Category: Unit 3

The topic I initially chose was that of the criminalization of marijuana in the United States. I chose to research how and why marijuana was made illegal in America if it’s common knowledge that marijuana can be use medicinally. Being that I’m not arguing anything and just merely sharing information, I don’t really have an argument to make nor do I need any evidence to support my argument. The new non-traditional genre that I’m choosing is an informational video. The reason being is that videos can be accessed by almost any and everyone. Videos can also stay online forever and have a chance at going viral. As long as the video is kept to about a minute it is very likely that hundreds, thousands, and maybe even millions of people might see it. By having such a large audience it can help educate people about why marijuana was criminalized and how the plant is not an enemy. With that being said, this video won’t have a specific target audience. It’s targeted more for people who like to learn about history, but also for anyone who wants to know the truth. Moreover, I believe that an informational video is the best way to be able to share the real history behind the criminalization of marijuana.

My unit two topic was the history of the legality of marijuana in the United States. More specifically it was about why marijuana was ever made illegal in the first place. After an extensive amount of research into it’s history it had become very obvious that marijuana was made illegal because of racism. As a result there are several different genres that can successfully convey this information. Whether they’re traditional or not. Since this is a topic about informing people almost anyway where people will view or hear the information would suffice. It’s more about spreading information than making an argument. With that being said, an essay or article would be the obvious choice if we’re looking for something more traditional. However we’re not and therefore, I believe the best 3 possible “new genres” that will successfully be able to tell the history of marijuana in this country are, a podcast, an informational video, or a Ted Talk. Being that there is no real target audience for my topic but rather it’s just for anyone who’s interested in history, these 3 genres would be able to get the point across thoroughly. Podcasts, Ted Talks, and informational videos tend to be short, concise, and straight to the point. As a result, it would be easy to keep people from all different backgrounds interested. While all of these things can be short they can also be much longer, for people who want the full in depth history. Informational videos can even be interactive, which can make it even easier to gather an audience and help inform people on the real reason as to why marijuana was criminalized instead of what they try to tell us. Moreover, they’re things that can be streamed repeatedly. Something like an article or magazine will be lost once it’s thrown in the garbage, however what’s put up on the internet stays there forever. This means it can reach a larger amount of people over time.