1) What information did you find useful in this class?
I found the different perspectives and what they entail to be very useful. By knowing what they are I can readily see them within our media and society. Knowing about them informs me as a person and allows me to make better decisions about what I'm actually gaining from the media.
2) What do you think were the best or challenging aspects of this class?
The most challenging aspects of the class were definitely choosing artifacts. I have so many different things that I want to talk about. I wish we could have chosen an artifact from every different form of media. i.e. one commercial, one song, one movie, one show, as they pertained to different perspectives. Then chose the one you like the best for your final paper or just create a new one that you never got the chance to talk about. I think I would have grasped things easier that way and it would have allowed me to talk more about different aspects of media I feel passionately about.
3) In general, how might you incorporate the knowledge and experiences gained from this class into your personal, academic, and professional life beyond this classroom?
The best thing about public speaking classes and pop culture classes is that one can gain a sense further than the classroom. By learning all of these perspectives we can now analyze and take in information knowing how they were put together and came to be relayed to the public. We can make better and more informed choices about what we chose to believe from the media. As well as be able to express and present our theoires and ideas to others about certain artifacts within the media. This class gives us the tools to express ourselves and our opinions not only in the classroom, but in the office, board room, living room, dinner table, and stage as well.
4) Think of a specific question or issue that is most pressing to you right now. How would you use the knowledge from this class (e.g., knowledge of rhetoric and/or rhetorical criticism) to gain perspective on this question or issue? Right now something that I have been playing around with in my mind is the virality of the kony 2012 video and how people were so excited and involved within the cause. This week marks cover the night, and I am afraid that all the critics will be correct in their assumption that no one will go out and support the cover the night cause. By using the theories and perspectives we learned in this class, if I wanted to, I could further analyze these news casters ideas and theories on why they think the way they do to form my own opinion, as well as delve deeper into the issue to see what the newscaster is trying to support or go against and what values it might en-tale for him/her if they go one way or another on this issue.
Overall I really enjoyed this class. It allowed us to deal with events and ideas that are current and pressing, not just information in a textbook, it was fun!
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Monday, April 2, 2012
# 7 Stupid Girls
Stupid Girls - P!nk
The Song "Stupid Girls" by popular artist P!nk displays her opinion on the role models that young girls have to look up to today. The video starts out by showing a young girl in pig-tales and and a football jersey contemplating what to play with. She turns on the television and sees an array of "stupid girls" on the screen portraying all of the things the young girl should be interested in such as premium artisan coffee, little dogs, spray tan, expensive clothes, bags, cars, and cell phones. P!nk acts out both the stupid girls as well as who she really is as a person and furthermore a celebrity. Based on the visual perspective, P!nk is not only displaying and perpetuating terms such as visual pleasure theory, psychoanalysis, psychoanalytic theory, self-image, scopophelia, and narcissim but she is also questioning these images in our society and disapproving of them. The video ends with the little girl, after seeing all of these images of stupid girls, she ends up turning off the tv and making the decision to go play outside. This video is displaying the lack of role models young girls have and the lack of discussion on the topic.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
#6 A Simple Kind of Life
No Doubt - A Simple Kind of Life
A Simple Kind of Life was released by the rock band No Doubt in the early 2000's. The video features the lead singer wanting a "simple kind of life." We see through the video that her life is anything but simple. The song starts out with the words, "For a long time I was in love. Not only in love, I was obsessed. With a friendship that no one else could touch. It didn't work out." The lyrics paired with the image of the girl on screen walking away from her former love in a wedding gown depicts that she had wanted to marry this man but as she says it, "didn't work out." She says shortly following, "All I needed was a simple man, so I could be a wife." We understand as viewers that she is looking for a husband, but by dissecting her words, we hear that she doesn't really care who the man is, she just wants to be a wife. This is reinforced by the video clipping to her on a couch with another "love" of hers.
She continues to the second verse with this second male. She says, "I'm so ashamed, I've been so mean
I don't know how it got to this point." This indicates that these people are failed relationships. It's interesting to note that not only does she mention these relationships, but more so she focuses the song on herself. She's expressing her own actions within the relationship and trying to figure out how the simple notion of wanting a simple life is harder than it had always seemed.
One of the last verses she is featured with the third love interest. She's sitting on a chair and he's sitting down next to her in front of a drum. He sips some of his drink and then hands it to her to hold while he drums. She looks sad and sings, "I always thought I'd be a mom. Sometimes I wish for a mistake
The longer that I wait the more selfish that I get. You seem like you'd be a good dad." With the last statement she smiles and he gets up and moves to a bigger drum set. This last verse we see that she yearns to be a mom and wants to have a child. The men she's with obviously don't want one. She says that sometimes she wishes for a mistake, meaning a pregnancy.
The next scene in the video goes into her (in a wedding dress) and the three men (all in tuxes) walking underneath a helicopter. She is stumbling in her dress and sings the last verse, "Now all those simple things are simply too complicated for my life. How'd I get so faithful to my freedom? A selfish kind of life. When all I ever wanted was the simple things. A simple kind of life." All she wants is a family and a baby or a "simple life," but as we can see in this verse these things are too complicated for her life. If she focused on loving the men she was with instead of only thinking of herself and her life then maybe she would have that simple life she always dreamt of. She asks, "How did I get so faithful to my freedom?" meaning how did she keep trying to be free and fight for herself if all she wanted was to be surrounded by a family.
At the end of the video the woman finds a baby and looks around to the different "husband" characters as if to chose a father. She runs away and hands the baby to her mother. Then walks away.
Using the music perspective we can see the music sounds displacent and sad for the most part with upbeat parts intermixed. It has a release pattern for most of the song, but fades into a few release patterns for added effect. This effect creates a congruent message where the emotion of the song in lyrics follows it in musical tone.
The song is targeted to both women and men. Young girls are targeted because they want to be and look like the girl first portrayed as in love. Mothers and wives are targeted because that is what the girl wants to be so badly in the video. Single women are targeted as well because that's the way the girl ends up. Men are targeted throughout the video mostly to view the woman in the video. At one point shes topless and covered in glitter contributing greatly to the sex drive and appeal to men. I think the video is also appealing to men because it shows how men are pressured to have kids by their significant others.
Some of the potential messages being communicated to the audience within this video may be, the question of having children, the question of being too selfish in a relationship, the sanctity of marriage or perhaps how to pursue the right mate. All in all the potentical implication I see within this video is not to marry who you are unsure of being able to achieve a simple life with. By doing so three times the woman is expressing that by wasting her time on the men that were not right for her she acted selfishly and now doesn't have a family.
She continues to the second verse with this second male. She says, "I'm so ashamed, I've been so mean
I don't know how it got to this point." This indicates that these people are failed relationships. It's interesting to note that not only does she mention these relationships, but more so she focuses the song on herself. She's expressing her own actions within the relationship and trying to figure out how the simple notion of wanting a simple life is harder than it had always seemed.
One of the last verses she is featured with the third love interest. She's sitting on a chair and he's sitting down next to her in front of a drum. He sips some of his drink and then hands it to her to hold while he drums. She looks sad and sings, "I always thought I'd be a mom. Sometimes I wish for a mistake
The longer that I wait the more selfish that I get. You seem like you'd be a good dad." With the last statement she smiles and he gets up and moves to a bigger drum set. This last verse we see that she yearns to be a mom and wants to have a child. The men she's with obviously don't want one. She says that sometimes she wishes for a mistake, meaning a pregnancy.
The next scene in the video goes into her (in a wedding dress) and the three men (all in tuxes) walking underneath a helicopter. She is stumbling in her dress and sings the last verse, "Now all those simple things are simply too complicated for my life. How'd I get so faithful to my freedom? A selfish kind of life. When all I ever wanted was the simple things. A simple kind of life." All she wants is a family and a baby or a "simple life," but as we can see in this verse these things are too complicated for her life. If she focused on loving the men she was with instead of only thinking of herself and her life then maybe she would have that simple life she always dreamt of. She asks, "How did I get so faithful to my freedom?" meaning how did she keep trying to be free and fight for herself if all she wanted was to be surrounded by a family.
At the end of the video the woman finds a baby and looks around to the different "husband" characters as if to chose a father. She runs away and hands the baby to her mother. Then walks away.
Using the music perspective we can see the music sounds displacent and sad for the most part with upbeat parts intermixed. It has a release pattern for most of the song, but fades into a few release patterns for added effect. This effect creates a congruent message where the emotion of the song in lyrics follows it in musical tone.
The song is targeted to both women and men. Young girls are targeted because they want to be and look like the girl first portrayed as in love. Mothers and wives are targeted because that is what the girl wants to be so badly in the video. Single women are targeted as well because that's the way the girl ends up. Men are targeted throughout the video mostly to view the woman in the video. At one point shes topless and covered in glitter contributing greatly to the sex drive and appeal to men. I think the video is also appealing to men because it shows how men are pressured to have kids by their significant others.
Some of the potential messages being communicated to the audience within this video may be, the question of having children, the question of being too selfish in a relationship, the sanctity of marriage or perhaps how to pursue the right mate. All in all the potentical implication I see within this video is not to marry who you are unsure of being able to achieve a simple life with. By doing so three times the woman is expressing that by wasting her time on the men that were not right for her she acted selfishly and now doesn't have a family.
Monday, March 12, 2012
#5 You Lint Licker!
Orbit Gum Commercial
This commercial came out a few years ago and I found and still find it hilarious. It quickly became a popular ad for Orbit Gum's Dirty Mouth Campaign. Within the commercial the businessman's wife walks in on him mingling with what appears to be the "cheating assistant" or secretary. The wife confronts the man about the other woman and he tells her to stop overreacting. The woman and the wife get into an argument that soon escalates to a fight. During the whole altercation the three characters are simultaneously chewing Orbit Gum and not using curse words in the situation when one normally would. The tag line and the orbit girl come in, "Fabulous, New Orbit Raspberry Mint cleans another dirty mouth. For a good clean feeling, no matter what." The pun here being that their dirty language and their dirty mouth was being cleaned with the gum.
While at first galnce this commercial seems to be a funny advertisement for Orbit gum, by analyzing this commercial through the Marxist perspective one can see examples of economic metaphor, preferred reading, and occluded preferred reading uncovering the true purpose for the commercial.
Economic metaphors are anything that signifies something about the culture's ideas, norms, values or practices. In this commercial, the economic metaphor is that when faced with heartbreak, tragedy, or anger as a society we permit "dirty language" to be allowed. In the commercial the "dirty words" are replaced with silly little sayings or non threatening words. By replacing these words the commercial is poking fun at our societies ability to allow dirty words based on elevated situational happenings. It also shows that as a society we maintain our honor and status by saying horrible things to each other. The person with the worst name to call the other wins in an argument. This commercial is really designed to make us feel ashamed of our dirty mouths and want to replace that shame with Orbit Gum to clean up our language because we see how silly we act through the examples that the actors give.
A preferred reading is known as something easy to pick up on or "the norm" in a situation. In this commercial the preferred reading is a middle to upper class white wife visiting her husband at work. We know by the actions of the wife throwing the box that she is angry and we assume that it has something to do with the husband and his secretary. These assumptions are what is known as preferred readings. Viewers immediately know something is wrong. The ad displays this reading to show that the we all have problems, and even in the midst of them it's nice to maintain a "clean mouth". While the advertisement shows the characters yelling at each other their actual words are clean and nice sounding. A preferred reading of the actual wording makes the situation seem much less volatile.
Alongside a preferred reading is an occluded preferred reading. An Occluded reading is something similar to the preferred reading but more subtle. The characters in the commercial also represent an occluded reading because while the characters seem to have nice clothes and good manners we quickly find out that they are lower than what we expected. They soon show us that they don't carry themselves well and that they are going to make a scene. As the situation escalates into a physical fight viewers realize that what they are seeing is really an occluded reading because the characters are not who they first appeared to be. Their language may be cleaned up with their gum, but their body language can't be stifled. Thus, the viewer gets the message that no matter who you are and in whatever situation you can have the power of a clean mouth just like our characters have.
By looking at the Marxist Perspective and termonology we as viewers can identify that this commercial is not simply about chewing gum, but how our society holds itself in front of others. While our presentation of ourselves and our society may seem on the surface as a clean holistic and valuable one, when looked at in depth may come to be a trashier omitting one, yet, whatever the case may be we all have the power to have clean mouths.
While at first galnce this commercial seems to be a funny advertisement for Orbit gum, by analyzing this commercial through the Marxist perspective one can see examples of economic metaphor, preferred reading, and occluded preferred reading uncovering the true purpose for the commercial.
Economic metaphors are anything that signifies something about the culture's ideas, norms, values or practices. In this commercial, the economic metaphor is that when faced with heartbreak, tragedy, or anger as a society we permit "dirty language" to be allowed. In the commercial the "dirty words" are replaced with silly little sayings or non threatening words. By replacing these words the commercial is poking fun at our societies ability to allow dirty words based on elevated situational happenings. It also shows that as a society we maintain our honor and status by saying horrible things to each other. The person with the worst name to call the other wins in an argument. This commercial is really designed to make us feel ashamed of our dirty mouths and want to replace that shame with Orbit Gum to clean up our language because we see how silly we act through the examples that the actors give.
A preferred reading is known as something easy to pick up on or "the norm" in a situation. In this commercial the preferred reading is a middle to upper class white wife visiting her husband at work. We know by the actions of the wife throwing the box that she is angry and we assume that it has something to do with the husband and his secretary. These assumptions are what is known as preferred readings. Viewers immediately know something is wrong. The ad displays this reading to show that the we all have problems, and even in the midst of them it's nice to maintain a "clean mouth". While the advertisement shows the characters yelling at each other their actual words are clean and nice sounding. A preferred reading of the actual wording makes the situation seem much less volatile.
Alongside a preferred reading is an occluded preferred reading. An Occluded reading is something similar to the preferred reading but more subtle. The characters in the commercial also represent an occluded reading because while the characters seem to have nice clothes and good manners we quickly find out that they are lower than what we expected. They soon show us that they don't carry themselves well and that they are going to make a scene. As the situation escalates into a physical fight viewers realize that what they are seeing is really an occluded reading because the characters are not who they first appeared to be. Their language may be cleaned up with their gum, but their body language can't be stifled. Thus, the viewer gets the message that no matter who you are and in whatever situation you can have the power of a clean mouth just like our characters have.
By looking at the Marxist Perspective and termonology we as viewers can identify that this commercial is not simply about chewing gum, but how our society holds itself in front of others. While our presentation of ourselves and our society may seem on the surface as a clean holistic and valuable one, when looked at in depth may come to be a trashier omitting one, yet, whatever the case may be we all have the power to have clean mouths.
What the french, toast?!
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Titanic Exploration Prenotes 2/7
Titanic is probably the worst movie I could have chosen to do this project as it's three and a half hours long, but it's one of my favorites so I will continue on. We were supposed to watch the movie a few times through missing various elements, i.e. sound, picture...I don't have time to watch this movie more than once so I split it up into a few parts and took out the missing elements that way. It was pretty interesting to do so. You experience the movie in a whole new way, you pick up more so on the actors exquisite training. They're body language and their verbal ques and pronunciation and delivery makes such a huge difference to the way we receive the movie. Another thing I noticed is how beefed up scenes appear with music. The musical element is detrimental to the picture as a whole.
Since Titanic is such a monster of a film containing so many pieces, I've decided to focus my analyzation on Rose's character and her attitude for that time period. Making this my focus I feel it's right to redefine my Pentad.
ACT: Rose's journey from snooty little rich girl to an actual person. Rose becomes a revolutionary woman for her time period. From the beginning of the film she bucks against the strict system she has been placed in since birth. Through the film we see her constantly breaking her family's rules and the strict upper-class societal roles of the time period by fraternizing with Jack. We see Rose fall in love with him as the movie goes on and by the end we witness Rose as a new woman. She gives up her wealthy background and lives life doing the things she spoke of but never dreamed of doing with jack. At the end of the movie we see all of Rose's pictures on her dresser giving the notion that Jack's presence in her life gave her the power to break away from her family and truly live.
SCENE: The scene takes place mostly on the R.M.S. Titanic. However, the movie changes from 1912 to 1997 periodically throughout the movie. The scene is Rose's life, starting on the Titanic and ending in her room in 1997.
AGENT: Many of the characters interact with Rose, however, since my focus is Rose's change, I would say the women of her life are the main people involved. Her mother, her mothers friends, as well as Cal her fiance and Jack her love interest. All of these people lead her to change her personality throughout the film. Rose's role starts out as being her family's only chance at keeping their wealthy name. She is to be married to Cal, a man with a very wealthy background and a good provider for rose and her family. Her role slowly moves into being her own woman and independent. By the end of the film she has captured that independence.
AGENCY: Rose's demeanor changes drastically throughout the film. In the beginning of the film she is proud and bratty. She talks down to others and assumes her status by being rude and upsetting to everyone she comes into contact with. She acts this way because she has been taught to. She starts to question the meaning of her life and realizes that she is a pawn being played to maintain her families wealth. She starts to rebel against her status and by meeting jack she lets her hair down so to speak and becomes a more laid back and understanding person.
PURPOSE: Rose's character and purpose is to show women that they don't have to be told what to do in any society. Women are capable of making their own decisions and not living just for the enjoyment of the men around them. Rose chooses love over money when the boat is sinking and she joins Jack instead of Cal. She risks her own life to express her love and the fact that she is not owned by anyone. For the time period her decision is groundbreaking and stands to show that women have choices and the ability to make the one they want.
I didn't define the themes of Transcendence, Mortification, or Victimage in my last post so I'll do that now as they are easily shown in the film.
TRANSCENDENCE: Rose transcends in the film by breaking all of her mother's and finace's rules. She also bucks aginst the societal role of being a woman in the time period by "hanging out" with Jack. I think the scene that most shows her transcendence is when her mother is asking her to get on the life boat and she decides instead to jump out of the boat and go with Jack. In this instance she is going against everything and everyone by defying everyone but herself. She chose to do what she wanted.
MORTIFICATION: One instance of Rose's mortification is well exemplified in the scene where she rescues Jack from the locked room. Cal and his body guard set Jack up by putting the diamond necklace into his coat pocket. They took him to a holding cell, handcuffed him to a pipe and hid the key. Rose, at first was shocked and believed that because of Jacks background and stolen coat that he was in fact guilty of committing the crime. When she arrives to get Jack out of his predicament she expresses how sorry she is for not believing him and how stupid she was for even considering he was what Cal and his guard had painted him to be.
VICTIMAGE: The only aspect of victimage I can identify from Rose's perspective is her mother. In the scene where Rose is at tea with the women and her mother she observes a little girl being taught how to sit straight in her chair. At this moment Rose realizes that her mother is to blame for her societal views and Rose could care less how much money her and her family have. She doesn't like the way people of wealth treat others and how they map out their childrens' life based on money. Life isn't monetary, it's life.
PAPER OUTLINE:
Introduction: 1. A few sentences on the Titanic.
2. Who made the film
3. What scale was the film made
4. About the film
5. Why was the film made?
6. What's the historical background
7. Thesis Statement (focus on Rose)
8. Pentad
Body:1. Act, topic sentence, examples
2. Scene, topic sentence, examples
3. Agent, topic sentence, examples
4. Agency, topic sentence, examples
5. Purpose, topic sentence, examples
Conclusion:
1. Restate why Rose is standing up for women
2. Restate the importance of her character
3. Restate what she does for the time period
4. State effects this has on audiences
5. Call to action, what does it tell you and what should you do about it?
INTRODUCTION:
The RMS Titanic was known mistakenly as the "unsinkable ship". The Titanic was the first ship of it's kind and exuded a majestic elegance to it's 2,223 passengers. Upon it's maiden voyage in April of 1912 the ship tragically struck an iceberg resulting in the death of 1,517 passengers. In 1997 James Cameron set off on attempting to make a visionary masterpiece which recalled the events of the evening almost 100 years ago. The storyline intermixed modern day with the memory of one of the passengers. This passenger came to be known as Rose Dewitt Bukater played by the lovely Kate Winslet. Her character fell in love with a Mr. Jack Dawson, the dreamy role of none other than Leonardo Dicaprio. The film took audiences back in time to the glorious magnitude that was aboard the RMS Titanic. None so glorious than the blossoming love story between Rose and Jack. While many assume the two characters were added into the Titanic's history for Hollywood reasons, I tend to disagree. Although many view Rose's character as the romantic counterpart to a fictional love story, through deep Burkian Theory and pedtadic analysis we can prove the director's painted her to be a voice to a generation as well as an active feminist woman for her time period.
Since Titanic is such a monster of a film containing so many pieces, I've decided to focus my analyzation on Rose's character and her attitude for that time period. Making this my focus I feel it's right to redefine my Pentad.
ACT: Rose's journey from snooty little rich girl to an actual person. Rose becomes a revolutionary woman for her time period. From the beginning of the film she bucks against the strict system she has been placed in since birth. Through the film we see her constantly breaking her family's rules and the strict upper-class societal roles of the time period by fraternizing with Jack. We see Rose fall in love with him as the movie goes on and by the end we witness Rose as a new woman. She gives up her wealthy background and lives life doing the things she spoke of but never dreamed of doing with jack. At the end of the movie we see all of Rose's pictures on her dresser giving the notion that Jack's presence in her life gave her the power to break away from her family and truly live.
SCENE: The scene takes place mostly on the R.M.S. Titanic. However, the movie changes from 1912 to 1997 periodically throughout the movie. The scene is Rose's life, starting on the Titanic and ending in her room in 1997.
AGENT: Many of the characters interact with Rose, however, since my focus is Rose's change, I would say the women of her life are the main people involved. Her mother, her mothers friends, as well as Cal her fiance and Jack her love interest. All of these people lead her to change her personality throughout the film. Rose's role starts out as being her family's only chance at keeping their wealthy name. She is to be married to Cal, a man with a very wealthy background and a good provider for rose and her family. Her role slowly moves into being her own woman and independent. By the end of the film she has captured that independence.
AGENCY: Rose's demeanor changes drastically throughout the film. In the beginning of the film she is proud and bratty. She talks down to others and assumes her status by being rude and upsetting to everyone she comes into contact with. She acts this way because she has been taught to. She starts to question the meaning of her life and realizes that she is a pawn being played to maintain her families wealth. She starts to rebel against her status and by meeting jack she lets her hair down so to speak and becomes a more laid back and understanding person.
PURPOSE: Rose's character and purpose is to show women that they don't have to be told what to do in any society. Women are capable of making their own decisions and not living just for the enjoyment of the men around them. Rose chooses love over money when the boat is sinking and she joins Jack instead of Cal. She risks her own life to express her love and the fact that she is not owned by anyone. For the time period her decision is groundbreaking and stands to show that women have choices and the ability to make the one they want.
I didn't define the themes of Transcendence, Mortification, or Victimage in my last post so I'll do that now as they are easily shown in the film.
TRANSCENDENCE: Rose transcends in the film by breaking all of her mother's and finace's rules. She also bucks aginst the societal role of being a woman in the time period by "hanging out" with Jack. I think the scene that most shows her transcendence is when her mother is asking her to get on the life boat and she decides instead to jump out of the boat and go with Jack. In this instance she is going against everything and everyone by defying everyone but herself. She chose to do what she wanted.
MORTIFICATION: One instance of Rose's mortification is well exemplified in the scene where she rescues Jack from the locked room. Cal and his body guard set Jack up by putting the diamond necklace into his coat pocket. They took him to a holding cell, handcuffed him to a pipe and hid the key. Rose, at first was shocked and believed that because of Jacks background and stolen coat that he was in fact guilty of committing the crime. When she arrives to get Jack out of his predicament she expresses how sorry she is for not believing him and how stupid she was for even considering he was what Cal and his guard had painted him to be.
VICTIMAGE: The only aspect of victimage I can identify from Rose's perspective is her mother. In the scene where Rose is at tea with the women and her mother she observes a little girl being taught how to sit straight in her chair. At this moment Rose realizes that her mother is to blame for her societal views and Rose could care less how much money her and her family have. She doesn't like the way people of wealth treat others and how they map out their childrens' life based on money. Life isn't monetary, it's life.
PAPER OUTLINE:
Introduction: 1. A few sentences on the Titanic.
2. Who made the film
3. What scale was the film made
4. About the film
5. Why was the film made?
6. What's the historical background
7. Thesis Statement (focus on Rose)
8. Pentad
Body:1. Act, topic sentence, examples
2. Scene, topic sentence, examples
3. Agent, topic sentence, examples
4. Agency, topic sentence, examples
5. Purpose, topic sentence, examples
Conclusion:
1. Restate why Rose is standing up for women
2. Restate the importance of her character
3. Restate what she does for the time period
4. State effects this has on audiences
5. Call to action, what does it tell you and what should you do about it?
INTRODUCTION:
The RMS Titanic was known mistakenly as the "unsinkable ship". The Titanic was the first ship of it's kind and exuded a majestic elegance to it's 2,223 passengers. Upon it's maiden voyage in April of 1912 the ship tragically struck an iceberg resulting in the death of 1,517 passengers. In 1997 James Cameron set off on attempting to make a visionary masterpiece which recalled the events of the evening almost 100 years ago. The storyline intermixed modern day with the memory of one of the passengers. This passenger came to be known as Rose Dewitt Bukater played by the lovely Kate Winslet. Her character fell in love with a Mr. Jack Dawson, the dreamy role of none other than Leonardo Dicaprio. The film took audiences back in time to the glorious magnitude that was aboard the RMS Titanic. None so glorious than the blossoming love story between Rose and Jack. While many assume the two characters were added into the Titanic's history for Hollywood reasons, I tend to disagree. Although many view Rose's character as the romantic counterpart to a fictional love story, through deep Burkian Theory and pedtadic analysis we can prove the director's painted her to be a voice to a generation as well as an active feminist woman for her time period.
Monday, January 30, 2012
"If You Jump, I Jump." Post 1/31
When discussing the Dramatistic perspective, the only thing that comes to mind is the film Titanic. In my opinion no film has better displayed the magnitude of production better than Titanic. When learning about Burke's Pentad in class I could think of no better example than this scene starring the dreamy Leonardo Dicaprio and the exquisite Kate Winslet. Sorry ahead of time for the quality and the subtitles, I couldn't find a better clip.
- Act: What happened? What is the action? What is going on? What action; what thoughts?
- Scene: Where is the act happening? What is the background situation?
- Agent: Who is involved in the action? What are their roles?
- Agency: How do the agents act? By what means do they act?
- Purpose: Why do the agents act? What do they want?
ACT: Within this scene Rose is attempting to commit suicide, Jack sees her and stops her. They discuss the degree of the water and the audience is witnessing the two characters interact for the first time. Jack persuades Rose that not only will she be killing herself, but he, now apart of the ordeal, will be forced to jump in after her. She decides to come back onto the other side of the rail and slips on her garment. Jack pulls her to safety just as the guards arrive from hearing the screams. Jack is seen as a criminal that has assaulted rose and is told to stand back and later put in handcuffs.
SCENE: The act is taking place on the back of the Titanic. The background situation we don't see in this clip is that Jack is poor and lusts to be with Rose. Rose appears to be very wealthy and is surrounded by the most wealthy on the ship. She is running in the beginning of the scene because she can't take being in her position anymore. She feels trapped and suffocated by her societal position and within her relationships.
AGENT: Jack Dawson: A poor drifter that won his seats on the Titanic in a poker game. He's an artist and an experienced young man that takes out of life what most miss. Rose Dewitt Bukater: A rich young aristocratic woman that is being pushed into marriage and a way of life to save her family's name and title. She is bold and uncharacteristic for her time. She questions authority and the social structure of her time.
AGENCY: Jack takes his life into his own hands most o the time. He has very little to offer anyone and for that reason he can easily move along. He has no family and no responsibility. He gets by on what he has and that's usually enough for him. He takes what he needs and he lives day by day waiting to see what life has in store for him. Rose on the other hand is the pillar that is holding her family together. She is thrust into the lime light, primped and prodded to uphold her family's image of beauty and wealth. Rose is slowly cracking under the pressure. She is realizing that this is not the life she asked for and in fact that this is not life at all. She is being played like a pawn in a game and her only way out is taking her own life. When the two collide together we see the beautiful juxtaposition they make on screen; her sophisticated elegance and his shabby confidence. They are both acting on their feelings for one another and the gravity of the situation.
PURPOSE:The agents act to display to the audience a stigma of the time period concerning men and women as well as the relationship between the rich and the poor. They also act to help attach invested emotion and a memorable story for the historical sinking of the ship. They want to capture the audiences attention an relay the idea that every person that didn't survive the sinking of the ship had a life with a similar background. Weather rich or poor each life was important and should be remembered.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
1/19 Snugarific!
Oh the wonderful wonderment of the Snuggie, the blanket with arms. Who doesn't remember seeing this commercial for the first time and thinking, "Yeah right, who would buy that?" Only to be one-upped by the equally ridiculous, unnecessary, and horribly named Forever Lazy.
The Snuggie
These commercials quickly became one of the most laughed at and gawked at items in the history of crappy things advertised at three in the morning around Christmas time for $19.95. Despite this public perspective these things sold like hot cakes off the shelves and here's why.
The Forever Lazy
Welcome to the first edition of Rhetoric & Pop Culture. There are these things called "Cannons of Rhetoric". They help us explain and break down why media and literature is so effective, especially in speeches, or in this case really stupid infomercials. These cannons consist of the different parts of the work itself.
Invention: The search for persuasive ways to present information and formulate arguments. Arrangement: Organization of the parts of a presentation to ensure that all means of persuasion are present and properly disposed.
Style: The use of correct language
Memory: The use of mnemonics and practice
Delivery: Presenting the message with effective gestures and vocal modulation.
Also useful when analyzing this type of research are these three Greek words,
Ethos- Credibility
Pathos- Emotional Appeal
Logos- Logic
Within these two commercials the invention is ever present. The commercial takes us through several scenarios where both the Snuggie and the Forever Lazy could be useful and even economical. By saving money on your heating bills, and staying warm and comfortable while still having mobility both products seem to prove themselves to the viewer. The formulation of these arguments is simple. The logos or logical appeal is that the blanket will come to save you time and money in the future. Pathos, the emotional appeal is presented as keeping you happy and comfortable. Lastly Ethos or the credible part of the argument is that these products are made from the "finest fleece" and every member of the family will love them.
The arrangement of these commercials are identical. First they suck you in buy saving you money. They keep you reeled in by showing all of the frustrations of normal blankets. Then they capture you with the guaranteed wonderment and love of the product followed by an irresistible free flashlight. Wow, so tempting! Every line is set in a certain place to get you to buy.
The style of the two ads is done in a what I like to call, "real housewife" voice. The tone is calm, light, and fun. Mrs. Jones has three snuggies see? Wouldn't you like to have some as well? Look how useful they are for every household.
The arrangement of these commercials are identical. First they suck you in buy saving you money. They keep you reeled in by showing all of the frustrations of normal blankets. Then they capture you with the guaranteed wonderment and love of the product followed by an irresistible free flashlight. Wow, so tempting! Every line is set in a certain place to get you to buy.
The style of the two ads is done in a what I like to call, "real housewife" voice. The tone is calm, light, and fun. Mrs. Jones has three snuggies see? Wouldn't you like to have some as well? Look how useful they are for every household.
Memory seems to be the hardest of the cannons to pick up on. Most times memory is defined by the presenter of the product or speech and how he delivers and remembers the speech. I like to view it also as a way the viewer is meant to remember the speech. Here, I imagine every time hereafter a person that has seen this commercial and then needed to reach for something while covered in a traditional blakent will think back on the snuggie or the forever lazy and think, "Damn, that was a good idea." This to me is another form of memory that leads to sales and increased revenue.
Lastly, we have the delivery. The delivery here is the icing on the cake. The way in which these commercials are being presented is such that they are prime targets for parody. However, the graphics and reenactments are what really adds to the commercials. Without those scenes and fluctuating tone we wouldn't feel bad for throwing away money or not being lazy. The visual and tonal aspects of these commercials are what sells them. We feel stupid for not thinking of the backwards robe in the first place, thus enabling us to buy buy buy!
Therefore, while these commercials are both meaningless and hilarious, through the proper use and representation of the rhetorical cannons, these commercials sold millions of these products.
Here's a few parody's to make your day better and to point out what you really should have noticed the first time you watched these.
The WTF Blanket
Failure Pants
Stay aware America!
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