Introduction

Genres exist all around us and are a fundamental function of communication. Within this
analysis Ill be comparing two different genres in our modern lives and explaining how they
differ from one another. For analysis Ive chosen video, made by an educational YouTube
channel known as Vsauce, titled Cruel Bombs and the 2013 Dodge super bowl commercial titled
So God made a Farmer adapted from Paul Harveys speech at the future farmers of America
convention. My goal is to provide a clear analysis of the two genres and expand on the idea of
what genres are.
Audience and Purpose

The audience for Cruel Bombs share some defining characteristics that completely differ
from those of So God made a Farmer. Cruel Bombs audience is primarily composed of younger,
curios, and intuitive people who use computer and phones to access media whereas the audience
for So God made a Farmer is comprised of families and friends watching the super bowl at home
or the bar. Although families are the general audience the intended audience was the men that
work and need trucks for what they do. The differences in the audiences support the fact that
each genre had a different purpose in mind. Cruel Bombs is part of an educational series that
explores the natural world while So God made a Farmer is simply a marketing technique for
Dodges line of ram trucks.

Structure

Structure ties into ethos, pathos, and logos and I bring it up now so we have an
understanding of how it ties in with everything. Vsauce follows the same structure for every
video which follow that of an academic research paper because the videos are really just that,
research papers in video format. This style of structure is very contrasting to So God made a
Farmer which uses stanzas and anaphoras consistently for every idea. So God made a Farmer is
better describes as a speech rather than anything that Vsauce uses. The main structure for so god
made a farmer is exactly as follows, God needed someone who could So God made a
Farmer. Every stanza is the same only they have different fillers.

Ethos

Both genres have a strong sense of ethos that stems from academic background for
Vsauce and long history and experience for Dodge. Michael Stevens, the host for Vsauce, holds
two degrees in Neuropsychology and English literature from the University of Chicago. A person
will look at his background and see he has two degrees from a major university and will lean

towards the assumption that he knows what hes talking about. University is not easy to go
through especially as a double major and thats what appeals to a viewer as credibility. Now
Dodge on the other hand has had years of experience in the automotive field in design along with
the reputation theyve built up from many of their previous vehicles such as the Dodge Viper and
history of the Dodge Ram truck line. Another main point of ethos for the Dodge commercial is
Paul Harveys voice. His voice is low and has a rasp of an experienced and worn yet humble man
which creates the feeling of trust like with your grandpa.

Pathos

I touched on emotion with Paul Harveys voice but theres more within the dialogue that
really takes advantage of emotion. One of the best examples of pathos from the commercial is
from the third stanza I need somebody with arms strong enough to rustle a calf and yet gentle
enough to deliver his own grandchild. Strong arms represent the hard labor that a farmer has to
go through and juxtaposed to arms gentle enough to deliver his own grandchild strikes deep
emotion especially to the men who have families and understand that life isnt just hard work.
This phrase reaches out to them more so because they can relate to it. Cruel Bombs Uses the
same technique of juxtaposition for pathos however in a different context. An example is from
the video, We can build a weapon that mimics the furnace of our sun and the winds of Neptune
but we cant predict the weather more than a few minutes ahead of time. The contrasting ideas
are the power we can produce versus the weather we cant predict. The fact he states strikes a
sense of fear and its only amplified by the audience that has never thought about it before.
Logos

Cruel Bombs is riddled with logos but the most obvious is towards the end in the
conclusion of the video. Michael states, Discoveries in science are like keys, they can open the
doors to heaven but the very same keys can open the door to hell. What we do with those keys is
up to us. This reaches out to them because it shakes their perspective and makes them rethink
how the world works and its because of that fact that it appeals to the audience. Logos can be
found in every stanza in So God made a Farmer however the first stanza represent it for the
whole speech. And on the 8th day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, "I need a
caretaker." So God made a farmer. The audience hears this and attaches to it when God is
mentioned. Men who know the meaning and purpose of religion are drawn by this because they
see what the speech is about and they respect the word and actions of God.
Conclusion

There are a lot of differences between these two genres and they all stem from the
purpose of each. Cruel Bombs is a video for educational entertainment while So God made a

Farmer is for advertisement. There are no major similarities between the two and through
analysis Ive made that clear. When considering audiences you I cant imagine the men going
over to watch Vsauce but I can see the college student going over and watching So God made a
Farmer. The two audiences are on two different social levels which has a great influence on how
each genre has to communicate their ideas. Although they differ in so many ways, you cant
expect anything else because their goals are so different and I feel that this phenomenon is
fundamental in all things.