1) What information did you find useful in this class?
I found this class useful in the sense that I had no idea what Rhetorical Criticism was. It was interesting to find a new form of writing to express/analyze an item.
2) What was your favorite part of this class?
My favorite part of this class was when we had class discussions/oral quizes. It was nice to see how everyone was understanding the material.
3) What do you think was the most challenging aspect of this class?
The most challenging aspect of this class was reading the text. It was a little dry. The example essays were fun to read.
4) How might you incorporate the knowledge and experiences gained from this class into your life beyond this classroom?
In the future, this class has helped me think about things more critically. To really look at artifacts, or items in general and question their motives.
5) Think of a question or issue that is most pressing to you right now. How would you use your knowledge of rhetoric and/or rhetorical criticism to gain perspective on this question or issue?
Right now, I am dealing with the issue of getting more scholarships. I could use rhetoric to analyze the scholarship essay questions.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Blog Assignment For April 16th
For the second essay of this class, I have decided to make my artifact a classic, one that most little kids know very well; Barbie. I am intrigued to see what I find out about her using the method of Pentadic Criticism. I am using Pentadic Criticism beacase I think that this method of Criticism is the best for this artifact, and I am very comfortable with this method. I actually enjoy writing about artifacts in this method. In class, I will bring a Barbie, and I think this essay will be very well written and enjoyed by the reader(s).
The five elements of pentadic criticism are the agent, act, agency, purpose, and scene. For the show, these elements are as follows:
The Agent of Barbie is Barbie herself. She is the sole character that is being discussed.
The Act of Barbie is to be the best friend to little girls all over the world.
The Purpose of Barbie is to be an example of what girls should be like, or want to emulate.
The Agency of Barbie is through intense marketing and appealing to little girls form every walk of life.
The Scene of Barbie is everywhere. Barbie is all over the world.
As for the ratios, that can be a bit more complicated. It's a bit more time consuming. Comparing the five elements to see which one is the more dominant one is done as follows:
Scene-Act: No
Scene-Agent: No
Scene-Agency: Yes
Scene-Purpose: No
Act-Scene: No
Act-Agency: No
Act-Purpose: Yes
Act-Agent: Yes
Agency-Act: Yes
Agency-Scene: Yes
Agency-Purpose: Yes
Agency-Agent: No
Agent-Agency: Yes
Agent-Act: Yes
Agent-Purpose: Yes
Agent-Scene: Yes
Purpose-Act: No
Purpose-Agency: No
Purpose-Scene: No
Purpose-Agent: Yes
So, according to my calculations, the Agent has the most direct influence over the other elements.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Fantasy Theme Will Rock You
Buddy you're a boy make a big noise
Playing in the street gonna be a big man some day
You got mud on your face
You big disgrace
Kickin' your can all over the place
Singin'
We will we will rock you
We will we will rock you
Buddy you're a young man hard man
Shouting in the street gonna take on the world some day
You got blood on your face
A big disgrace
Wavin' your Banner all over the place
We will we will rock you
We will we will rock you
Buddy you're an old man poor man
Pleading with your eyes gonna make you some peace some day
You got mud on your face
Big disgrace
Somebody better put you back into your place
We will we will rock you
We will we will rock you
When one goes to a sports event, one will typically expect to hear a rousing song to get the crowd and the athletes motivated. A perfect song for this type of atmosphere is “We Will Rock You” by Queen. Queen’s song shows symbolic convergence because when people think of this song, they think of sport events and getting “pumped” for an event. Whether it is cleaning the house, or playing football, everyone knows that this song is a motivator. It is interesting, because the lyrics to the song do not necessarily give off a motivational tone, but regardless, it is known worldwide as the sports song for the century.
When examining the artifact carefully, one can find the three references to setting, character, and action themes.
The setting is where the action takes place, or the characteristics of the places in which the action occurs. In this song, the setting theme would be the street. I would also say the world, but I am not sure. That is really the only settings that are mentioned in the song.
The character themes for this song would be Buddy (as a Boy, a Young Man, and an Old Man), and We (The Narrator). In this song, I know that there are some nonhuman entities, but I am not sure who or what they are. I suppose an example of that would be “You got mud on your face” would be an example.
When it comes to the action, in this song, the action is “Playing in the street/kicking your can/shouting in the street/wavin’ you banner/pleading with you eyes”.
Playing in the street gonna be a big man some day
You got mud on your face
You big disgrace
Kickin' your can all over the place
Singin'
We will we will rock you
We will we will rock you
Buddy you're a young man hard man
Shouting in the street gonna take on the world some day
You got blood on your face
A big disgrace
Wavin' your Banner all over the place
We will we will rock you
We will we will rock you
Buddy you're an old man poor man
Pleading with your eyes gonna make you some peace some day
You got mud on your face
Big disgrace
Somebody better put you back into your place
We will we will rock you
We will we will rock you
When one goes to a sports event, one will typically expect to hear a rousing song to get the crowd and the athletes motivated. A perfect song for this type of atmosphere is “We Will Rock You” by Queen. Queen’s song shows symbolic convergence because when people think of this song, they think of sport events and getting “pumped” for an event. Whether it is cleaning the house, or playing football, everyone knows that this song is a motivator. It is interesting, because the lyrics to the song do not necessarily give off a motivational tone, but regardless, it is known worldwide as the sports song for the century.
When examining the artifact carefully, one can find the three references to setting, character, and action themes.
The setting is where the action takes place, or the characteristics of the places in which the action occurs. In this song, the setting theme would be the street. I would also say the world, but I am not sure. That is really the only settings that are mentioned in the song.
The character themes for this song would be Buddy (as a Boy, a Young Man, and an Old Man), and We (The Narrator). In this song, I know that there are some nonhuman entities, but I am not sure who or what they are. I suppose an example of that would be “You got mud on your face” would be an example.
When it comes to the action, in this song, the action is “Playing in the street/kicking your can/shouting in the street/wavin’ you banner/pleading with you eyes”.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Film Assignment
I chose to watch the movie “Inglorious Basterds” by Quentin Tarantino. This film is quite an interesting one, because it pretty much changes the whole entire outcome of the Second World War In this movie, the Basterds, a group of Jewish men set out to kill Nazis. But they do not just kill them; they mess with their minds and torture them as much as possible. It is interesting how most torture movies people seem grossed out and horrified by what they see. In this film, I felt no remorse for the people being tortured, and I guess it is because they were very bad people. All in all, the movie is about killing Nazis and a plan they made to kill a whole bunch of Nazis and Hitler himself in a movie theatre. There are other characters in the movie that help and have a story, but the Basterds are the most important.
For this particular movie, I chose to use the method of criticism known as Pentadic. Once again, as I have said before, I use this method because of the fact that I feel most comfortable with it, and it is the easiest for me to use. Pentadic criticism is the method that is used by grouping the context into labels that are as follows; Act, Scene, Purpose, Agency, and Agent. If this were to become a paper, I would have discussed how this event ending the entire world war would have worked, and how they would have pulled the whole thing off. Also, I would have looked at the motives of these men, and touched on how when one is determined enough, anything is possible.
Some example I would have looked at when discussing the plan for the movie theatre blowing up is something that was throughout the entire movie, and that is that the element of fear is not really there. In my opinion, everyone is very confident and I find that a little strange. Another example I would have looked at is in the beginning when the Jewish family is shot, and the girl gets away. This would have been an element of determination that Shoshanna, the Jewish girl that escaped, had used to carry out her plan. Another example of this over-confidence that I noticed would be the amount of sarcasm and humor displayed. For example, when Aldo is talking to a Nazi he says “We’re in the business of killing Nazis, and business is a-boomin’”. The way he says it kind of makes you chuckle is a way.
All in all, I think this is a good movie, and has a lot of potential for analysis.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Pentadic Criticism And The Hit show "Glee"
The artifact that I will be identifying via Pentadic Criticism is the hit show "Glee". First of all, I think it is important to pick an artifact that one likes, that way one can enjoy working on the process. I am a big fan of "Glee", so therefore, I will have fun reviewing this artiact.
The five elements of pentadic criticism are the agent, act, agency, purpose, and scene. For the show, these elements are as follows:
The Agent of the show "Glee" is the faculty and students of McKinley High. They are the agents becuase they are the main characters of the show.
The Act of the show "Glee" is to become popular and to maintain popularity for those who have it already. The strive for popularity is the major action taking place in the show.
The Purpose of "Glee" is to smooth out their high school years, and try not to make their teenage years so tough. This is what the cast of "Glee" is trying to to accomplish by performing the Act.
The Agency of the show "Glee" is manipulation and innocence. The reason that as the rhetor, that I chose those completely different attributes is becuase the agents of the show are different.
The Scene of the show "Glee" is McKinley High School, in a suburban neighborhood, in modern times. The scene is self-explanatory.
As for the ratios, that can be a bit more complicated. It's a bit more time consuming. Comparing the five elements to see which one is the more dominant one is done as follows:
Scene-Act: Unclear
Scene-Agent: Unclear
Scene-Agency: Unclear
Scene-Purpose: Unclear
Act-Scene: No
Act-Agency: Yes
Act-Purpose: Yes
Act-Agent:No
Agency-Act: Yes
Agency-Scene: No
Agency-Purpose: Yes
Agency-Agent: Yes
Agent-Agency: Yes
Agent-Act: Yes
Agent-Purpose: Yes
Agent-Scene: Yes
Purpose-Act: Yes
Purpose-Agency: Yes
Purpose-Scene: No
Purpose-Agent: Yes
So, according to my calculations, the Agent has the most direct influence over the other elements.
The five elements of pentadic criticism are the agent, act, agency, purpose, and scene. For the show, these elements are as follows:
The Agent of the show "Glee" is the faculty and students of McKinley High. They are the agents becuase they are the main characters of the show.
The Act of the show "Glee" is to become popular and to maintain popularity for those who have it already. The strive for popularity is the major action taking place in the show.
The Purpose of "Glee" is to smooth out their high school years, and try not to make their teenage years so tough. This is what the cast of "Glee" is trying to to accomplish by performing the Act.
The Agency of the show "Glee" is manipulation and innocence. The reason that as the rhetor, that I chose those completely different attributes is becuase the agents of the show are different.
The Scene of the show "Glee" is McKinley High School, in a suburban neighborhood, in modern times. The scene is self-explanatory.
As for the ratios, that can be a bit more complicated. It's a bit more time consuming. Comparing the five elements to see which one is the more dominant one is done as follows:
Scene-Act: Unclear
Scene-Agent: Unclear
Scene-Agency: Unclear
Scene-Purpose: Unclear
Act-Scene: No
Act-Agency: Yes
Act-Purpose: Yes
Act-Agent:No
Agency-Act: Yes
Agency-Scene: No
Agency-Purpose: Yes
Agency-Agent: Yes
Agent-Agency: Yes
Agent-Act: Yes
Agent-Purpose: Yes
Agent-Scene: Yes
Purpose-Act: Yes
Purpose-Agency: Yes
Purpose-Scene: No
Purpose-Agent: Yes
So, according to my calculations, the Agent has the most direct influence over the other elements.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Buddha and Ideological Criticism
Ideological criticism is a good method to use when one is discussing an artifact such as a picture, or something perhaps more tangible. The artifact that I will be analyzing in this blog post is a statue of Buddha that I have in my home. I am interested in the ideology of the statue of Buddha in terms of Buddha being a role model and what it suggests about how to live one’s life.
The Buddha statue that I will be analyzing is sitting down, which symbolizes rest and relaxation. He is adorned with a necklace, which means wealth and prosperity, although it is a plain necklace without any jewels, which is parallel to the aura around Buddha, and his want for nothing but the basics. His rounded belly means he is full and satisfied, while his smile shows that he is happy and content with his life, while his teeth are strong looking and none are missing, which during the time of Buddha would certainly symbolize health. The “third eye” jewel in his head symbolizes an insight to the afterlife, perhaps, or knowledge of the “right” way to live. In his hand, he holds what looks to be a rock of some sort. This could possibly mean that he is content with the simple things in life, and does need anything but the basics. The big ears on the Buddha symbolize compassion and wisdom. According to Zen Master Dae Kwang, “In Western culture small ears close to the head are thought to be the most beautiful, but in the Orient large ears are looked upon as auspicious because they indicate wisdom and compassion. So, the Buddha is depicted as having big ears because he is the compassionate one” (kwanumzen.org).
With all of these symbolic images on this statue, one can believe that the suggested elements are simplicity and to be content. Several of my symbols attribute to the factor of not being extravagant, and the others feature a need to be content with one’s life.
With these themes, I can now formulate my ideology. This artifact asks the audience to think about how they live their lives, and whether or not they are being good, compassionate people. It asks the audience whether or not their lives mean anything. This artifact commends that one should follow his example, and live simply. As stated before, the values and conceptions of this artifact is to suggest that one should live a good life, with not much riches, and to be happy with that.
This artifact falls under many categories. The Buddha falls under the category of Membership, because there is a specific group who adhere to him, and that is the Buddhists; Activities, because these Buddhists are expected to live simply and to be content; Goals because the Buddhists are meant to realize that life is about compassion and helping others, then they themselves will be happy. Another category the Buddha falls under is Sacred Texts, because Buddhists have a number of sacred texts to help guide them to this way of life. For example, the Tripitaka would be an example of this.
Now I have successfully analyzed my artifact, and am now ready to formulate a research question, and continue on with the method of Ideological Criticism.
The Buddha statue that I will be analyzing is sitting down, which symbolizes rest and relaxation. He is adorned with a necklace, which means wealth and prosperity, although it is a plain necklace without any jewels, which is parallel to the aura around Buddha, and his want for nothing but the basics. His rounded belly means he is full and satisfied, while his smile shows that he is happy and content with his life, while his teeth are strong looking and none are missing, which during the time of Buddha would certainly symbolize health. The “third eye” jewel in his head symbolizes an insight to the afterlife, perhaps, or knowledge of the “right” way to live. In his hand, he holds what looks to be a rock of some sort. This could possibly mean that he is content with the simple things in life, and does need anything but the basics. The big ears on the Buddha symbolize compassion and wisdom. According to Zen Master Dae Kwang, “In Western culture small ears close to the head are thought to be the most beautiful, but in the Orient large ears are looked upon as auspicious because they indicate wisdom and compassion. So, the Buddha is depicted as having big ears because he is the compassionate one” (kwanumzen.org).
With all of these symbolic images on this statue, one can believe that the suggested elements are simplicity and to be content. Several of my symbols attribute to the factor of not being extravagant, and the others feature a need to be content with one’s life.
With these themes, I can now formulate my ideology. This artifact asks the audience to think about how they live their lives, and whether or not they are being good, compassionate people. It asks the audience whether or not their lives mean anything. This artifact commends that one should follow his example, and live simply. As stated before, the values and conceptions of this artifact is to suggest that one should live a good life, with not much riches, and to be happy with that.
This artifact falls under many categories. The Buddha falls under the category of Membership, because there is a specific group who adhere to him, and that is the Buddhists; Activities, because these Buddhists are expected to live simply and to be content; Goals because the Buddhists are meant to realize that life is about compassion and helping others, then they themselves will be happy. Another category the Buddha falls under is Sacred Texts, because Buddhists have a number of sacred texts to help guide them to this way of life. For example, the Tripitaka would be an example of this.
Now I have successfully analyzed my artifact, and am now ready to formulate a research question, and continue on with the method of Ideological Criticism.
Works Cited:
Kwang, Dae. "Zen Master Dae Kwang - Why Does Buddha have Big Ears?" The Kwan Um School of Zen. Providence Zen Center. Web. 07 Feb. 2010. .
Monday, February 1, 2010
3 Artifacts Of Mine
Three artifacts that I could use when doing Ideological Criticism are artifacts that I am interested in and use in my everyday life.
One artifact that I think I could analyze using the ideological method of criticism is the popular television show "Glee." I think that "Glee" would be appropriate for ideological criticism. For example, the time period this show takes place in has the most influence on the message that the show is portraying. So that would fall under the element of "Defining Event" in Ideological Criticism.
Another artifact that I could analyze would be a modern art painting of flowers. I think that this painting would be good for this method because I could look at it, and make a list of the inferences that I feel this painting makes, and create a great essay on the underlying meanings of this painting.
The last artifact I could use when making Ideological Criticism is a statue of Buddha. This artifact has a deep religious meaning for some, and would be very easy to find an ideology for. I feel like this artifact would be the most intriguing to analyze.
One artifact that I think I could analyze using the ideological method of criticism is the popular television show "Glee." I think that "Glee" would be appropriate for ideological criticism. For example, the time period this show takes place in has the most influence on the message that the show is portraying. So that would fall under the element of "Defining Event" in Ideological Criticism.
Another artifact that I could analyze would be a modern art painting of flowers. I think that this painting would be good for this method because I could look at it, and make a list of the inferences that I feel this painting makes, and create a great essay on the underlying meanings of this painting.
The last artifact I could use when making Ideological Criticism is a statue of Buddha. This artifact has a deep religious meaning for some, and would be very easy to find an ideology for. I feel like this artifact would be the most intriguing to analyze.
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