digital rhetoric and writing, october 14th

Video Rhet Analysis

Today

1) Your interps of the videos from last week (but first an example from me– an uncomfortable one)

2) Checking in3) Previewing what is coming next4) Time permitting: reverse engineered storyboard

Rhetorical Analysis 3

For your third rhetorical analysis, you’re going to pull a video from YouTube and write about it. You’ll be able to draw from all of our readings for your analytical framework. You should end up with 500-750 words.

Race and Rhetoric

One of the things I’ve tried to keep front and center for you is the rhetoric of race. I want to look at a few quick-shots of rappers, then we’re going to watch one entire video. As we watch, ask yourself three questions:

1) Who is this for? 2) What is this telling me? 3) How does this reflect or distort reality?

Radioactive

Carly Marissa

Kellie

Ethos• Newer band but they are successful • Making the video obscure is kind of eyecatching, we

are more likely to remember it.

Pathos• Violence juxtaposed with the stuffed animals: It’s

shocking • Associates childhood memories with violence

(graphic and mature).. Perhaps shows that we experience violence when were young at the hands of adults oppressive?

Metaphor• The video represents the older generation in a authorative and

obsolete and when the girl wins it signifies the younger generation and the way that we approach problems stemming from our upbringing and the culture and technology we are surrounded by. The fact that she wins ultimately says that the youth is taking over the older generation’s authority.

• This connects to the song title itself ‘Radioactive’- becasue the video indicates a sense of reaction or change to create a new idea, or sort of unification to cause a reaction

EXAMPLES

STAN• By Eminem

Pathos• Eminem uses pathos as the main rhetorical driver for

the “Stan” video. He makes Stan’s girlfriend pregnant and implies an abusive relationship. He has Stan kill himself by driving drunk off a bridge after maybe killing his pregnant girlfriend. Both these plot points draw an emotion from the viewer. He also used weather to create emotions, like rain and darkness to create a melancholy and unsettling atmosphere.

Audience• “Stan” is a cautionary tale against becoming

obsessed with anyone or anything. Stan dies as a result of his infatuation with Eminem. Because the majority of people watching this video will be Eminem fans, Eminem was reaching his target audience well by having the main character of the video also be an Eminem fan.

Ethos• Speaking as himself, the object of obsession,

Eminem has ethos and credibility. He also gains ethos by creating this video to speak to fans about not being obsessed, being abusive, or driving drunk.

Before He Cheats

Dan and Brian

Pathos • In this video the pathos is a broken heart, anger,

and the need for revenge. • The video tries to relate to others who have been

through a similar experience.

Kairos • Carrie is mad at her boy friend for cheating• The timing of her revenge is immediate– As soon as she sees the cheating she ruins the truck

Ethos • Carrie was cheated on. • She makes it seem as if she has ruined a truck

before. • She lost her mind, and became the authority.

Video 2: Eminem- Stan

Abby Dugger & Frank Smith

Kairos• Kairos- perfect timing relevant to the contemporary

world, bad timing/communication

Style• Style- Dark images with dark message mirrors the

style of the artist who raps about family issues/violence and other taboo topics.

Remediation• Remediation- It is a series of letters remediated into

song lyrics, then from a song to a music video

Audience• Audience- His audience is troubled youth with the

same issues that he presents in his music “they don’t know what it was like for kids like us growing up”

Delivery• Delivery- the Dido song in the background

references rain directly mirrors the final scene when it is pouring rain.

Grenade by Bruno Mars

By Brianne Kistler

Kylie McChesney

Metaphor• Bruno carries around the piano that signifies the

emotional weight he carries around from the relationship. It displays the one-sided nature of the relationship. This action is so drastic and it backs up his claim that he would do anything for her.

Pathos• This video appeals to our emotions because we feel

empathetic towards Bruno, because you are able to understand the severity of the pain he is going through (both by carrying the piano, and his emotions towards the girl). Also, the train at the end makes the audience feel his distress after being cheated on.

Ethos• The train itself shows how drastic/extreme Bruno

feels, and that he is willing to do what he claims in the lyrics of the song, in order to show the girl he is serious.

Kairos• When Bruno shows up at her house, he catches her

in the act of cheating. It demonstrates how one-sided the relationship is emotionally, and if Bruno hadn’t showed up at that time, he might not have figured this out.

Video 1 Analysis: Saving Me

Bridget Davidge and Julie Larbes

Pathos• Dramatic quality of music video makes the viewer

empathize with the main character• Viewer feels sad when the old lady dies; witnessing

her time diminish to zero.• Fear for the final lady as her timer winds down

before her life is saved.

Repetition • The music video follows a cycle: the man is saved

from a bus accident and then saves a woman at the end from a similar fate.

Kairos• The video takes place in a modern time and

common setting allowing the audience assimilate the main character and setting

Imagine Dragons

Radioactive

• Music video starts off serious, alludes to potential chicken fight cliché with the band imprisoned underground

• Radioactive is a song about a post-apocalyptic world• Music video is not about a chicken fight but rather

an underground stuffed animal/Muppet fighting ring

• Music video devolves into absurdity with images such as a stuffed animal who has hung itself

• Contrast between bands who go the literal route of the meaning for their songs

• Attempt by band to show their audience that they do not take themselves too seriously with absurd comedy

• Achieves opposite effect

Kairos•The idea of the song is timeless•He dresses trendy, so he video could look outdated in a few years

Bruno mars - grenade

Ethos•He’s a credible music artist and he’s known for writing this style music

Audience•He writes for his lady fans and men who feel similar to him•The video has appeal, because of all the grand gestures that he does

Style•He has a romantic style•The video is played out like a love story

Stan - Eminem

Alex MalebrancheEmma Geary

Pathos• All throughout the video, especially at the end when

he crashes and his family is at the grave

Ethos• Eminem is a very popular rapper• Very well known for having a rough upbringing,

conveys that in most of his music

Repetition• Continually showed images of Eminem on his wall,

highlighting his “crazed fandom”

Audience• Directed towards fans that may feel slighted by

their favorite celebrities if they don’t get what they want

Style and Delivery• Did his rap from two different perspectives: the

crazed fan and his response to the crazed fan• Colors in the video are dull and dark

Into the Great Wide Open

By: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Kairos

• Importance of time• Song about the past, and living for the future

Pathos

• Overall nostalgic• All emotions included – Crying– Love– Extreme anger– Sarcasms

Style

• Audience- younger generation• Fast paced• Random• Party scene / younger extra’s

Savin’ Me – Nickelback

Nick DanielRyan McFarland

Kairos

Metaphor

Delivery

Carrie Underwood – Before He Cheats Rhetorical Analysis

What happened• The singer caught her boyfriend cheating and destroyed his

truck– Carved her name into his seats– Smashed the lights with a baseball bat– Keyed it

• Saw him and gave him an angry look

What does it mean?• Pathos appeal – Anyone who has ever been cheated on would probably get

pretty angry at their ex watching this• Ethos appeal– Many people have probably been cheated on

• Kairos– It probably is important time-wise that this happened AFTER he

cheated the first time, because her destroying his car before that wouldn’t really be justified

Take on MeKit Collins & Tyler McCarthy

Take on Me

Analysis● Kairos - comics were becoming very popular at the time of

the video● Pathos - she fell in love with the lead singer

o Character driven infatuation - mirrors how fans may feel about lead singer - their specific audience

● Ethos - A-ha is quirky band - style and delivery portrays their personality

● Style - developing a fantasy world for love

Switching up!

We need to fill in the few empty days in our curriculum. We’re going to do this as fairly as possible.

Your class gets to pick 3 days. The late class gets to pick three days. So… hit me with any ideas of topics you’d like to cover related to digital rhetoric.

Research blogs

Make sure you’re paying attention to your research blogs. Some of you are doing AMAZING. So cool, so proud, so happy with your progress.

Some of you have no posts, or only one or two. BE CAREFUL. I’m not penalizing you now, but that’s a big chunk of grade pain if you don’t get those done.

Thursday

Instead of meeting face-to-face on Thursday, we will be meeting online. You can choose to handle this however you’d like. You’ll be doing your workshop over your typography remixes. Allow me to show you that activity (alt tab time)

With the time left

Pull up the Imagine Dragons “Radioactive” video (it’s part of the set we used last class). Based on what you learned in the reading about storyboarding, reverse engineer a storyboard for the video (or as much as you can– it will not be possible to do the whole video in the time we have).

I know you don’t know exactly how to do this; we’re starting tough to see what happens.