Posts Tagged ‘rhetoric’
Post #19-Food Network Star (Figure)
Posted on: June 16, 2011
In this short clip of an episode of Food Network Star, the camera plays a very important role in how viewers react to what is taking place on the show; the signifiers and their signifieds helps the audience to formulate interpretations. Some of thee things I noticed in this clip what the shot of the guy at the farmers market when they just arrived and the way the camera focused on the judges as they critiqued the contestants plates. The long trailing shot made you think that there was a surprise awaiting to happen when the constants came to the farmers market. The emotions that are evoked while looking at this particular shot influences how the audience felt at that moment. The camera shots on the face of the judges as they react to the performances of the contestants and the food they have presented, influences the audience’s interpretations. How we read the interactions within the show assist us in formulating ideas of what could be taking place.The camera, music and motion
assist the audience in reading tv shows. The camera seemingly becomes our eyes, a
way of seeing the show as if we were there. By doing so we can formulate interpretations of
what is occurring through the eyes of the camera. Images from television shows seems to not
require much decoding, we interpret what we see based upon what the character
or scene is depicting. Since we have internalized these codes at a very young
age, we become conscious of their existence as we watch and analyze the conventions and non conventions of a show. It is easily understood that the conventions in a television shows are of the norm and can easily be recognized by any member of a particular audience. There is not much work that needs to be done when “reading” this type of television show.
Word Count:311
This is a commercial by IHOP that shows a young man proposing to
his significant other. There is not a clear cut audience that this commercial
is attempting to target. They were probably trying to target young people and
suggesting that proposing to someone at IHOP is not the best place to do it
because their meals give a negative connotation to engagements. It’s quite
funny because the waitress comes out with their order at the wrong time. Well,
would it have changed how funny the commercial was if they had the waitresses
bring out their meals after the proposal? Probably because then we would only
think about the proposal and not the function of the food being served and its
significance at that particular moment in time.
If we also look at the relationship between the ring and the plate
of double cheese scrambles. Is the commercial implying that the ring he
proposed to her with is “cheesy” or more directly cheap, corny or a
joke? Can cheap rings be associated with a plate of food? Well, in this instance,
yes. But is it’s signified always parallel in all commercials with rings, for
example the Jared commercials? This may not be the case for all instances. All
these signifiers interact to construct the rhetorical stance that IHOP’s meal
menu has an effect on everyday life. There weren’t any stereotypes that I could
associate this commercial with.
The role that technology plays in electracy in this sense that,
couple of years ago this would not be viewed as an “ideal” way of proposing
to someone you love nor would it be the right setting. The reaction of his fiancé
would not have been the reaction that most people would expect. At the end of
the clip, you see the guy playing little to no attention to his fiancé’s
enthusiasm about the ring and their proposal afterwards.
Word count: 315
Post #5-(Argumentative)
Posted on: May 26, 2011
Rhetorical argument within narratives is usually seen as being very
believable. The storyline often captures the attention of the audience. The
more persuasive the argument, the people tend to believe it based upon what and
how it is being presented. Paradigms are relevant to how they, narratives, are
being revised in terms of what genre we can classify or categorize a particular
style or technique. In the case of the clip below from the ABC Family’s hit
series Pretty Little Liars, the scene in the hospital gives the
illusion that Hanna is seeing the deceased Aly in her room. Aly reappears to
check on her because she wanted to make sure she was alive but she begins to
play on her emotions about what really happened the night of her death. Then,
she disappears to some unknown destination.
As we can see, the idea or type of style behind this scene can be view by
the audience as being somewhat of a mystery; others may view it as a bit
science-fictional, a drama or a mixture of both. The paradigms of this TV show
are so interchangeable that we, as viewers cannot only see this show in just
one particular light. That is the most interesting thing about paradigms; the
signifiers are a part of some defining category. The composition of the rhetoric
would make a difference because if the narrative would be affected by the style
in which the authors wrote it. It can be understood that if Aly were to just
come back and all was well again, that would leave viewers confused, or if Aly
would have killed Hanna when she went to visit her. However could this mean
that, this is what makes a mystery, a mystery? Well, certainly it is dependent
upon what each person considers a mystery to be, personally I would be lost if
Aly had decided to reveal her secret that she was alive. Notice that when the
scene first started, it appears that Hanna is hallucinating, and then it
reverts to her appearing to be very real.
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