Mulkey 1

Tyler Mulkey
Professor Olivia Zicherman
University Writing
20 October 2014
Genres Everywhere
The Ray Rice scandal was nationwide, hardly any news source did not in some way talk
about the case. The original sources we used were three sources that heavily talked about the
case. The three new sources also talked heavily about the Ray Rice scandal. I could have found
10 more sources that talked just as much about the case as the original three, that is how popular
this domestic violence scandal became. The three genres we chose for step five were a Facebook
post, a meme, and an opinion article. We chose these three articles because they are also like the
original articles we chose, very popular in todays society. Facebook is the biggest social media
network in the entire world so it is only right that we use that as one of our new genres. Memes
are becoming more and more popular everyday. It is very rare that a celebrity does something
stupid (commit a crime) or embarrassing and it not get made fun of. Opinion articles are also
very common. Freedom of expression has been taken advantage of by a lot of people. Opinion
articles can be in forms like letters to the editor in the local newspapers, editorials, and
magazines.
Facebook is the most used social media website ever. It is accessed from all over the
world by all types of people. Facebook posts can pretty much say anything as long is there no
threatening or fowl language. The Facebook post we used says, The Ray Rice scandal was a
horrible thing that occurred months ago. While it is an example of domestic violence, the fact
that Rays wife still got married to him after the incident should be enough to show people that

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they came to an understanding. If they are still married and she supports him even after
everything that has been said. People should just let the issue go and stop trying to witch hunt
Ray Rice. Facebook is supposed to be used for staying in touch with old friends, colleagues,
etc., but it is used for much more than that. People use it to express how they feel about
situations, advertise, sale, etc. The Ray Rice case was all over Facebook. The video of him was
uploaded by tons of people along with their opinions of him and what his punishment should be.
This situation being on Facebook also means that whoever sees it can comment on it, also
offering their opinions, and sometimes even causing arguments. There are certain qualities that
make up a Facebook post, the first being the discourse mode. The discourse mode of a Facebook
post is interaction, information, and description. Facebook is a social networking site so the
entire point of having a Facebook is to interact with people. The context of a Facebook post can
differ. The context could be an opinion, a shared story containing a link, picture, or video, or just
information about a certain situation. The writers purpose of a Facebook post is to spread the
word or their word, meaning they are making other people aware of something that has happened
or they are stating their view on a certain situation. This purpose is accomplished by tone and
form. When someone is stating an opinion then the post is going to be more related to them. If
they are informing people of a situation then the post will be based around facts and details. The
intended audience of a Facebook post is the users friends or the people they associate with on
the website. The actual audience is the intended audience, but the information can be passed
along or sharedand made viewable to more than just the users friends. There are always
going to bias on Facebook. There is going to be the users general bias and then bias from
advertisements and other interactions.

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Opinionated articles are also very common in the modern society. I know that in my local
newspaper there are always letters to the editor addressing local issues and how the individual
thinks they should be handled. With regards to the Ray Rice case, such opinionated articles
might say how their opinion on Ray Rice as a person and player has changed, other articles may
be more broad and talk about domestic violence as a whole.
Our opinion article says, Ray Rice may have ruined his career but it wasnt the actual act that
ruined him, it was the release of the video. There is no doubt in my mind that what Ray Rice did was a
crime but the hypocrisy surrounding the scandal is even worse. When he was suspended from the NFL it
wasnt a thought-out decision, it was a reactive decision.
The release of the video by TMZ not only came with the publics reaction but also
the NFLs reaction. They suspended him indefinitely not because of his actions but because
of what would happen if they didnt suspend him. This is because of the major voice the
public now holds with access to social media such as Twitter and Facebook. The fact that
people now view him as a horrible human being and completely disregard any charity
work done by him is awful. Its up to the point where he has even been removed from the
game Madden 15.
But no one wants to acknowledge that his wife is still with him, the victim of this
whole ordeal. This clearly shows that Ray and his wife have moved on from the incident.
There have been other examples of domestic violence in other sports such as in soccer.
Hope Solo attacked her nephew and her sister-in-law and is facing domestic violence
charges but she faced no punishment and is still playing for the US womens soccer team.
But to the public this doesnt matter since they want evidence like the Ray video they want
to be able to latch onto something like a tick and bleed it dry. So it doesnt matter what
happens now Ray Rice has now been permanently marked as an abusive husband and this
is going to follow him for the rest of his life.
While I dont condone his actions I also dont approve of the publics. I think that this
whole ordeal should have stayed in the courtroom, and that his punishment should have
been left to court officials and not the public.
We chose this genre because it is different than the other opinion articles come
about
voluntarily. Someone wants the public to know their opinion. The discourse modes
of an opinion article are interaction, information, and description. It is an interaction
because people write opinion articles so other people see them and they are going to

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usually contain information or a description about what has happened. The context of an
opinion article is going to be the authors view on that situation. The writers purpose of
writing an opinion article is to let people know about their views and hopefully persuade
them to feel the same way they do. This purpose is generally accomplished by the
authoring stating the good things that can come from thinking,voting, etc. the way they do.
The intended audience of an opinion article is usually going to be everyone, or at least
everyone who has access to the article and that is also going to be the actual audience, or at
least the people who take the time to read it.
The information in an opinion article can be whatever the writer wants it to be.
They say what they think it is necessary for them to get their point across. Opinion articles
are becoming more and more common in todays society.
Memes have recently started to become very popular. The actions of celebrities (dumb,
stupid, or embarrassing) rarely go unnoticed, and rarely go without getting joked about or made
fun of. The meme we used was a meme comparing the actions of Ray Rice (charged with
domestic violence) and Ray Lewis (allegedly killed a man but was never found guilty). The joke
behind it was how Ray Rices current case is already ten times bigger than Ray Lewis case ever
was and Ray Lewis case was far more serious since it allegedly involved a death. The discourse
of a meme is an interaction. It is made to make fun of someones actions and it is made for a lot
of people to see. The context of a meme is a joke or parody. The writers purpose is to make fun
of someones actions and this purpose is accomplished by making a joke, funny comparison, or
using a picture. The intended audience is going to be the people who have an interest in the
celebrity or an interest in the actions involving the celebrity. The actual audience is going to be
the intended audience, but it could be more people depending on who publicizes the meme.

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I feel that our genre examples, Facebook, a meme, and an opinion article have some
similarities but also have a lot of differences which give a better perspective about the different
types of genres in todays society.
Other genres we considered were Instagram, but we decided not too because it is strictly
pictures and videos, however comments are allowed and opinions could be displayed in the
caption, so there may be too much of a cross over considering we had already done Twitter and
Facebook. Another genre we considered was magazine articles but like Instagram, we felt that
since we had already done news articles and opinion articles that a magazine article would be too
similar and not offer a different kind of genre.
There are a lot of qualities that define a genre, but a lot of it is up to the writer. Qualities
that were common in the genres that we discussed were opinions, ability to post photos and
videos, the type of audience that is going to be viewing the article or case, ways to comment on
what someone says, and whether it is going to be electronic or on paper. The most common
qualities in todays society are without a doubt the ability to post photos and videos. Todays
world is overrun with technology, so a vast majority of the population is seeing the pictures,
videos, and commenting on post, etc. This is mainly concerning social media, but so many
people are involved; all ages, sexes, and races access the internet and interact through social
media. Like I stated earlier, a lot of people have strayed away from getting a newspaper just
because they can see the same (or almost the same) information in so many different places and
forms.
Changes we had to make when transferring the information were to fit the specific
genres, especially since the original genres we chose had a lot of restrictions and limitations are
far as how you could display the Ray Rice case. With the three new genres we did not have to

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worry about having a 140 character limit like Twitter. We also did not have to worry about
keeping it strictly sports related like ESPN has to. The opinion article was the easiest with
transferring information. You can say whatever you want in an opinion article and it does not
matter if the information is right or wrong. The meme was a funny and creative piece. A meme is
meant to be sarcastic or make fun of something so you do not have to compile a lot of
information and put it together like a news source would. The Facebook post is just whatever the
user wants it to be. They user post at their own risk, what they say could offend people (if it is
opinionated) but the user is free to say whatever, so if people do not like what they user has to
say then they can simply unfriend them. But, the Facebook post could also be used to make
people aware of what is going. I know that since the Ray Rice scandal has become very popular
there have been numerous Facebook pages that are advocating to end domestic violence. These
three sources each have their own unique identity, but as far as transferring information it is just
kind of natural. The analogy I would use to demonstrate transferring the information would be
how you change the type of clothes you wear with the seasons. As the genres change, the style
and format of the message naturally changes. If it did not naturally change then it would not be
that specific genre.
I have discovered that each genre has their own individual identity, with different
characteristics making up each one. Most genres are steered to appeal to different types of
people. For people that have internet or television, it has to be nearly impossible for someone not
to know at least something about the Ray Rice scandal. The story has been covered by almost all
the news sources there are, but each one tells the news or conveys their message differently.
There are no limits on genre, genre is everywhere, and is an essential part of everyones life
whether they know it or not.