Blog Assignment 4: Commercial Rhetorical Analysis

As most of us likely know, especially given the regional location of Fort Wayne, I.E. between Chicago and Indianapolis, this weekend the fantastic, wonderful, amazing, once a year day we all eagerly anticipate is upon us. Yes folks, I'm talking about best commercial in the world day. (Also known to some sports fans as Superbowl Sunday--when they got the notion it was about sports, I couldn't tell ya.) Nevertheless, because we look to these commercials in our country for their powerful scholarly, economical, cultural, and entertainment guidance I ask you to conducting a brief analysis of 1 commercial. You should complete the following tasks:

1) Pick a commercial. Searching Google Video for "Commercials" is one way to find what you're looking for.

2) Once you've done this, find the title or description for the video, and search for it in youtube. Or just search youtube for "commercials."

3) Add the link by embeding it. To accomplish this step: In youtube look for the "Embed" information. Highlight it and copy it. Paste it into your "posting screen" (the place where your write your posts when you publish them to your blog). I have provided a screen capture, as you'll notice in bottom right corner is the blue highlighted information that you'll want to gather yourself.



4)Provide a brief analysis (one to two sentences) for purpose, audience, context, author, what it says about society, how it applies to ethos, logos, and pathos, and if you have additional aspects that you feel are worthy of discussing.

I consider this week's assignment of vital interest to national strategical importance because many Americans will surely leap from their lay-z-boys, and in a fit of zombie possessedness, run to their local centers of commerce, only to purchase these life altering and products, in turn rescuing our plummeting economy from recession and doom: I know I certainly wish I had bought a Sprint phone, as my Verizon phone did not come with the crime deterrent feature. Although I'm sure they would've whacked me an extra 10-20 bucks a month for this great and must have feature.

Blog Assignment Three: Audience Analysis

In the upcoming weeks for Paper 2, you will be performing a Rhetorical Analysis of a text of your choice. We'll discuss this in more depth during class next week. Regardless, we've already spoken about purpose, audience, context, and text. Additionally, we've spoken about ethos (authority), logos (logic), and pathos (emotion). Often, as part of RA includes determining who the audience of a text is, and how a text speaks specifically to that audience.

Thus, for Blog Assignment Three I ask you to perform the following tasks: 1) select a blog that interests you (technorati is a great site for looking for blogs, but you could do a google search for a topic and blog, or even search within blogger for a blog); 2) once you have selected a blog, provide a hyperlink, or the address to the site, so that your classmates and I may follow your blog to the blog you've selected to write on; 3) explain who the audience is, and provide supporting rationale for why you feel that a) the audience is who you say it is and b) why the blog clearly relates to the audience you've selected. More simply, why do you think the blog speaks to the audience. What aspects of the genre or the topics do you think apply to the blog. For instance, if I picked a surfing blog, I would expect the writers to use the language and jargon which surfers use. Or, I would expect them to say something that I can relate to and would be interested in reading. Or, for instance, I think that Corey Doctorow's blog is worth reading why? I obviously don't expect you to tell me why I'd read it, but its a good way to get the right thinking gears moving.

I also really enjoy BoingBoing; Photoblogs;Podcasts which are audio blogs; but, there are also video blogs too on iTunes and otherwise. The best part is for instance, there are videos like "Vans Off the Wall" which normally I'd be paying like 20 bucks a pop to buy that I can watch for free cause it's a new technology and not many people are using it: get it whilst it be free.


Thanks for yet another fantastic week, I'm really enjoying the semester to date, and I think you're all wonderful students.

The best to you all,

tra

Big Smiles from this Dude

I just wanted to say you all impressed me with your excellent job participating--in both sections--I enjoy when we get to have developed talks and interactions about subjects. Thank you for being great students today!

All the best,
tra

Blog Assignment 2: Writing in a New Context--Online

This image has been copyrighted by of Derek Lee and appeared as part of Elizabeth Daley's article "Expanding the Concept of Literacy" in the March/April 2003 issue of EDUCAUSE. The article for those who find themselves curious about multimodal literacy can read the full article.

If we were to stop and think--to analyze--what this image means, what perhaps would we come up with?

What "items" make up the image--clearly there is a lot to this picture, it is more than just a "picture." I can see a projector screen, a cd or dvd, a speaker, keys, a computer icon hand, a computer hard drive, all just in the "head region" of the "profile silhouette" portion of the image. And, like texts--if I just add or subtracted just one from a sentence, then the meaning of it would change--if took away or added a part of the picture I wouldn't be able to understand the message the creator of the picture intended for me to understand.

Again, and we have spoken about this in class, these concerns comes discussion of context. In this context the images that are next to the other images convey a meaning. For instance, if we stuck an apple in the head, the meaning of the picture would change, or perhaps the picture would make no sense at all to us.

Think about that for a second. Use your thoughts as a way to get thinking differently about what it means to write in a new context, the internet. It can be a great and horrible place like every where else in the world, but what is most scary to some of us is that anyone can read what you write (providing they have access to a computer and the internet).

Thus, this comes to the assignment portion of this blog. I would ask for you, as Blog Assignment 2, to address the the following questions in a minimum of 150 words:

What does writing mean to you? When you think about writing do you think of the internet or do you think of a pen and paper? Why do you think that is so? What aspects of your authorship change as you move from one type of media (print vs.text) to another? What do you think you'll get out of blogging this semester? What expectations/preconceptions/prejudices do you have from this assignment?

I'll leave you with a quote from the article by Elizabeth Daley that I linked above for you. In her article she makes the following statement:

No doubt, young people today have less fear of the computer and more technical ability with software for rich media; multimedia is indeed their everyday language. However, they have no more critical ability with this language than do their elders--perhaps less. They need to be taught to write for the screen and analyze multimedia just as much as, if not more than, they need to be taught to write and analyze any specific genre in text. Generally, they have had instruction in text at the secondary level, but rarely have they received similar instruction for multimedia. Multimedia, so ubiquitous to their experience, often seems to be particularly hard for them to analyze or deconstruct. 37

You may want to consider what you think Daley is saying, and if you agree or disagree with her perspectives on "young people today" and their skills with literacy and multimedia as you begin this assignment. Remember this is due by next Tuesday's class.

See you all tomorrow.

All the best,
tra

Another Commentary Example

As we've briefly discussed, commentary comes in various shapes, sizes, and genres. I added a couple of links for "Outfoxed" which is a prime example of a liberal/democratic commentary on the Fox News Station's journalistic ethics. The link titled " Fox News Blurs the line between News and Commentary" is particularly interesting. Regardless, of your political stance of disposition please try to consider how brilliant the cuts and the way the "story" regarding Fox's objectivity is constructed.

All the best,
tra

Reminder

For those who may have forgotten, remember we are meeting today, Tuesday January 16th in room 440 of the Helmke Library.

Purpose, Audience, Context--The Initial Concepts

Writing and reading--What does it mean to be an author? Why do people write? For whom do they write what they write? And in what contexts--political, social, economic, temporal, and spatial--do they write. What is writing or more precisely perhaps, what isn't writing? While difficult questions, by the end of this class you will hopefully find yourself quite knowledgable about all these topics and more. I look forward to meeting and working with each and every one of you this semester, both collectively and individually.

For the first blogging assignment please register for blogger and create a look for your blog. Additionally, once you have done this please send me the title of the blog and your address to amidont@ipfw.edu so that I may create a link to your blog.

All the best,
tra