Reflective Post

Well, this semester has finally come to an end and even though I was a little bit skeptical of taking this class, it turned out not to be as bad as I thought it would. In the beginning, for me the most challenging aspect of this class was grasping the concept of rhetoric. I've never been that much of a critical thinker and honestly, I'm still not. I have just acquired some useful rhetorical skills in this class. The other most challenging aspect of the class was the concept of ideological criticism because I still don't understand it and I'm sure I never will :) What I found most useful was pentadic and generic criticism. I really love movies and these two concepts really helped me to view my favorite films from a rhetorical point of view, which is also knowledge I can incorporate in my life beyond this class. I watch films and music videos a little bit differently now and I can appreciate that because I like it when I learn things in school that I can actually use once I'm done with the class. My favorite part of the class was the people I got to meet, my friends that I shared this rhetorical experience with, and also the professor. She really did help me understand the material and was very patient. I liked how we had a choice in what we wanted to write about in our papers, and the way we wanted to write them. I also enjoyed the relaxed structure of the class. Finally, there is actually a personal issue that I am going through right now that I won't talk about; however there is a way that I can look at it through a rhetorical perspective. That will help me gain some insight on the situation from both points of view, but I still know where I stand in the situation.

Friday...A Pure Comedy

After thinking long and hard I decided to do my second artifact analysis paper on the movie Friday. It is one of my favorite comedies so I decided to approach this film under the guidelines of generic criticism. More specifically, I want to critique this film using the option of generic application. First off, I have identified the movie as a comedy. Comedy film is a genre in which the main emphasis is humor. The events that take place in these types of films are often unrealistic, and are not taken seriously. Also, comedies typically have happy endings. In this film, the main character Craig, played by rapper Ice Cube is fired on his day off for allegedly stealing boxes. His father tells him to go out and look for a job, but instead he sits on his front porch all day with his best friend Smokey, a pothead. Smokey gets Craig involved in an altercation where both of them end having to pay Big Worm back his money for smoking the marijuana that Smokey is supposed to sell. Along the way, the two have run ins with the neighborhood bully, Deebo, Craig's crazy ghetto girlfriend, and the neighborhood crackhead Ezell. At the end Big Worm's henchmen perform a drive-by shooting when Craig and Smokey fail to pay back the money, and Craig ends up beating up Deebo. In my opinion, this film is one of the funniest of all the comedies in its genre. The events are hilarious and keep the audience laughing on the edge of their seat.

Fantasy-Theme Criticism

The late great pop icon Michael Jackson and his music serve as a perfect example of fantasy-theme criticism. Michael played the roles of many alter egos in his music videos. Although he was said to be a very shy and timid man in person, he often played the hero or the guy that ultimately got the girl in his videos, like in "Smooth Criminal" and "The Way You Make Me Feel." In my favorite video by him, "Remember the Time", he and all of his background dancers were dressed in traditional Egyptian clothing and he was a magical stranger that wooed the Egyptian Queen (Iman) right in front of her husband the king (Eddie Murphy). In the extended version of the "Bad" video, he plays a guy named Darryl who has left behind his gang banging friends to go to a prestigious prep school but is returning home for the winter break. His friends soon see that he has changed but he proves to them that he is still bad, and dons the black leather outfit and does his whole dance routine in a subway station. Finally, in his most popular video, "Thriller", after being cornered by a crowd of zombies, Jackson also turns into a zombie and chases his girlfriend through the streets and into an abandoned house where she wakes up finding that everything was all a dream.
Michael Jackson was very creative and didn't just use his vides as a way to entertain audiences. Almost all of his songs and videos sent very powerful messages directed towards the media and the endless rumors about him, and also positive messages about people getting involved in helping the planet and becoming aware of what is going on in the world.

Pentadic Criticism of Billy Elliot

I didn't get to see the film Billy Elliot at the film festival On Friday so I decided to rent it because I thought it semed to be a pretty movie. For some reason, I am always drawn to movies where the main character has a strong passion for something and/or has to overcome a struggle. Well this movie is about both these things.
Billy Elliot is about an 11-year-old boy living with his dad, older brother, and nanny during the UK miners' strike. Both Billy's father and brother are out on strike. One day, Billy's father takes him to the boxing gym but he doesn't really like the sport. Instead, he discovers the ballet class that is now a part of the boxing gym and secretly enrolls himself in the class because he is drawn in by the teacher, Mrs. Wilkinson. With her help, Billy develops a strong passion for dancing, but he keeps this from his father because he knows he won't understand. Eventually his father finds out and catches Billy in the ballet class and forbids him from going back but Billy secretly continues to dance, becoming better and better. Mrs. Wilkinson advises Billy to audition for the Royal Ballet School but he misses it due to his brother Tony getting arrested. When she goes to their house to tell them about the missed opportunity they become furios at the thought of Billy becoming a professional dancer, fearing that he would be seen as a "poof" or queer. It isn't until Billy's father finally sees him dance that he realizes his son's passion for it, and ends up taking him to a ballet audition himself. Billy is accepted into the Royal Ballet School and moves out of his home to attend. Fourteen years later, Billy accomplishes his dream and his father and brother come to watch him perform the lead in Swan Lake.
I really enjoyed this film and some parts of it also reminded me of the previous film I did an analysis on, which was Love and Basketball. In both movies, the main character had a strong passion (basketball and dance) but it was unaccepted by the parent. In Love and Basketball, Monica's old-fashioned mother wished she would stop playing the sport and be more feminine. in Billy Elliot, his father feared that Billy's passion for dance would cause him to be looked upon as a queer.
Because this film reminds me of Love and Basketball for particular reasons, I have decided to analyze Billy Elliot through pentadic crticism as well. Of course, Billy had a strong passion for dance and his dream was to become a professional dancer, which he did. But his struggle was getting his father to understand his passion. Thus, I have identified Billy as the agent. His act was dancing for his father and his purpose was to show him how passionate he was for dancing. The agency was using his skill to convince his father he was good enough to be a professional, and the scene was the boxing gym. During this scene, there was no dialogue. Instead there was highly intense music playing in the background which added a little bit of suspense to the scene because the audience didn't know if the outcome was going to be his dad accepting Billy or shunning him for dancing. I think the message the director wanted to convey to the audience is to follow your dreams. If you're good at something, do it to the best of your ability and don't let anyone hold you back from it.

Pentdic Criticism of Love and Basketball

The artifact that I chose to analyze through pentadic criticism is my favorite movie Love and Basketball. This movie is a romantic drama of two characters that share a passion for basketball and eventually, a passion for each other. The movie takes place over a span of nearly two decades that is broken into four quarters, like a basketball game. Monica Wright, played by Sanaa Lathan is a tomboy that loves basketball and meets Quincy McCall, (Omar Epps) who also loves basketball, when she moves in next door when they are both 11 years old. It isn't until their Spring Dance in high school that they address their attraction to each other and reveal that they will be going to the same university in the fall. In college, they are apparently a happy couple and maintain their relationship while also playing basketball for USC. After it is revealed that Quincy's ex-NBA player father cheated on his mother, Quincy is affected by it and feels neglected by Monica who is struggling between preparing for championships and being there for her boyfriend, which causes them to break up. The next part of the movie skips to Monica playing overseas in Spain but comes home when she finds out that Quincy, who now plays for the Lakers, injured himself during a game. By now he has a fiancee', and Monica decides to give up basketball for a regular 9-5. Realizing that she still has feelings for Quincy, she challenges him to a one-on-one game for his heart two weeks before his wedding. Although Quincy wins the game, he still chooses Monica saying, "How about double or nothing?" The movie ends with Monica playing for the WNBA, with the name Wright-McCall on the back of her jersey.

Agent: Monica

Act: Monica's struggle to get her priorties in order; choosing basketball or her relationship with Quincy, which is addressed twice in the movie

Agency: Realizing what is more important in her life

Scene: USC

Purpose: To balance her passion for basketball and her relationship with Quincy, but knowing that she love him and he is more important in her life.

I think that the ratios in this artifact is act-agency. In order for Monica to overcome her struggle, she has to have some real soul searching, which happens when she goes overseas and realizes how much she misses her life back home and the people there who are most important to her, especially Quincy. After coming to the terms that everything she needs is at home, she realizes the void she's been trying to fill isn't basketball, but her love for Quincy.

The Dangers of Socialy Networking Sites

Social networking has become very popular throughout the past years and it is evident that many people use it. Being that it is available to everyone, you will find children, adults, and even the elderly on social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. Social networking is a great advantage to the people who use it in the sense that it allows people to stay connected with each other 24/7 or as often as they log on to these sites. Social networking is also good for making friends, finding romance, and marketing; however, the fact that it is available for everyone to use allows a portal for cyber-crime such as online predators and scamming among other risks.
A large portion of social networking site users are children so it is critical that the proper precautions are taken to ensure internet safety for them. Sites like MySpace have an age limit so that children under a certain age will not be allowed to use them. But as stated in the article, it is easy to fool these systems by faking their age. At the same time, as easy it is for a child to do that in order to appear older, online predators also fake to seem to be the same age as a child.
Phishing and scamming is definitely something to look out for while using the internet. Scammers may try to steal or use your personal information which can be used for identity theft and/or fraud. Internet as well as social network users should beware of websites set up to appear like the social websites they use because they are designed to steal user passwords. Once this happens, the spammer can use your password to destroy your profile or send out spam messages and viruses.
Privacy and employment are highly significant and should seriously be taken into consideration when people decide to use social networking sites. Facebook users should take into consideration that it shares your private information with third party companies which is why you are required to agree to a privacy statement. Users that choose to upload pictures and videos, especially professional photographers or musicians, should be aware that they are giving Facebook ownership rights to their material. Lastly, a users employment can be at risk if they upload inappropriate pictures or videos of themselves. They should also be cautious of accessing these social networking sites from their job.

Three Artifacts

The first artifact I chose to analyze using the ideological method of criticism is an article talking about the impact of hip hop on today’s youth. I think this would be appropriate because it asks the audience to not only become aware of the impact that hip hop culture is having on teenagers, but to also believe that such an impact exists. The artifact commends the fact that today’s youth are no different than our parents and grandparents when they were younger when it came to setting themselves apart from their parents to create their own culture. This artifact doesn’t necessarily view any of the behavior of today’s youth as unacceptable, but instead suggested that parents should ask their kids what it is that they are into and why.

The second artifact I chose to analyze is about the dangers of social networking sites. The preferred reading is to those who frequently use online social networking, including parents whose children are interested in using it. This artifact wants the audience to understand the dangers of online social networking as well as being aware of the risks that come with it. It talks about the good that comes out of social networking, which is staying connected to family, friends, and colleagues. However it also talks about the bad that comes out of it which is lack of privacy and posting too much personal information, the dangers of online predators, and scammers. This artifact wants the audience to think about both the good and bad aspects of social networking, as well as ways to monitor the usage of young children on the Internet.It also asks the audience to avoid putting too much information online because it is possible for anyone to see your online activity.

The last artifact I want to analyze is an article discussing the fashion trends for this upcoming spring season. The preferred reading of this article are for people interested in fashion, whether they are in the fashion industry, studying it, or just like keeping up with the latest trends. The article wants the audience to understand the top 10 colors for women's fashion in spring 2010. The arguments being made in the artifact supports the claim of what will be in style. The article states something good as getting something to complement what you already own as means to save money. The artifact doesn't want the audience to think about fashion for other seasons or colors which aren't featured in the article.

Idealogical Criticism

This chapter talks about ideology, which is a pattern of beliefs that determines a group's interpretations of some aspect or aspects of the world. A focus on ideology consists of what rhetoric suggests about beliefs and values. According to the text, another way to think about an ideology is as a language that that a group deploys to make sense of and define the world or some aspect of it. The primary components of an ideology are "evaluative beliefs about which there are possible alternative judgments."

Neo-Aristotelian Criticism

In chapter 3 of the textbook, Neo-Aristotelian criticism is said to be the first formal method of rhetorical criticism developed in the communication field. This rhetorical approach uses invention, organization, style, memory, and delivery as units of analysis. According to the text, because this approach required that a critic determnine the effect of rhetoric on an immediate audience, rhetorical criticism became the study of speeches and neo-Aristotelianism wasn't used to study written discourse or nondiscursive rhetoric.
The three basic steps in analyzing the artifact include reconstructing the context in which the artifact occurred, applying the five canons to the artifact, and assessing the impact of the artifact on the audience. The second step of analyzing an artifact mentions the application of the five canons. The five canons of rhetoric are the steps that go into the process of public speaking which include invention, organization, style, memory, and delivery, as mentioned before.