all who are
interested in the black lives matter movement that we need to stand united as a people
and a culture. The article encourages the audience that we as a people should not go to
social media for an outlet, but we should face the topic of Black Lives Matter more
upfront. The poem takes about five minutes to read and understand the message
effectively. The language presented in the article is informal and inspiring as it uses
language like as united, chained, and revolutionary.
The two genres communicate the purpose of the topics very effectively. The two
genres differ when it comes to the audience. The first genre appeals to a wider variety of
people than that of the poem. I believe that the first genre has a bigger audience due to
the fact that the video was televised nationally on CNN, where as the poem was not
displayed on a platform as big as CNN. The two genres are similar when it comes to the
purpose, both of the genres main purpose were to inform the audience on the issues.
Rhetorical Issue: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos:
The video helps to establish the information's credibility in a very effective way.
Throughout the video the viewer can tell that the news reporters have done intensive
research on the topic of black lives matter. Throughout the video the reporters are arguing
facts and statistics back and forth, this helps to inform the reader on the topic. This genre
does not appeal the viewers emotions, but still gets the information across in an effective
way.
The poem helps to establish the informations credibility by listing social media
outlets that are apart of the black lives matter campaign. This genre helps to evoke an

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emotional response from the audience in a way of name-calling. The poem lists the
names of many individuals who are results of the black live movement forming. The
names listed in the poem include Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, and Sandra
Bland; for many people when these individual were killed emotion struck across them as
though it could have been them who were killed. When artist T.I. listed these names many
emotions individuals felt when the original incidents happened resurfaced. Evidence used
to support the information presented in the article does not only include name-calling, but
include many trending topics that appear on social media to support its stance.
The two significant differences between the genres are the emotion aspect. The
poem appeals to the audiences emotions more than that of the. The video was missing
the emotional appeal, but its purpose to inform came across strong because of the
background information and statistics used throughout the video. The genres are also
different in the way that the reader can tell if the information presented is credible. The
statistics given in the video show that the information is credible, but the different social
media trends incorporated within the poem along with its name calling shows that it is
credible.
Structure and Delivery
Within the video there are many limitations presented, including time, and
substance. The video clips shows seven minutes of a CNN live broadcast that is
interrupted as a result a commercial break. The second limitation of this video is that it is
nationally televised so it did not have a lot of freedom to say what was needed and
wanted. This genre was organized as a debate between opposing forces, the viewer was
able to see two sides of the Black Lives Matter movement from this debate. Other things

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that made the message effective where bolded subheadings that appeared at the bottom.
These subheadings appeared throughout the duration of the video and provided
background information on the topic presented.
The information is shaped by the genre by starting off strong and ending in a way
that leaves the audience emotionally. Most poems and spoken word leaves the audience
wanting more or the author of the poem also uses a lot of repetition with the saying
united we stand. The use of repetition gives emphasis to the topic of Black lives matter
and how we as a people have to stand united. The author also uses rhyme throughout the
poem, this communicates the topic more efficiently and appeals to the readers senses.
The main differences in the two genres are the communication features. The video
uses bold headings that are displayed throughout the video. The poem uses repetition and
rhyme as its communication features. The two genres are similar in that they both display
repetition throughout to get the point across. Both genres also use repetition so that the
audience will be more likely to remember the topic.
Conclusion/Synthesis
After analyzing the two genres I believe that the video conveyed the message of
the Black Lives Matter Movement more effectively. The video used more up to date facts
and statistics to justify the reporters viewpoints. The audience and the purpose of the
video were communicated more effectively than that of the poem. The way in which the
Video was delivered appealed more to the audience due to the way that it was structured
with bold heading going across the bottom of the screen and the use of repetition was
more abundant than the repetition presented in the poem. Both genres communicated the
topic of Black Lives Matter in an effective way as they were both very different.

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Works Cited
"AboutBlack Lives Matter." Black Lives Matter RSS2. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Feb. 2016.
<http://blacklivesmatter.com/about/>.
"Sheriff Clarke on "Black Lives Matter": "It's a Vile Vulgar Slimy Movement"" YouTube.
N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0gFyeag4tc>.
Williams, Brennan. "T.I. Takes On Black Lives Matter Movement In Spoken Poem."
Huffington Post Black Voices. The Huffington Post, n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ti-takes-on-black-lives-matter-movementin-spoken-poem_us_5612cc72e4b076812702e09f>.