Del Carmen
The destruction of our natural parks and habitats has become a plague brought down by the hierarchical nature of human societies law of “Supply and Demand”. We cultivate the land in order to fulfill our needs with little or no care of the destruction we leave behind for the occupants of the once beautifully populated area. The consequences are not always so apparent to the ignorant and foolish who only see land as a ticket to profit, but to the biologists, bird hunters, teachers, and students, it is a magical world in its own right comparable to “Alice in Wonderland”, where nothing at first seems what it appears. The “Maderas del Carmen” reserve is one such area that was plagued by “mining, timber operations, overgrazing, subsistence hunting to the point of extirpation for several species, and harvesting of native plants.” Mckinney B. (2006) In the past few decades however, different types of communication have started to spread the word on natural habitats such as Maderas del Carmen. One such genre is an article entitled “Room to Roam” by Mckinney B. (2006) describes the beauty of the Maderas del Carmen area along with the various problems that still plague it today as well as why it should be a protected habitat. Another similar genre is a commercial aired on “Televisa” which advertises the beauty of the Maderas del Carmen area and further reinforces the “Room to Roam” articles idea that the area is beautiful and should be protected. Both are different genres that take radically different approaches to spread the word, but both share the same idea. That idea is to enforce change and protect the Maderas del Carmen areas beauty for future generations.
Purpose and Audience
The article “Room to Roam” by Bonnie Reynolds Mckinny is intended for an audience that knows about the danger to natural habitats but does not know, or knows very little about the Maderas del Carmen reserve. This audience includes but may not be limited to biologists, teachers, students, humane societies, park rangers, and tourists. The genre of being an article may limit the viewing audience only to those who subscribed to the “Texas Parks and Wildlife” magazine or to those who know the article exists and may look it up on the online archive for the magazine. However the magazine may also be found in any of the national parks or magazine stands in Texas which slightly expands the scope of how far the article will reach in terms of the intended audience. The intended audience may already know about the Maderas del Carmen reserve but may also want to know its history and/or the significance of its existence as a reserve. The audience also may not know about the Maderas del Carmen reserve and by reading the article will thus become informed about the area and its significance. The genre is also limited in the sense that magazine articles can only be so long and only include the information relative to the main point being made without bing to confusing. The audience will only spend around six to fifteen minutes reading the article depending on their reading speed and ability to comprehend the information being portrayed, but this also means that the article has more time to explain certain concepts to its intended audience.The articles main purpose is to inform its audience about the Maderas del Carmen reserve by providing background information along with statistics and descriptions about the reserve. This may or may not provoke some form of action from the audience such as further research to learn more about the area and/or find ways to help the cause.
The Commercial “Coahuila Maderas del Carmen” by David Torres also provides information on Maderas del Carmen but it provides it in a radically different manner and to a completely different audience. This genre conveys its information to a general TV viewing audience that ranges from children to adults. Unlike the article which is limited to only those few with a particular magazine subscription, this commercial is more widely available to the general population as most people have access to a television. The commercial is intended to presume that its audience knows nothing about the Maderas del Carmen reserve and encourages them to find out more about the area. However, the commercial may also provoke those who already know about the area to go and visit it and experience its beauty in person. As with most commercials, it is limited to a time frame of about two minutes in order to convey its agenda. It is also limited by the fact that most people probably do not pay attention to the commercials on TV. The commercial is a hybrid of being informative and entertaining as it contains eye-catching video while conveying a message at the very end.
Rhetorical Issues: Ethos, Pathos, Logos
The Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine article excels in including Ethos in order to establish credibility with its intended audience. Texas Parks and Wildlife is a government agency in the state of Texas that owns and regulates its protected areas which automatically gives this article credit in the eyes of its intended audience. In order to create a sense of Pathos, the article starts of by describing the Maderas del Carmen area in a very detailed and positive manner. It describes the beauty of the area and how it is one of the most biodiverse areas in the United States and that scientists constantly venture through the area and discover new species. Then the article takes an emotional nosedive by explaining how Maderas del Carmen was exploited, destroyed, and how many animals were driven to extinction. This creates a layer of sadness in the audience that almost persuades them want to take action and find ways to protect areas such as Maderas del Carmen.
The commercial “Coahuila Maderas del Carmen” is not as prevalent in conveying its message as the Texas Parks and Wildlife article. The commercial establishes its Ethos, or credibility, by being broadcast on TV by a major corporation, “Televisa”. The commercial is almost a completely Pathos driven story. The commercial invigorates the senses of the viewer by comparing the ferocious beauty of nature and human kind. Nature in the video is represented by a wild cougar and human kind is represented by a beautiful woman. The video then portrays various scenes of Maderas del Carmen in which some scenes show the woman and cougar in harmony, enjoying each others company. This, accompanied by the over saturated color scheme of the video and the very cultural mood driven music provides for an emotional roller coaster for the viewer. It drives the viewer into seeing that man and nature can co-exist peacefully without harming one another. This alludes to the ramifications of how Maderas del Carmen was hurt by human cultivation of the area.
Structure
The article is pretty straight-forward about the topic it is trying to educate its audience about but it is sub-divided into different sections. The different sections are not represented by a title which makes the article look more like a short story at first glance and leads its audience into the statistics and scientific facts without being too scholarly. The article starts off by describing the Maderas del Carmen area in detail, then it goes into the past and current troubles affecting the area, then it goes into the statistics and scientific facts. Each section is brief but is full of facts that get its main points across. This is because it is a journal article and it has various restrictions on length and what kind of vocabulary is used which also determines the amount of time spent reading the article. Ultimately, the structure of this article conveys its message because its purpose is to inform its audience and the article does it in manner and structure that leaves the audience asking questions which they will hopefully go on to get answers to.
In contrast to the journal article, the commercial “Coahuila Maderas del Carmen” has a very high constraint on time. This is because commercial broadcasts range from one to two minutes at a time on average. The director of the commercial took great queues with syncing the scenes most important to the commercial with the music in order to create a dedicated focus to the events most important to its central purpose. This complements the fact that the commercial is laid out in a manner that will not only get the audiences attention, but will also allow for the full transmittance of important information. A commercial such as this one, is laid out in vague terms that not every viewer will understand right away. This leads the viewers to formulate questions that they may want answers to, which is why the commercial gives the viewer a way to find out more at its conclusion. This in comparison to the article, does not convey as much information in one sitting.
Style and Language
The text throughout the “Room to Roam” article is formal for the most part but includes some professional areas. This is to cater to all audience types from people who know little about the Maderas del Carmen area, to people who may already be experienced on the subject and may want to learn more or cite it in another journal or essay. To maintain credibility throughout the article, various scientists are quoted which in the eyes of the reader, makes every statement in the article true to the word. The article also states that various endeavors to protect the area were actually negotiated with Texas Parks and Wildlife which gives the article more of an edge in ethos. The preservation of natural parks and habitats is a very serious matter and if the article was written in an informal matter, the message would not be taken seriously by the readers. There is also specialized vocabulary in the article that only people familiar with the art of conservation would understand such as “Biodiverse, niches, endemic, endangered, and brood”.
Compared to the Texas Parks and Wildlife article “Room to Roam”, the commercial “Coahuila Maderas del Carmen offers almost no text of any kind throughout the entire presentation of information. The only text in the commercial is a title at the very beginning of the commercial that says “Coahuila Maderas del Carmen” in bold, bright letters in order to let the audience know what exactly they’re looking at. The entire commercial portrays its point using the language of video and imagery which grabs more of the audiences attention than if it were a plain text commercial. What it lacks in text it makes up for in stunning visuals and imagery that grabs the viewers attention right away. The style of over saturating the video, adding dramatic cultural music, and slowing down the video is an expression of language in itself.
Conclusion
After close analysis of both styles of genre, the article “Room to Roam” and the commercial “Coahuila Maderas del Carmen, it can be concluded that both genres have their own, unique style of representing the Maderas del Carmen reserve. Although the commercial is very visually appealing, and is able to reach a farther audience, ultimately, the journal article is far better at spreading the message about Maderas del Carmen. This is because of the credit provided by being part of Texas Parks and Wildlife, and because they directly work with the area of Maderas del Carmen. Texas Parks and wildlife can also further educate its readers because they provide a direct service to its readers. Ultimately the selection of genre is very important in the communication of a particular issue or topic with its audience.
References
Castilla, D. T. (2010). Coahuila Maeras del Carmen. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJtZlTq6OZA&feature=player_profilepage
McKinney, B. R. (2006). Room to Roam. TPWD Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.tpwmagazine.com/archive/2006/nov/ed_3/
