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Evyn Williams
Dr. Wynne
English 102
5 February 2016
Genre Analysis
A genre can be defined as a category of artistic, musical, or literary composition
characterized by a particular style, form, or content (Genre). Within these there are three
distinct genre types, oral, typographic and iconographic/visual. The authors that compose these
specific genres use various techniques to convey their message to the audience. The article
When the Cyberbully is You by Nick Bilton and a clip from the 2011 drama Cyberbully both
touch on the subject of cyberbullying. However, though referring to the same topic, their
information differs and their techniques vary in order to effectively get across the message to
their intended audience.
The clip from Cyberbully focuses in on the scene where the main character, Taylor
Hillridge, attempts to commit suicide after being constantly ridiculed via the social media site
Cliquesters. She recorded her suicide letter, posted it on her wall, and begun to open a bottle of
pills. Meanwhile, her best friend, Samantha Caldone, has watched the video and begins to call
Hillridges mom to check on her while running to her house. When Hillridges mom and best
friend arrive they find her in the bathroom clutching a pill bottle. This scene is structured to
showcase the melancholy mood surrounding the events. All the actors are wearing neutral colors
so their appearance doesnt take away from the happenings of the scene. Breathe Me by Sia plays
loudly in the background, the tone and lyrics of the song matching the mood of the scene.
Hillridge looking at her computer then sobbing into her pillow as the words, Be my friend, hold

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me. Wrap me up, unfold me. I am small, and needy. Warm me up and breathe me, plays in the
background (Furler). As Hillridge attempts suicide the scene has a rather slow feel, no one is
talking and the actors move around slowly. As the scene progresses the pace picks up, phone
calls begin to take place and Hillridges mother and friend are running into the house, giving way
to a rather rushed and alarming feeling. The directors of the film, particularly addressing this
short scene, use pathos or appeal to emotion to truly convey the harm that cyberbullying causes.
The faces of despair on a single mother, best friend and brothers faces as they walk in on their
loved one in an emotional state is heartwrenching. Tears running down the mothers and best
friends faces as they hug Hillridge on the cold bathroom floor covered in pills and her younger
brother glances in from the door with tears in his eyes. That alone leaving the average person
thinking twice about cyberbullying. This films target audience, students, parents, teachers and
children, are truly given highlights of the dangers that couple cyberbullying. In the five short
minutes this scene took to develop an effective message of the effects of cyberbullying and the
sheer need to stop cyberbullying had been developed ("Cyberbully - Suicide Attempt Scene").
In contrast, the article When the Cyberbully is You addresses an extremely different
reality. Bilton begins by listing several notable stories of celebrities, such as Monica Lewinsky,
Jon Ronson, and Louis CK, that have been cyberbullied and have spoken out on it. He then starts
on a story of a former public relations executive, Justine Sacco, whod been ridiculed on Twitter
and a writer for the Gawker, Sam Biddle, that enjoyed being apart of this mob. Consequently,
Biddle soon began to be the butt of his own media mob and understood the harm that the
cyberbullying caused. Bilton addresses those who have ever added to the masses when mocking
a person online. He appeals to emotions and values, pathos, by providing many accounts of
cyberbullying and having them seem as if they could happen to anyone, just as it happened to

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Biddle. Its almost as if he makes you feel bad for Sacco and Biddle, making you want to never
put someone in the position. This making it so that anytime you are about to join or lead an
online protest against an individual you begin to feel guilty. Bilton also addresses the fact that
most people do not intend on being mean when hopping onto a mob, but rather feel like theyre
doing a justice. But hundreds of people that feel as if theyre serving justices by attacking one
person can become overwhelming. The article ends by asking the reader to think before joining
in the online rage and to remember that a human with feelings is on the receiving end. The
structure, leading with many accounts of cyberbullying then having a call to action to stop you
from cyberbullying, lending to the thought process by allowing one to think about if they have
ever done this to someone or if they would want this to be done to them and then giving a
suggestion on how to rectify the situation. Ultimately, getting the audience to, at the very less,
think twice before cyberbullying (Bilton).
The two genres, though both discussing cyberbullying, took two very different
approaches. The clip had the task of showcasing the hazards of social media through visuals,
while the article was able to elaborate on the topic through words. The clip from Cyberbully was
able to showcase the aftermath of a cyberbullying attack, while the article stopped you from
being the cause of this attack. Though different both genres tackled the task of presenting the
information clearly and fulfilled the goal of effective communication.

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Works Cited
Bilton, Nick. "When the Cyberbully Is You." The New York Times. The New York Times, 29
Apr. 2015. Web. 04 Feb. 2016.
"Cyberbully - Suicide Attempt Scene." YouTube. YouTube, 10 Mar. 2013.
Web. 04 Feb. 2016.
Furler, Sia, and Dan Carey. Breathe Me. Sia. Jimmy Hogarth, 2004. MP3.
"Genre." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 4 Feb. 2016.