Through this course, my conception of “public discourse” has
somewhat grown as I have become more open and involved in the world around
me. In high school, I had not paid much
attention to public speakers other than having the thought of “what a waste of
time” or “what a great speech!” As I started
really paying attention to what people have been saying, I have found it very
interesting in analyzing the rhetoric people use to make their point. With this year being home to such an
important election, there was a world of persuasion out there to look at and
attempt to understand. While I was never
particularly strong at distinguishing rhetoric, examples of it all around me
soon became painfully obvious. Through
my new-found knowledge of rhetoric, I was able to (at least I believe I was
able to) cut through some of the fluff and make determinations for myself about
the true meaning behind what was being said.
Looking back at some of these election speeches, there are key
techniques that I would have taken away from both presidential hopefuls. President Barack Obama was much more gifted
at conveying emotion and using that to his advantage when he spoke. Through his entire campaign, he was able to
reconnect with his target voters without having to bring up his past time in
office. Mitt Romney, on the other hand,
had used rhetoric to convey his ideas towards a more logical audience. While these techniques were both radically
different, they were both fairly effective at being able to persuade their
target audiences of their beliefs and ideas.
As of right now, there is no one person in particular who I would like
to emulate in respect to their rhetoric.
I am more of a cut and dry person and would prefer to just get to the
point rather than adding all the fluff.
That is one of the many reasons I would never be a successful politician.
Rhetorical Bloggers
Friday, December 7, 2012
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Blog 9 -Ryan Kiefer. Spare. Reflection.
I believe I have done all the blogs adequately and
on time. If, however, I have not, here is a supplemental entry.
My conception of Public discourse has changed in
one major way, and that was in a political way. Through this class I learned
two different areas in politics where rhetoric is very important. First, with
the analysis of the presidential debates I opened my eyes to the methods people
use when trying to get what they want. The use of eloquent language that
covered the three main areas of rhetoric was very important, but I also learned
that the speakers themselves, even if they didn’t write the speech, still had
to deliver it in an effective way to incorporate half of Kairos. In the second
writing assignment when I was writing about the hunting of wolves I learned how
to write the type of paper that the presidential candidates were presenting.
Over all my change has been very little, but only
because I had a class just like this my junior year in High School, AP Junior
Literature. We even had the same text book. It was very good to have a review,
though, and I feel now that what I learned will stay with me so that I will
actually be able to use it.
I really did enjoy the speech that Mitt Romney
gave, mostly because of his Kairos. If I could create his kairos and sentiment,
but back everything up with the logos of Obama, I think that would be the ideal
rhetorician to emulate.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Blog 8 - Bryan Smith
In response to TIME's review of The Dark Knight Rises, I agree on many points the author brings up. For example, Corliss states that "the film’s allusions to the Patriot Act and the decadelong incarceration of terror suspects in Guantánamo are obvious". I also saw these allusions and I believe that they make the movie relevant to current social and global times which is a major reason why the film and its predecessors are held to such high esteem. In our group, we decided that visual media attempts to entertain the audience through many different ways such as humor, drama, and action. The Dark Knight Rises accomplishes this goal as agreed by Corliss who says it is "the best, most troubling, assured and enthralling"superhero movie. This source evaluates the movie based on the story and plot twists, acting, and its relevance to today's world. I agree that these criteria are essential to a good superhero movie because it keeps the audience entertained and involved in the movie even after the film is over. I especially believe that the characterization and the way to actors portray the character are important to the success of the movie. Bane, who Corliss describes as "an immense hulk with an air of courtly menace" serves as the embodiment of terrorism with his sadistic plot to destroy Gotham just because he can. The article comes to the conclusion that the character of Bane plays an integral part in the movie's greatness, which I agree with wholeheartedly. Bane provides a unique challenge to Batman's physicality and morality when he must abandon his city for a brief time and watch it suffer.
Blog 8- Annotated Bibliography Source
As I am writing my rough draft, I am starting to agree with
points that are brought up by Ben Walters in his Guardian article discussing Dr.
Horrible’s Sing-along Blog. His
was the first article I found that labeled Dr.
Horrible as absurdist and therefore emblematic of other Joss Whedon (“Whedonesque”)
series. Those referenced in the article include Angel and Buffy, the Vampire
Slayer, but other works that fall into this category could range from its
early modern archetypes: Albert Camus’s L’entranger
or Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot,
to contemporary viral videos: Funnyordie.com’s The Landlord or Schmoyo’s Autotune the News. These works are
largely experimental, employ humor, and character driven wherein the audience
is meant realize a truth about human nature. This realization is often in the
face of fantastic circumstances e.g. Will Ferrell trying to reason with a foul-mouthed,
alcoholic toddler, but purveyance of this theme can often transcend its outer
nonsense.
Ben Walters’ article is more of a discussion of the
creation/creative elements of DHSAB, but what he deems worthy of note in his
evaluation supports his categorization. Apart from the previously discussed
genre bending (see blogs 6-7), Dr.
Horrible caters to the absurd by making many of the titular character’s
failures an extension of his internet use. For example, Dr. Horrible’s video
blogs, his way of almost advertising his criminal activities, are monitored by
the LAPD and Captain Hammer causing one of his schemes to fall through. More figuratively,
the eponymous doctor cannot talk to his crush because he cannot “find the time
to find the words”, an issue alleviated by the digital communication. Even his
weapon of choice, his freeze ray, suffers from a need to buffer, an agony
shared by online video watchers everywhere.
The article’s analysis brings up ideas that certainly add to
Dr. Horrible’s pedigree, but I am
going to stick with webseries as my genre for now. One can easily enjoy the
show without delving into these added meanings, and DHSAB’s effect on online
visual media is far more quantifiable than its effect on fellow absurdist
media. Till next time!
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Blog 8- Ryan Kiefer: Response to source from annotated bibliography
I am here responding to a review of the Nightwish
album Dark Passion Play. The Review is by Joshua Mackle and is hosted at
Helium.com. For the most part I agree with his review and I certainly believe he
evaluated the album in a fair and unbiased way. This album was a pivotal point
in the history of the band, released after the first major break in the band
with the replacement of the lead singer.
Because of this there are some major differences
that needed addressing, primarily in the direct relationship of the two voice
types, but also the feel of the music as a whole. First, the review touches on
the vocal shift. It is plain that there is a major difference in the tonal
qualities of the singers and that Tarja was much more powerful than Annette,
but the review goes on to mention some of the highlights of Annette’s voice
that allow it to stand out in a light of its own, particularly with the example
of the final track, Meadows of Heaven. Here, the review says, her voice is just
as powerful as Tarja’s, but sweeter and cleaner.
In response to the change in the bands
encompassing nature, the review is a little skewed as it compares Dark Passion
Play to albums that are several albums old. Nightwish is a dynamic band whose
albums are all different and represent the change in sound produced by the
band. The album before Dark Passion Play, Once, is most similar and the
reviewer acknowledges this as he says that if the listener liked that album,
they will like Dark Passion Play.
The major problem with this source is that it does
not once mention symphonic metal but is more focused on comparing albums of Nightwish
to each other and explaining features of Dark Passion Play and how they compare
to previous sounds of Nightwish.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Blog 7 - Topic Consideration
At this point in time, I still
have no idea what to write about for our third writing assignment. I've been thinking about many different
topics since the assignment was given, but have been procrastinating writing
this blog because I do not even have a vague idea of what I would be interested
in writing about. I have considered many
different television series, movies, and household services, but when faced
with the challenge of writing about them, I have not been able to establish a
decent topic. Throughout this process, I
have ruled out many popular titles such as: Burn Notice, Suits, American
Chopper, Criminal Minds, Mythbusters, Sons of Guns, Pawn Stars, The Avengers, Taken
one and two, and countless other movies and television shows. As for services, Netflix stood out to me as a
fairly decent topic, but I decided it was probably too common and would easily
bore the audience. With all of that
being said, my main consideration for this assignment is the television series
Gold Rush on Discovery Channel. The show
allows a glimpse into the life of a modern day gold miner. I believe that some people may misunderstand
this series as a production purely for viewer entertainment. Although the purpose of any television show
is to grab and hold the attention of viewers, this series has showed that the
American dream is still alive and well.
A man can still risk it all for the hope of a better future. When the series started, it followed a group
of down-on-their-luck men who decided to leave everything in pursuit of gold in
the Alaskan Klondike. Their first season
is full of mishaps and letdown, but the viewer is able to see this group of men
grow together and eventually earn the title of Alaskan Gold Miners. While Gold Rush is currently my most probable
writing topic, that could still very well change in the near future.
blog 7
One genre I am considering writing
about is the genre of MMORPG video games. This genre, standing for
massive multiplayer online role playing game, includes games where
players are able to log on and play with thousands of other people
around the world and interact with them in many different ways. These
games are very popular in today's culture with the most popular being
World of Warcraft which has over 10 million monthly subscribers. I
feel that often people misunderstand the genre because reviewers
often do not pay attention to the social aspect of the game which I
feel makes them very popular. Critics often only focus on game play
and other interactions with the game's AI and scripted events. While
this is an integral part of any video game, I feel the social aspect
is of equal importance to whether a game is going to be popular or
not. I feel that WoW is able to remain the most popular MMORPG of all
time is due to its loyal community and the friendships that are built
through the game or strengthened by it. One of the major reasons why
I feel critics often miss this point is because they do not play the
game, but instead look at it from the outside looking in. From this
viewpoint they are unable to see the player interactions and the
friendships developed. Objective viewers only see the game play and
battles between computers and not other people and are unable to
understand why the game has survived where others have failed.
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