What I want to accomplish today is finishing up the rhetorical functions portion of the body, and possibly start the transition into the rhetorical appeals.
I was able to get more than I wanted to today actually. I finished a draft of the rhetorical functions, created a transition from the functions to the rhetorical appeals, and finished describing what the appeals are with my own examples.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Monday, November 26, 2007
exploratory draft
What I wanted to get accomplished today was the first few sections of the beginning of the body of my inquiry project. I shaped a paragraph introducing rhetorical operations and also was able to draft the repetition and reversal explanation/examples. I hope to finish this section later today so I can move on to another section later on. Right now, since I just focused on this small section in the beginning, I'm not really seeing the connection I need to make in the overall theory of the paper, but hopefully as I go on that will be made more clearly.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
I pretty much have to re-do my annotated bib. adding my new, more relevant sources. What I did today was go through all of my sources and picked out new ways to group the new sources. Now I can form my introduction as my paper will be half on advertising rhetoric principles, and the other half will be applying those to McDonald's.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
annotated bib, in progress
Heiligmann, Rodney, and Vickie Rutledge Shields. “Media Literacy, Visual Syntax, and Magazine Advertisements: Conceptualizing the Consumption of Reading by Media Literate Subjects.” Journal of Visual Literacy 25 (2005): 41-66.
This article analyzes visuals and media texts for underlying cultural and superlative beliefs. The advertisements are meant to create relationships with the reader and the initial relationship with the viewer is a power relationship, lending support to existing stereotypes and social/cultural hierarchies.
The authors reference different approaches to studying advertising, which gives me the overall picture without a biased view. The article is from Spring 2005, which I consider to be current and a significant contribution to media literacy.
The rhetoric “appeals” are rational, sensual, testimonial and worry. I can use the “appeals” in my analysis of a specific case, which will be the second half of my inquiry project. I think I will also be able to use the three meaning qualifications in advertising in my analysis: the meaning of a sign must be transferred to another (people to objects, object to object, social situation to object and feelings to objects), the connection by the viewer to product and the charged sign and the charged sign must have meaning to the viewer. These meanings got me thinking of potential cases to analyze that fit into these categories such as McDonald’s, “Think Pink” Campaign, and InspiRED. These three fall most into the social situation to object.
Morgan, Sara. “More than Pictures? An Exploration of Visualy Dominant Magazine Ads as Arguments.” Journal of Visual Literacy 25 (2005): 145-166.
Participants were asked to view eight visually dominant advertisements from magazines. There were to infer their thoughts on the product claim(s). The results found a small group of different claims about the actual product in the advertisement, but also the participants inferred multiple implications drawn from the advertisement.
This article is current, from Autumn 2005, and I believe it has authority and significant contributions to visually dominant advertisements. Sara Morgan addresses classical conditioning positives and negatives even though it is not her argument. I think this makes her credible and non-biased because it shows that she has done the research in her field to take note of a different approach than her own without taking a biased approach.
I will be able to use the advertising visual rhetoric techniques mentioned, such as rhyme and reversal, in the first half of my paper where I will analyze visual rhetoric. I also noticed Morgan and Rodney and Shields use some of the same sources, such as Mesaris.
This article analyzes visuals and media texts for underlying cultural and superlative beliefs. The advertisements are meant to create relationships with the reader and the initial relationship with the viewer is a power relationship, lending support to existing stereotypes and social/cultural hierarchies.
The authors reference different approaches to studying advertising, which gives me the overall picture without a biased view. The article is from Spring 2005, which I consider to be current and a significant contribution to media literacy.
The rhetoric “appeals” are rational, sensual, testimonial and worry. I can use the “appeals” in my analysis of a specific case, which will be the second half of my inquiry project. I think I will also be able to use the three meaning qualifications in advertising in my analysis: the meaning of a sign must be transferred to another (people to objects, object to object, social situation to object and feelings to objects), the connection by the viewer to product and the charged sign and the charged sign must have meaning to the viewer. These meanings got me thinking of potential cases to analyze that fit into these categories such as McDonald’s, “Think Pink” Campaign, and InspiRED. These three fall most into the social situation to object.
Morgan, Sara. “More than Pictures? An Exploration of Visualy Dominant Magazine Ads as Arguments.” Journal of Visual Literacy 25 (2005): 145-166.
Participants were asked to view eight visually dominant advertisements from magazines. There were to infer their thoughts on the product claim(s). The results found a small group of different claims about the actual product in the advertisement, but also the participants inferred multiple implications drawn from the advertisement.
This article is current, from Autumn 2005, and I believe it has authority and significant contributions to visually dominant advertisements. Sara Morgan addresses classical conditioning positives and negatives even though it is not her argument. I think this makes her credible and non-biased because it shows that she has done the research in her field to take note of a different approach than her own without taking a biased approach.
I will be able to use the advertising visual rhetoric techniques mentioned, such as rhyme and reversal, in the first half of my paper where I will analyze visual rhetoric. I also noticed Morgan and Rodney and Shields use some of the same sources, such as Mesaris.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Factness
Whom could I talk to who could provide me with information that has factness about this question?
I would like to talk to my marketing and visual communications professors. They would have different takes on the subject "visual literacy," one from an advertising, business-based background and the other from an artistic view. There is an advertising firm in Elmhurst called Maddock Douglas, and I would like to set up an interview with an employee from there who works with actual advertisements and visual literacy.
What could I read that would provide me with information that has factness about this question?
I have already started my research with books, journals and magazine articles. These are all ways to find textual factness concerning my topic. I would also like to find information on visual literacy in composition study books so I can relate my topic more tightly to the composition community.
What else could I do besides talk to people and read to acquire information or factness about this question? (Jolliffe 75)
This does involve talking to someone, but I would like to talk to Professor O'Rourke and ask her what questions she has and what she would like to gain after reading my paper on visual literacy. That way I'll have some compositionally based questions to focus on that will appeal to my audience. Something else I could do to gather informational "factness" is to conduct a survey or experiment. In my research I came across an experiment that I may be able to reference or conduct myself. A survey would allow me to gather information about how the general public views visual literacy.
I would like to talk to my marketing and visual communications professors. They would have different takes on the subject "visual literacy," one from an advertising, business-based background and the other from an artistic view. There is an advertising firm in Elmhurst called Maddock Douglas, and I would like to set up an interview with an employee from there who works with actual advertisements and visual literacy.
What could I read that would provide me with information that has factness about this question?
I have already started my research with books, journals and magazine articles. These are all ways to find textual factness concerning my topic. I would also like to find information on visual literacy in composition study books so I can relate my topic more tightly to the composition community.
What else could I do besides talk to people and read to acquire information or factness about this question? (Jolliffe 75)
This does involve talking to someone, but I would like to talk to Professor O'Rourke and ask her what questions she has and what she would like to gain after reading my paper on visual literacy. That way I'll have some compositionally based questions to focus on that will appeal to my audience. Something else I could do to gather informational "factness" is to conduct a survey or experiment. In my research I came across an experiment that I may be able to reference or conduct myself. A survey would allow me to gather information about how the general public views visual literacy.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
a heterogeneity without hierarchy
John Trimbur's Consensus and Difference in Collaborative Learning addresses an important criticism of collaberate learning. The criticism is that collaberative learning supresses individual ideas and enforces conformity. I give Trimbur credit for addressing his critics with respect and care, stating the problem he will later counteract while maintaining that his critics make valid arguments. Anyway, Trimbur says that "it is through social interaction of shared activity that individuals realize their own power to take control of their situation by collaborating with other" (463). I definetly agree with him, but I see both sides to this. I feel the collaboration we students in our English class have allows us to bounce ideas off of each other, play the devil's advocate and possibly strengthen our exisiting ideas or create new ones. I have not encountered students in my group that buckle their ideas if it is not the majority consensus of the group.
However, I see the concern and fear that group talk/think can sway a student to the majority's consensus or mimic/adapt the ideas of the group and call them their own. I am sometimes concerned in my tutoring sessions that our conversations will be intimidating since the tutee is younger, she may feel that my ideas are "right", when really I'm just the same as she is; a student looking for intellectual conversation with ideas.
I thought I followed the section on normal and abnormal discourse, but I had trouble understanding the following: "[abnormal discourse] offers a way to analyze the strategic moves by which discourse communities legitimize their own conversatio by marginalizing others" (469).
I like his idea of a heterogeneity without hierarchy. In a normal, traditional classroom setting, the teacher is the main leader/power and the students are their to absorb the teacher's knowledge. In collaberative learning, the collective efforts of the participants, equal authority and participating in normal conventions of a discourse community can release creative energies and ideas.
However, I see the concern and fear that group talk/think can sway a student to the majority's consensus or mimic/adapt the ideas of the group and call them their own. I am sometimes concerned in my tutoring sessions that our conversations will be intimidating since the tutee is younger, she may feel that my ideas are "right", when really I'm just the same as she is; a student looking for intellectual conversation with ideas.
I thought I followed the section on normal and abnormal discourse, but I had trouble understanding the following: "[abnormal discourse] offers a way to analyze the strategic moves by which discourse communities legitimize their own conversatio by marginalizing others" (469).
I like his idea of a heterogeneity without hierarchy. In a normal, traditional classroom setting, the teacher is the main leader/power and the students are their to absorb the teacher's knowledge. In collaberative learning, the collective efforts of the participants, equal authority and participating in normal conventions of a discourse community can release creative energies and ideas.
Monday, October 29, 2007
inquiry project proposal
As an interdisciplinary communications major student, advertising and visual communication interests me because those are some classes I have taken, or am taking, that have really piqued my interest and further curiosity. I often wondered from the beginning of this English course how it relates to my major. This inquiry project is a perfect way for me to further explore this connection between visual literature and its effects on audience. I want to learn more about this topic because it is so relevant to not only this course, but currently in my marketing class we are learning about advertising, and in my visual communications course we are learning about the effects visuals/advertising has on its audience using colors. I have studied so much about written text, its importance and its power, so I wonder if written text is the most power, then commercials and advertisements would not necessarily need to use visuals. To me, it is the visuals of advertisements and commercials that provoke the most emotion, which is why there are so many billboards or ads with no to small amounts of text.
As of now, I have learned in my visual communications course that color in advertising, whether it is how a product is packaged or a commercial, evokes the most emotion from its audience. I also know from studying fashion that advertisements send more messages than meets the eye. Companies and industries are not only trying to sell a product sometimes, they may also be selling an image, concept or idealist stereotype. I have studied the fashion industry’s advertisements and its effects on audience in the scope of self-esteem and eating disorders. It is a painful reality and evidence that visual literature evokes life-changing emotions. People do more than respond emotionally to advertisements, they draw conclusions and mold their lives, or at least their perception of life.
An interesting thought and point I would like to further research is as follows: text offers the reader the opportunity to imagine visuals drawn from the actual words- visuals offers the audience to draw textual inferences from the pictures. Because of this, it is difficult to hold the advertisement or company accountable for statements its audience comes up with because it is not actually said in text, it is just inferred. So is there a way the public can have an impact on advertisements so they sell us the actual product, not a stereotype and image if no text directly states the ideal concept? Also, is it a good marketing strategy to use the tactic of selling these concepts and false perceptions of life in order to boost the industry, or is that considered unethical?
To begin my research I would like to interview my visual communications professor to get her take on the subject and gear some questions towards visual literacy’s effects on audience. I know she will have much to say because we both share a great interest in this topic. I would also like to interview my marketing professor because I believe she will have a different take on the subject than my visual communications professor since she will have a business perspective. Some sources I have found are:
1. Media Literacy: Keys to Interpreting Media Messages
2. Extending Social Comparisons: An examination of the Unintended Consequences of Idealized Advertising Images. Charles Gulas and Kim McKeage
3. Effects of Print Ad Pictures and Copy Containing Instructions to Imagine on Mental Imagery that Mediates Attitudes. Laurie Babin, Alivn Burn
4. More Than Pictures? An exploration of Visually Dominant Magazine Ads as Arguments. Sara Morgan
As of now, I have learned in my visual communications course that color in advertising, whether it is how a product is packaged or a commercial, evokes the most emotion from its audience. I also know from studying fashion that advertisements send more messages than meets the eye. Companies and industries are not only trying to sell a product sometimes, they may also be selling an image, concept or idealist stereotype. I have studied the fashion industry’s advertisements and its effects on audience in the scope of self-esteem and eating disorders. It is a painful reality and evidence that visual literature evokes life-changing emotions. People do more than respond emotionally to advertisements, they draw conclusions and mold their lives, or at least their perception of life.
An interesting thought and point I would like to further research is as follows: text offers the reader the opportunity to imagine visuals drawn from the actual words- visuals offers the audience to draw textual inferences from the pictures. Because of this, it is difficult to hold the advertisement or company accountable for statements its audience comes up with because it is not actually said in text, it is just inferred. So is there a way the public can have an impact on advertisements so they sell us the actual product, not a stereotype and image if no text directly states the ideal concept? Also, is it a good marketing strategy to use the tactic of selling these concepts and false perceptions of life in order to boost the industry, or is that considered unethical?
To begin my research I would like to interview my visual communications professor to get her take on the subject and gear some questions towards visual literacy’s effects on audience. I know she will have much to say because we both share a great interest in this topic. I would also like to interview my marketing professor because I believe she will have a different take on the subject than my visual communications professor since she will have a business perspective. Some sources I have found are:
1. Media Literacy: Keys to Interpreting Media Messages
2. Extending Social Comparisons: An examination of the Unintended Consequences of Idealized Advertising Images. Charles Gulas and Kim McKeage
3. Effects of Print Ad Pictures and Copy Containing Instructions to Imagine on Mental Imagery that Mediates Attitudes. Laurie Babin, Alivn Burn
4. More Than Pictures? An exploration of Visually Dominant Magazine Ads as Arguments. Sara Morgan
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