Effects of Plastic Surgery

Effects of Plastic Surgery: Genre Analysis

Cosette Whitley

The University of Texas at El Paso

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Effects of Plastic Surgery: Genre Analysis

In this essay I will breakdown the meaning of societies standards and how much plastic

surgery effects people. Beauty standards and self-esteem are a very common topic in today’s

world. Most of the time people allow their perception to be modeled by what others or the

majority find attractive, which makes people go to extremes. A majority of these females see

perfection as being beautiful. Beauty standards are constantly being taken to the next level,

making women strive for the perfect skin, body, face etc. Plastic surgery can be used to help

people achieve a desired look. Or sometimes it can not only pose as a health risk if it becomes a

habit.

These two genres express different opinions, and they show their information in different

manners. They both have different structures, formats and different messages behind their

content. This means the two genres will have different impacts on its audience. The YouTube

video “Psychology of Plastic Surgery” and the article “Plastic Surgery: Beauty or Beast” both

talk about the effects of plastic surgery. Both genres provide different viewpoints.

Purpose and Audience

The YouTube video “Psychology of Plastic Surgery,” target audience is most likely

people who have already had plastic surgery or those considering. The video is aimed for

female’s ranging in ages between twenty to fifty. The language the doctor uses can be considered

somewhat more informal than the one used in the article.

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The article “Plastic Surgery: Beauty or Beast” intended audience is most likely educated women

and people interested in having procedures. They engage with the audience directly with

questions related to the issue. Also, the audience should have some previous understanding of the

plastic surgery topic, because medical terms are used to describe procedures. It seems as though

it is an informative article with professional language. When it comes to media, there is one

picture of a female face with markings on her forehead and nose indicating what will be done.

These genres are presented to target different audiences in general and that is why the language

is different.

Rhetorical Issues

In the video, the doctor establishes credibility through his verbal speech and his position.

You can straight away tell that he is very knowledgeable about this topic, which establishes

credibility. The doctor appeals to the audience by addressing his information in a positive way.

He explains how children are becoming more aware of physical abnormalities at an early age. He

says plastic surgery can help fix psychological issues if done correctly. Therefore, the patients

begin to feel safer about their procedure. The video does not provide any statistics or hard facts

that I would have liked to see. This decreases the video’s credibility because someone may need

more information than provided. The video uses what seems to be an informal in my opinion.

The article conveys an issue that is serious and important, therefore formal language is

appropriate. The website article establishes credibility because of its formal language. If

numerical data were to be provided, the article would lose its credibility. It is common for people

to lose interest quickly when it comes to a formal article involving unfamiliar medical jargon.
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Logos is established when the author cites another article and uses statistics about their topic.

This makes this information more reliable for most people.

Structure and Delivery

The video has their information organized showing facts first, then examples, making it

easier for the audience to follow. The video is under 7 minutes long which is the average time

span before losing attention. The doctor does not include as much statistics or numerical

evidence as I would have liked to see. With that being said, since this video is more on the

informal side, it is still more captivating and easier to follow.

The structure of the article introduces the topic in a way that keeps the audience interested. They

include statistics, medical evidence, and quotes. The author starts with their opinion, introduces

the facts with evidence, then ends with a conclusion. They close with a quote to leave the reader

thinking about it after they have finished reading. The structure of the article is easy to

understand so the reader understands the message it is portraying.

Conclusion

In both of these genres, I saw the difference between the way the information was

delivered. Looking at the video, “Psychology of Plastic Surgery”, the audience is different for

each genre and the quality of information is not the same. Compared to the article, “Plastic

Surgery: Beauty or Beast” is more straight forward and sends a direct message and organizes its

information. This was more professional and formal, therefore more credibility.

The more reliable source of information for patients or potential patients looking into having

plastic surgery procedures done would be the article.

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References

1. Dr. Kaczynski. (2010, March 22). Psychology of Plastic Surgery. Retrieved July 10, 2019

from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_hmq8gN604

2. Dittmann, M. (2005, September 5). Beauty or Beast. In American Psychological

Association. Retrieved July 10, 2019, from

http://www.apa.org/monitor/sep05/surgery.aspx