This is a blog about my teaching, research and service with some occasional personal comments thrown in. These are my notes on a variety of topics. If you want to follow my blog posts on a specific topic, then see the Table of Contents in the right-hand column. While I try to work in the realm of facts, logic and moral absolutes, if there are any opinions expressed here, they are my own. -WilliamHartPhD
How to Do Ideological Criticism (according to Foss)
“The primary goal of the ideological critic is to discover and make visible the dominant ideology or ideologies embedded in an artifact and ideologies that are being muted in it” (Foss, p. 295-296).
Step 1: Formulate RQs
What is the ideology embodied in this artifact?
What are the implication of this ideology?
What are the alternative ideologies not expressed?
Are there aspects of the artifact that support emancipation? Etc.
Step 2: Select Unit of Analysis
What specific aspect(s) of the artifact/text will you focus on?
Step 3: Analyzing the Artifact
Identification of Nature of Ideology
What does the artifact ask the audience to believe, understand, feel or think about?
What are the arguments made in the artifact?
What is seen as good or valued?
What ideologies are hidden?
Identification of Interests Included
What is the power structure and what groups are supported?
Identification of Strategies in Support of Ideology
How does the rhetoric legitimize the ideology and interests of some groups over others?
We all, more than likely, watch a lot of film and TV. How much do we carefully think about what we watch? What are ways of analyzing, critiquing and better understanding these texts? One means of analyzing a film or TV program is to do an ideological critique of it.
What is ideological criticism? How do you do an ideological critique of a film or television series?
Ideological Criticism:
For our purposes here, ideological criticism is a particular type of rhetorical criticism.
Previously, we've gotten an idea of what rhetorical criticism is. So, what is ideological criticism? What is an ideology?
Ideology:
“A system of shared meaning that represents the world for us; it gives us a common picture of of reality” (p. 296).
“A pattern or set of ideas, assumptions, beliefs, values, or interpretations of the world by which a culture or group operates” (Foss, p. 291).
An ideology is a characteristic of a group. Groups have ideologies that individuals in those groups follow. In a diverse society with many different groups, it is typically the ideology of the dominant group that is promoted in that society.
So, an ideology shapes the way we see the world, what we pay attention to and what we do not.
What purpose does an ideology serve? Where does an ideology come from?
And now to some related terms.
1. Hegemony:
“the process by which a social order remains stable by generating consent to its parameters through the production and distribution of ideological texts that define social reality for the majority of the people.” (from Rybacki & Rybacki, Oprah article)
What are these ideological texts? Books, newspapers, web sites, political speeches, movies, etc.
So, these media texts develop in us an ideological perspective? They tell us how we should think? How we should view the world?
2. False consciousness:
“a failure to recognize the instruments of one's oppression or exploitation as one's own creation, as when members of an oppressed class unwittingly adopt views of the oppressor class” (American Heritage Dictionary).
So, there are somethings that we may not be aware of, we don't see?
So, we can live in a dominant ideology and be blind to other ways of seeing?
With these above concepts in mind, let's look at ideological criticism. Ideological criticism is a means of bringing often overlooked ideologies out into the light for all to see.
The Basic Argument of Ideological Criticism
“When an ideology becomes hegemonic in a culture, certain interests or groups are served by it more than others – it represents the perspective of some groups more than others” (Foss, p. 294).
“When an ideology becomes hegemonic through a process of accord and consent, it accumulates ‘the symbolic power to map or classify the world for others…’ It invites ‘us to understand the world in certain ways, but not in others’” (Foss, p. 295).
“To maintain a position of dominance, a hegemonic ideology must be constructed, renewed, reinforced, and defended continually through the use of rhetorical strategies and practices” (Foss, p. 295).
How is the hegemonic ideology maintained? Who? With what? Those of us in the media, are we responsible?
What film or television series would you do an ideological critique of and why?
We've covered previously some basic rules of composition in photography. Now let's add a little more to that discussion of composition in still photography and then we'll move to composition in film.
Within still photography composition, other topic worthy of discussion is Itten's contrasts.
Composition in Film
After you learned about composition in still photography (rule of thirds, framing, etc.), did you start to spot those same rules being used in your favorite TV show or movie? If not, look for it the next time you are watching TV or a movie.
Just focus on the rule of thirds. How often do you see the rule of thirds? How is it used?
Now, you try it. Go to YouTube (or another video source) and look for clips of a favorite movie. See how many rules of composition you see being used. Besides the rule of thirds, what else do you see? Framing?
So, some rules of still photography can be applied in film.
What are some rules of composition unique to film?
Note the four rules of composition that can be used in video work which are discussed below.
And now, on to some more aspects of video composition.
Q: What is the rule of composition that cant' be used well in still photography?
A: Movement
For some keen lessons on composing with movement let's go to the master, Akira Kurosawa, famed Japanese film director. Note the specific rules of movement discussed.
Why is there a digital divide? There are many answers to that, but one way to look at it is to see it in the context of the diffusion of innovations.
Put another way,
those with cash can afford to get the costly innovation. Price usually higher at first.
Change agents (in this case: marketers, advertisers, sales people), focus on those people with the cash. So, maybe only those with the cash, learn about the product.
Those with cash, tell those with cash.
If those with cash get adopt the innovation, then they benefit from it. Imagine when cell phone just came out. Those who could afford to buy the cell phone had advantages over those people who could not afford it. Maybe those with cash can more easily get there business phone calls and then make even more money. Those who did not have the cell phone missed that important business call and lost the money.
Imagine this process repeating again and again. The gap between the two groups widens.
Think of desirable and undesirable consequences as the good and bad consequences of adopting an innovation. Desirable = good, positive. Undesirable = bad, negative.
What would be some desirable or good consequences of university students adopting cell/smart phones?
What would be some undesirable consequences?
As for direct and indirect, think of consequences as chain of consequences.
Adopt an innovation ---> direct consequence ---> indirect consequence -----> indirect consequence.
For example, if you adopt a new 3-D HDTV, then you can then you invite all your friends over and be "the talk of the town." Now, that you are popular among your friends, you fell the pressure to keep inviting your new "friends" over (indirect consequence). Now you lose time and money time and money entertaining your new friends (indirect consequence). Which leads to you not having the time to spend on other important things in your life (indirect consequence). The loss of time is not a direct consequence, but an indirect consequence.
Anticipated consequences are those that you think are going to happen if you adopt the innovation. The unanticipated consequences are those that you don't see coming. For example, you adopt that newest, expensive, tech toy and it is great. You can do all sorts of things with it. However, you didn't think about the struggle of paying off the bill for the new toy.
How does a cell phone call work? What is a smartphone?
"A cellular telephone with built-in applications and Internet access. In addition to digital voice service, modern smartphones provide text messaging, e-mail, Web browsing, still and video cameras, MP3 player and video playback and calling. In addition to their built-in functions, smartphones run myriad free and paid applications, turning the once single-minded cellphone into a mobile personal computer. For an overview of included and nice-to-have features..." (PCMag.com)
What's the difference between a cell phone and a smartphone? How does a dumb phone fit in here?
Quantitative research papers which use methods like experiments, surveys, and content analysis typically follow a certain format.
Quantitative research paper outline:
Introduction
Review of literature
Research question(s)/hypothesis
Methods
Results
Discussion
References
Rhetorical criticism papers usually take a different approach.
Writing the Rhetorical Criticism Essay (based on S.K. Foss)
Introduction
Identify artifact (or text to be studied), RQ, Contribution to Theory, Hint of Justification (why is it important to study?)
Description of the Artifact
Text, Context & Justification
Description of the Unit of Analysis
What specifically about the text is being studied?
Determined by method
Report of the Findings of the Analysis
Bulk of the essay
Organization determined by method
Contributing to Answering the Research Question
Answer RQ, implications of research results, significance of research results
References
In the introduction the author identifies the artifact or text being studied (e.g., a TV commercial) and indicates research questions (RQs) they want to answer (e.g., what words or phrases are used and what role do they play in persuading?). The author would also indicate how their study adds to previously developed theory and also give some indication of why their study is important.
In the description of the artifact (or text), the author would describe the details about the text (who, what, where, when, etc.). There is no analysis yet, just the facts about the text. The author would also provide some context for the text. For example, if an author were analyzing a protest song of the 1960s, the author would want to provide description of what was happening in U.S. society at the time (Vietnam War, assassinations, civil rights, etc.). The author would elaborate more on why their research, their paper is important. That is, give justification for why their work should be read.
In the description of the unit of analysis, the author indicates what specific aspect of the text will be studied. For example, a researcher studying a presidential debate may just focus on the nonverbal aspects of the debate.
The author then spends most of the essay going through their analysis detail by detail from the beginning of the text to the end.
After a detailed analysis, the author closes by offering an answer to the initial research question(s), talks about what their findings mean for future research and stresses the importance of their research.
If you did some rhetorical criticism on a song or a set of songs that you especially like, what would they be and what do you think you'd find?
To answer research questions (RQs) researchers use research methods.
The four main research methods, at least in the social sciences, are experiments, surveys, ethnographies and textual analyses.
A researcher who does textual analysis is a researcher who studies a particular text or set of texts. A text is a communication artifact. A text could be written, visual, electronic, etc. Examples of a text are an email, a news broadcast, a film, a recorded conversation, an advertisement, a speech, an editorial cartoon or a song.
There are two main types of textual analysis. One is more quantitative and the other is more qualitative research.
Content analysis is "a form of textual analysis used to identify, enumerate, and analyze occurrences of specific messages and message characteristics embedded in relevant texts" (Frey, et al.)
An example of content analysis would be a researcher who studies post 9/11 editorial cartoons to determine how the enemy is portrayed in the cartoons by categorizing and counting up the occurrences of certain types of portrayals.
Rhetorical criticism, on the other hand, is more qualitative.
Rhetorical criticism: "research involving the description, analysis, interpretation, and evaluation of persuasive uses of communication" (Frey, et al)
Notice how rhetorical criticism focuses on persuasive texts, texts that potentially influence an audience.
There is a long history to rhetorical criticism from ancient times to modern times.
A person doing rhetorical criticism may study, for example, campaign speeches or advertisements to analyze how the text attempted to persuade and how effective it was in persuading.
Check out below the older Pepsi radio ad. What are the ways in which the commercial attempts to persuade? What about their choice of words. Also, how effective are they?
So, campaign speeches and commercials are persuasive texts and thus they are texts that could be analyzed using rhetorical criticism. However, what about songs? Are songs texts that could be rhetorically critiqued? Some songs? All songs?
With an understanding of these key terms let's turn to applying them to award-winning musical, Hamilton, which has been called "American history meet hip-hop." To see the application of various rhyming methods see the Wall Street Journals careful analysis of some of the lyrics of the musical.
"Are you a pirate?" What's that mean? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
Any life lessons you learn from this movie?
Any career lessons you learn from this movie?
"An amazing bluegrass cover of "Rocket Man". To purchase this CD, visit http://bit.ly/2dB1CRG... For more info on Iron Horse music and booking, visit http://bit.ly/2dDRjcg."
Via YouTube http://youtu.be/forqmom3YuY
Liked on October 8, 2016 at 12:51PM
In adaptation studies, adaptation is the process of a story changing as it moves from one form to another. Example: Harry Potter books to Harry Potter films. It could also be from a video game to a film, from a play to a film, etc.
One of the key concepts in adaptation studies is infidelity. Infidelity is a measure of how different an adaptation is from the original source. How different is the film from the novel, for example?
For those writers who adapt stories from novel to film, they face a challenge. How to get the story from a 300 page novel to a 90 page/minute script? Scenes have to be excluded, characters have to combined, etc.
Which is better? The book or the movie? Is that a fair question to ask? There seems to be bias to always choosing the book.
Very often when adaptation scholars look at infidelity their attention is put on what is left out, but not why it is left out? James Patterson's novel Kiss the Girls was adapted into a 1997 film. While the novel addressed issues of race and included an interracial romance, the film adaptation did not. Why? For answers to this, see Hart, W. B., (2012). The case of the missing interracial romance.
Previously, we've covered how to write a story based on the three-act structure (e.g., Syd Field's approach). Now let's take a look at a different way of writing a story. Joseph Campbell first identified what he called the Hero's Journey, common story structure found around the world. He found this common story structure in a vast number of old myths from around the world. Novelists and film directors started using Campell's work when they were writing their own stories. The most famous example of a film which was shaped by Campbell's work is George Lucas' Star Wars. After the success of Star Wars, many script writers began using the Campbell's ideas. Today there are a number of books on how to use Cambell's ideas in script writing.
However, let's skip the books and get some insight from the videos below.
Let's start with archetypal characters found in many stories.
Now with an understanding of the common archetypal characters, let's look specifically at the hero's journey itself.
You spot the Hero's Journey in any of your favorite films?
So, we now taking a serious look at idea of story. We are studying story. There is a word for that.
Narratology is "both the theory and the study of narrative and narrative structure and the ways that these affect our perception" (Wikipedia).
Previously, we covered the key components of a story and key things to keep in mind to strengthen a story.
In an earlier post we covered: "Plot – story should start with exposition, then conflict, escalating conflict, leading to final climax and then to resolution."
Now, let's look closer at plot. The could be the plot of a novel or the plot of a film.
When it comes to Hollywood films, one of the key experts on how to tell a story and how to construct a plot is Syd Field.
Field defines a screenplay as “a story told with pictures, in dialogue and description, and placed within the context of dramatic structure."
Field promotes his version of a the three act structure as shown below.
Setup (Act I): Let the audience know who the main character is and what the story is about. Identify the need of the main character. Confrontation (Act II): The main character needs something and there will be people/things that stop him/her. Resolution (Act III): How does the story end? What happens to the main character? Need met or not? Plot Point: “an incident, or event, that hooks into the story and spins it around into another direction” (Field).
What the following trailer of Die Hard and look for the acts. Do you spot Plot Point 1 at the end of Act I? What happens at the Christmas party?
Now, think about your favorite films. Do you see this same structure?
Developing a full or even partial screenplay is beyond the scope of things here, but it is now possible given the what we've covered, to develop a film treatment.
A film or screenplay treatment is a one page synopsis of a film yet to be produced. It is typically written before the full script.
Could you write a treatment for the next big film written by you?
People who work in media are, for the most part, storytellers. Whether we are writing a print news story, a novel, a children's book, a non-fiction book, a commercial, a song, a comedy skit, etc., we are telling stories in some form or another. We are storytellers.
What are the common components of a story?
Writer of story
Characters in story - hero, villain, etc.
Setting(s) - where the story happens
Plot - what happens in the story
Conflict - internal or external
Dialogue - what the characters say
Exposition - information about character, setting, etc.
Premise - what is it about
A moral or theme - the lesson of the story
Does a novel have all of these components? A children's book? A print news story? You may not call it "plot" in a print news story, but it is there. What about a song or a commercial?
Do you see the story components in this trailer of the film adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are?
Before talking about how radio works, it is first helpful to understand the electromagnetic spectrum. What is the electromagnetic spectrum?
Now, how does radio fit into this? What does it have to do with the spectrum? The following video provides a good overview.
Now some detail from decades ago. While the specific tech shown is from decades ago, the basic principles still apply today. Spot the steps in signal processing?
For a quick summary on how radio works, see this quick video below. What new pieces of info are added here?
What makes an innovation spread? What makes the rate of adoption increase? What are the key factors according to diffusion of innovation theory? What are the characteristics (or attributes) of an innovation that makes it quickly become adopted?
Specifically, what are the attributes of the innovation that make it spread?
Let's first think about these attributes in the context of early radio? Do you see the attributes mentioned in the adoption of early radio.
See from about 0:30 to about 9:00 in the video below.
Now, how do these attributes of an innovation apply to the diffusion of social media like Facebook, Twitter, etc.?
What is linguistic discrimination? Let's start with some examples. What is happening in these examples? "HUD Fair Housing Public Service Announcement"
"Linguistic Discrimination in School: African American English" Note: The audio is a little out of sync on this YouTube video, but the content is informative.
So, what is linguistic discrimination?
Linguistic discrimination (also called linguicism and languagism) is "the unfair treatment of an individual based solely on their use of language" (Wikipedia).
This is a clip that I edited and posted on YouTube. I use this clip in my Intercultural Communication course to introduce students to the idea of cultural literacy and the role it plays in intercultural communication.
What does this have to do with intercultural communication? Your task: You are in China and have to teach An American Culture/English Language class. What would you do?
An idiom is "a group of words whose meaning cannot be predicted from the meanings of the constituent words, as for example ( It was raining ) cats and dogs" or "kick the bucket or hang one's head." (Dictionary.com). See additional information, plus examples here.
“A traditional way of saying something. Often an idiom, such as 'under the weather,' does not seem to make sense if taken literally. Someone unfamiliar with English idioms would probably not understand that to be 'under the weather' is to be sick.” (American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy)
Why would you want to be careful about using idioms in intercultural situations? Any connections between idioms and emblems?
Example of a Chinese idiom: "Dui niu tan ching" It literally means “Playing music for a cow.”
See image here.
If a wife told her husband that talking to him is like "dui niu tan ching," what is she really saying? Does this translate into any American idioms?
If you are in an intercultural situation where idioms are used how can you figure out the meaning?
This is a clip that I edited and posted on YouTube. I use this clip in my Intercultural Communication course to introduce students to issues of language differences in intercultural situations. The video is set in the far future and far off into space, but does this situation seem familiar to you in any way? The “Picard Principle” of Intercultural Communication:
In the clip Picard says “Communication is a matter of patience [and] imagination.” During the video answer the following questions:
Would you face the same experience? Have you?
Can you figure out the language?
What advice would you offer when interacting with people and you both don’t speak the others’ language (in short, lessons learned?)?
The crew of the Enterprise encounter a "strange" alien race and have difficulty in communicating.
Captain Picard is kidnapped and brought to the planet.
How to solve this intercultural communication problem?
The “Picard Principle” of Intercultural Communication: In the clip Picard says “Communication is a matter of patience [and] imagination.” What does that phrase mean? Is it true?
“The primary goal of the ideological critic is to discover and make visible the dominant ideology or ideologies embedded in an artifact and ideologies that are being muted in it” (Foss, p. 295-296).
After you learned about composition in still photography (rule of thirds, framing, etc.), did you start to spot those same rules being used in your favorite TV show or movie? If not, look for it the next time you are watching TV or a movie.
.
by Martin and Nakayama
The concepts of cultural identity and cultural identity development are illustrated well in the film, The Debut
. This was an excellent teaching resource. I wish that it was released in some form on DVD.
picks up the Jobs-Gates story where Pirates left off.
Previously, we've covered how to write a story based on the three-act structure (e.g., Syd Field's approach). Now let's take a look at a different way of writing a story. Joseph Campbell first identified what he called the Hero's Journey, common story structure found around the world. He found this common story structure in a vast number of old myths from around the world. Novelists and film directors started using Campell's work when they were writing their own stories. The most famous example of a film which was shaped by Campbell's work is George Lucas' Star Wars. After the success of Star Wars, many script writers began using the Campbell's ideas. Today there are a number of books on how to use Cambell's ideas in script writing.
What are the common components of a story?
.
