Move - Four-letter Word Project

Blog post 12 of 12

My main advice would be to expect the unexpected.  Do not try to predict what is going to happen next, it won't do you any good.  Also, try to always keep an open mind.  Explore the new media you get to work with, you might discover you actually like them and might even decide to use them outside WSC 001.  

And just like Koertge advices, leave all your preconceptions about writing and language behind.  Sometimes, what we think we know does not allow us to learn something new.

Blog post 11 of 12

I see the four-letter word projects more as multimedia compositions than strictly as writing.  It might just be because of what I, or my generation, has been used to, but I will always associate the word writing with actual, written words. From cuneiform to alphabetical, these are the kind of organized symbols that are the base of what writing means for me.

Nevertheless, the four-letter projects have a validity of their own.  Most of them, if not all, manage to send a message.  Whether us, as an audience, are able to correctly identify what this message means depends on the accurate use of visual imagery.  I think this is the main reason why I don't immediately consider our four-letter word projects writing.  Because, even in the most basic level of comprehension, our understanding of them is highly personal and subjective.  I am not arguing that written words cannot be subjected to multiple interpretations, but there is at least one superficial level in which we can all pretty much agree: the meaning of every single word.  In our projects, even a single frame of video or still can be interpreted multiple ways, none of which are either right or wrong.

Blog post 10 of 12

I believe Rodney Jones is arguing the impossibility of language to truly explain reality.  He first states this by saying that there is "no image like the image of language".  Language is indeed a human construction, a convention a number of people agreed on to make communication easier or even possible.  This verse makes me think of Magritte's The Treachery of Images.  In this painting, he draws a pipe and underneath it he writes "Ceci n'est pas une pipe", "This is not a pipe".

Indeed, that is not a pipe. It is the image of a pipe, a mere visual representation of a real, physical object.  This concept can also be applied to words: they are not the object they are naming, but just a written (or oral) representation.

Following this reasoning, another point Jones makes about language is evidencing its limitations.  The last three verses are a clear reference to the difficulty of successfully translating our thoughts into language.  No matter how quick we try to be, some of our ideas will get lost between the moment we think them up in our brain and the moment we write them down. But what else can we do? Jones does not see an alternative, as he admits that everything we can hope is that, by the time we "reach down" once again, our idea will come back to us.

Blog post 9 of 12

Personally, I think it varies depending on what kind of text I am wearing.  I feel like we, as users, have gotten so used to wearing text on ourselves that sometimes we do so subconsciously.  Therefore, in these cases, an audience is not really expected.  If we do get readers, they are not really anticipated.

But sometimes I do wear certain texts and expect (or maybe more like hope) someone will read them, specially in the case of something I feel more of a personal connection with.  For example, if I wear a t-shirt of one of my favorite musicals, I have this underlying desire that someone will recognize it and maybe begin a conversation about it.  I think the main difference between the first and the second case is that in the second one we are conscious of the fact that we are trying to send a message, while in the first one the message is not really our main purpose.

Blog post 8 of 12

Blog post 7 of 12

The writer is most definitely influenced by the nature of the writing implement.  He did not use words in his composition.  Instead, there is just one green check sign on the top part of the page.  Unless this composition has some metaphorical hidden meaning that I am not getting, I think that the use of crayon makes it less expressive than a regular written text could have been.

I am not sure I would call this writing, only because I don't think it has a clear message to convey.  If the question had been a yes or no answer, then this check would have worked perfectly.  But given the fact that it was much more of a complex question, I don't really feel like this composition worked very well.  A+ for creativity, though.

Blog post 6 of 12

"No one. And everyone".  That single line pretty much summarizes what I think of my audience when I tweet, which I didn't do very often until recently.  Since I use Twitter mainly for personal (or fangirling) motives, I don't really have a huge following.  It is save to say that I have pretty much interacted at least once with all the people who follow me.  We either share common interests (see fandoms) or these are people who I know "in real life".  So every time I tweet, I don't really feel like the people in the video. I don't see myself as simply shouting random, uninteresting things (most of the time).  I would describe it more as making a comment to myself, but at the same time hoping someone will hear it and give me some sort of feedback (reply, retweet, favorite).


I see Twitter as a very valuable tool.  It is an easy way for companies, non-profits and news channels to reach thousands, if not millions, of people in under 140 characters.  The immediacy and specificity that Twitter has helped entire political, social and humanitarian campaigns to be initiated and organized. Given this perspective, I think Twitter is an instrument that can be used multiple ways.  From those of us who use it for personal purposes to those who use it in a grander scale, Twitter allows its users a medium to put their thoughts out there, wherever there might be.  We can only hope someone hears our chirping and tweets back.

Blog post 5 of 12

The main difference that she points out between the rhetoric of a poet and that of a president is their audiences' expectations.  She clearly states that the success behind figures such as George Bernard Shaw and Shakespeare is, largely, due their abilities to portray and take on different voices in their writings.  It is what a literary audience expects. They wish to see themselves represented in what they read or see being performed, so it makes sense they would tend to gravitate towards stories and characters that act, talk and sound like them.


On the other hand, Smith says that "from our politicians, we still look for ideological heroism (...).  We consider pragmatists to be weak.  We call men of balance naive fools" (191).  This means that our expectations from a politician, as electors or a similar positions, is that he or she have a single, unequivocal voice.  Having a plurality of voices is considered a sign of weakness, not only of language, but also of ideals and values. And who wants that from the people who are supposed to be making important decisions in our behalf?


According to Smith though, multi-voiced individuals do have a place in politics (192).  She says that it will be a long, hard process, that will end up in the dissociation between the politic and his multiple voices.  This will give him or her the ability to see issues from multiple perspectives, and this capability will, according to her, produce positive results.  She does not hesitate to say that the presence of more and more politicians to fit her description relies heavily in how Obama's administration turns out.

Blog post 4 of 12

1) Zadie Smith begins her speech by stating that English is not her first language.  She then goes on to explain how she learned it while she was in college.  Her motivation, she confesses, is that she thought English was "the voice of lettered people" (179).  Do you agree with this statement? Is a person only truly "lettered" if he or she expresses his or her ideas in the English language? How important is language in defining if one is considered lettered or not?

2) "There is no quicker way to insult an expat Scotsman than to tell him that he has lost his accent" (180). With this phrase, Smith exemplifies the reluctance of some British people to admit they engage in "voice adaptation", calling it even the original scene.  But what is the real importance of maintaining these idiosyncratic elements? How much of a role does tradition in language play in this fast-paced world? Wouldn't adapt language to the general norm make communication easier?

3)  From pages 180 to 182 there is a large analysis of the character of Eliza Doolittle from George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion.  Smith concludes that, by the end of the play, Eliza is stuck in an awkward position, between not only levels of language, but also social classes.  What was then, according to both Smith and Shaw, the morale of the story?

4) Smith then goes on and mentions Barack Obama and his novel, the "many-voiced" Another Country.  She says that it exemplifies Obama's ability to not speak for his people, but speak them.  Why would she point out this difference? And why is it important that Obama, as a president, has it?

5)  Later on in her speech, Smith mentions Shakespeares plays.  She considers they give the author the ability to "speak simultaneous truths" (190).  Can there really exist simultaneous, non-contradictory truths? And if so, what role does language play when delivering them?

6)  Smith ends her speech by focusing on her previous arguments from more of a political perspective.  How does she think (or expect) Obama's gift to speak in many different voices will translate into politics? Does she believe it will have a positive or a negative impact? And what role can it play on a bigger scale?

Blog post 3 of 12

What I really think about the writing space that twitter affords is that it is limited. I am sure we can argue that every single type of writing space is limited in its own way, but Twitter in particular is known because of this fact.  The 140-character limit is the main feature of this site, forcing people to find clever ways to summarize everything it is they want to communicate into short texts.  But since the point of using Twitter is just to send small, precise updates of our actions, daily life and surroundings, I don't think these restrictions play such a big role.  I mean, there are instances when one has to use more than one tweet to write the message he or she wants to send, but these situations are the exception, not the rule.  This is why I believe that, if we keep in mind that Twitter is a microblogging site, the limitations make sense.

Blog post 2 of 12

I'm not sure why so many people wear texts on their clothing and on their skin.  Perhaps they feel that such portable writing serves to connect to others. I know it does in my case, at least. When you wear shirts or sweaters with something written on them, you are making a statement. You are saying, with very few words, who you are, what you like, what you don't.  If someone recognizes or shares what you like, it's an instant feeling of connection to another person, no matter how short that connection might be.  And that just makes you feel like part of something bigger than yourself.

Blog post 1 of 12

The argument Robert Hass is making is that poetry, like other forms of writing, is limited by the language in which it's written, and that sometimes it's important that we are aware of this situation.
Hass is making the point that poets normally try to convey through words experiences of another nature (visual, auditory, emotional).  The limits of the written word force poets to equate two elements that might have no obvious link at first, therefore forcing the reader to make new connections and relations in his or her mind.  By explaining scientifically why the tree does what it does, Hass goes to show that if poets were used to presenting facts in that manner, they would not have been able to cause the desired effect on the reader.  Instead, by saying "the tree danced" the poet creates a vivid, clear image in the reader's mind.

Dance with me, dancer. Oh, I will.  This line represents the relation between the poet and the reader.  This is the poet telling the reader to join him in his journey, to suspend disbelief and to take rhetoric moves for what they are: ways of using written words to communicate through images.  Oh, I will is a willing reader that has accepted the poet's challenge and joins him in this literary dance floor.

Quiz 4

1. Truth value is the defining characteristic of a proposition.  It is this intrinsic quality that allows us, as recipients of the information expressed on a sentence, to make a judgment on the validity of the information we have received.

2. It is not necessary that a visual claim be linguistically explicable.  This is what happens in advertisements all the time.  The claim of the producers or directors of an ad is basically universal: buy our product because it is the best of its field.  To express this, they rarely use what we would call traditional logic. They mostly appeal to the viewers’ emotional side, by linking their products or services to images that produce a positive effect on the audience’s psyche.  For example, in Peru there is a television ad for flue medicine that consists of showing babies dressed up with animal costumes.  Though extremely cute indeed, it is appealing to our emotions and not to our logic to sell us the product.

3.  Going off on what I explained on the previous paragraph, it is a well-known fact that visual productions play on the audiences’ emotions.  Instead of having to read a say whole paragraph, visual productions have the ability to convey the same dramatic effect in a single 15-second clip.  Furthermore, and just like in literal productions, there are some clichéd forms and constructions.  But unlike their literal counterparts, these are not limited by the barrier of language, which makes them even more universal.

First thoughts - rhetorical moves

I keep thinking about my project 3, and I'm pretty sure my next rhetorical move will be to add or work on the metaphors I already have.  Making up metaphors is not an easy task, so I'll probably go back, read them over and decide whether they really convey what I want to say.

First thoughts - Peer reviewing

I am peer reviewing a colleague's draft of Project 3, and my first reaction is that as a reader, it is pretty clear that the author feels two ways about this place, and why.  The paragraph opens up with a metaphor, and then goes on to describing the negative feelings the author has about this place.  But the last line explains that is precisely because of these "negative" aspects that she loves this place so much.  Maybe I am biased because I share her position, but I think that this paradox really delivers the message she wants to convey.

First thoughts

I've been thinking about my own draft for Project 3, and I have to tell you that it is not finished.  I did not write a conclusion for it, nor did I revise it thoroughly.  Though it was hard to get started, once I remembered why I chose Pompeii as the place I wanted to write about, the ideas started flowing with more ease.  I don't know if that situation translated on to the paper because I was working up until very late on it, but I hope that I managed to at least convey some of the emotions or feelings I had in my head while writing this paper.

A sentence starts out like...

A sentence starts out like an onstage performance. Before the curtain even lifts, before the spotlight hits the stage, there has been an incredible amount of planning behind it.  After deciding on the piece to be performed, the producers or makers need to start the casting process. In the case of a sentence, once a topic has been chosen, we need to pick which ideas we will select to support it.  But it is only after months and months of rehearsals, or many rewrites later, that the play (or sentence) is ready to finally be presented to an audience.

If these walls could talk...

The message Wesch is trying to send with this powerful video is that technology cannot really help us solve the universal problems that we, as a society, as college students, as human beings, are facing.  To do so, he chooses to set the video in a classroom. I think this is an interesting rhetorical move, since the disposition of the classroom we saw responds to the conventions of the early academic environments: a big, seminar-life distribution, when all the students seat at the same level to be able to see the professor, situated at the front, the only real source of knowledge.  Students were supposed to just be passive listeners, since all the information came from the professor's podium.

He does this for two main reasons.  First, it is a way to maintain a link to the past and older technology.  Second, by having his students, part of the audience, give the viewers the information he plays on the former conception of the student-professor relationship, making the message, a critique to the educational system,  even stronger.

A magazine is an iPad that doesn't work

The video found here shows us an infant apparently frustrated with the magazines she finds.  Although her frustration might be real, this toddler's reaction works as a device to convey the message the maker of the video wants to express, which is the relevance of Steve Jobbs and his work.  Even though we only see this message displayed at the end of the video, the baby's reactions are a powerful image that can reach the viewers better than, for example, simple text could.

What is your relationship with your reader?

Our relationship is a very complicated one at times. It's like being in a marriage, and every once in a while, one has to compromise their own will and desires to please the other one to just try and maintain a peaceful environment.  I normally produce text to be read on an electronic platform, so before I push the publish or post button, I think twice.  Is this a topic that will interest my reader? What if it's something that will not agree with his or her convictions? Will they still continue to read the text I produce if they don't see their believes reflected on my text? Sometimes, posts that may be somewhat controversial never see the light, and stay eternally in my draft folder.  But sometimes, I just feel like I need to communicate a certain message, without really considering whether my potencial readers agree with it or not.  If our 'marriage' can't get over these issues, then we weren't in a healthy relationship to begin with.

Pompeii may be like...

Pompeii may be like a silent witness. The city itself has not changed much since the eruption in 79 A.D., but it was forced to be quiet for so long, buried under a thick layer of magma and ashes.  The buildings were kept quiet for centuries under dirt and waste, but now they are eager to tell everyone their story. And what a story they are willing to share!

Pompeii is not like...

Pompeii is not like your average touristic attraction. Sure, there's a museum, and sculptures, and ancient buildings. But there is more to it.  Walking down those streets, you feel like you are actually part of them. Like time stood still, frozen, unmoving. And you get to witness that, witness the people, witness their everyday life and routines, even if they haven't been there for a long time.

Pompeii is like...

A time machine. It manages to take you back to this single, perfect moment frozen in the past. There is no more accurate reconstruction of a village of this time, because really Pompeii is not a reconstruction at all. It is 'the real deal'.  Most of the buildings, houses, temples, statues that were there during the tragic eruption are still standing tall, like giants protecting the history of the place, inviting tourists to see it and take a look into the past.

5. Hypertext Makes Reading More Natural

• What is hypertext?
• link between different elements.
• Reflects the nature of the mind itself.
• Connects elements in a non-linear fashion.
• Print text is flat.
• People don't think exclusively verbally.
• Associate pictures and sounds with different stimuli.
• Print media uses a hierarchical organization.
• Reading through association creates a more personal experience for the reader.

4. Is Hypertext a More Natural Way to Write?

• Links create connections between elements that might not be connected in the first place.
• Hyperlinks imitate the human mind in that they don't follow a linear pattern, but they are based more on association.
• Conventional writing does not allow the reader and writer to have conversations.
• You can't interact with the writer while reading a book
• The reader does not get to contribute to the writing
• Word processors have tools that allow you to connect your ideas.
• Use of maps, images, videos.
• Hypertext reflects the nature of the human mind because we think associatively, not linearly.

Great Writers, Great Readings Presents John Edgar Wideman

"He writes the way we talk." This phrase sums up perfectly the atmosphere I felt during John Edgar Wideman's speech last Wednesday.  His special attention to diction, dialect and talking voice of his characters have made him a recipient of an innumerable number of awards and prizes.  He manages to convey a sort of immediacy and realism in his writing that not many authors can express.

We were lucky enough to listen to a fragment from his work in progress, titled thus far Fathers and Sons. It's a novel heavily based on autobiographical events, yet he still considers it fiction.  The initial chapter starts with a young boy seeing the picture of a dead and battered Emmett Till on a newspaper.  This causes a big impact on the boy, because he sees himself identified with the image in print.  From this pont, Wideman cleverly inserts quotations regarding Till's murder trial as if to give the reader an idea of how the media viewed this trial, and the social ramifications of this fact.  Though a lot of attention is, so far, payed to the trial itself, it appears as though the focus of the book will eventually shift and focus on Louis Till, the boy's father, who has a dark story himself.

I found the fragment to be really interesting.  I would definitely read a book based on this premises, since trials and semi-autobiographical writings are a personal favorite of mine.  But going beyond the presentation of this new book, Wideman was willing to offer the audience some advice.  The one thing that hit me the most was him urging people to do and study what they are really passionate about.  Sure, we all have economic concerns in mind, but these should not limit us when choosing a carrer path.  Pretty solid advice, if you ask me.

Are you ever afraid to write?

Derrida states that he is not afraid of the writing process itself. He says that he writes what he needs to write.  It is the consequences that may come that scare him while he is in his 'half-sleep'.  And I think that is a legitimate concern, which I share as well.

When I write something, I usually do it knowing that somebody else is going to read it. And that is a scary realization: something you have produced will be seen by someone else's eyes. And these eyes tend to make critiques and judgements.  Also, written words have real power. So whether we like it or not, sometimes we need to filter our thoughts before we write them.

3. Evolution of the Writing Machine

CHANGING TECHNOLOGIES IMPROVE TEXTUAL EXPRESSION AND UNDERSTANDING

• The codex
• Transactions inscribed and remembered
• The printing press
• Massive amounts of text to be created
• Nearly everyone has access to writing materials
• The computer
• Biggest evolution in writing technology
• Creates interwoven society
• Grants everyone access
• Online print
• Remediation: New York Times
• Social networking
• Another way for people to connect and communicate for each other
• Informal writing
• Blogs
• Blogger, Tumblr

The Endless Possibilities of Digital Text

Group Prezi on Bolter's Writing Spaces (Chapter 1)

2. Writing Spaces Redefined

DIGITAL TEXT REDEFINES WRITING AS A TECHNOLOGY

• Computer: processes information, does not produce power.
• Redefinition of writing spaces.
• Wordle
• Traditional writings on a new platform
• Technologies shape the way people write
• Tablets, Palms.
• Remediation: process of competition beween technologies.
• Impossibility of going back to older technologies.
• Materiality of the text
• Materials used to write affect our writing

Should we like... blog?

How does the poem differ in its two recensions? What role does the spoken word (orality) privilege? What does reading privilege? What does the textual writing space (unconventional as it is) play in the transmission of writing?

Poems like the one we are analyzing are meant to be performed orally.  It is the interaction (however mediated it might me) between the poet and the audience that adds a deeper level of understanding.  The spoken word privileges the performer's attitude, tone, irony and particular way of delivering his poem.  In this case, Taylor Mali's physical and personal interpretation of his poem is just as important as the message he is trying to deliver. The different types of intonation and force between certain words make the listeners' experience more vivid and dramatic.

On the other hand, the textual space focuses more in the message the poet is trying to get across than in the way he does it.  To be fair, we should have seen the textual representation without any kind of sound, to get exclusively the experience written word could provide. Though the message did come across clearly (and this was even done in a creative way, like with the figure of a tree being cut down) I feel like it loses some of its power, as if we don't get to feel the full experience that orality could give us.

Is the machine using us?

Before watching this video, I had never thought of this approach. I mean, I saw the machine as nothing more than a tool that allowed us to write, communicate, create, etc. But now, I'm not so sure anymore. Though short, this video has a great impact on the viewer, making us think about this topic that is so close to us that we sometimes take it for granted. Are we just using the machine, or is the machine using us as well? Now, I can say that I think it is a two-way thing.  Every time we enter new information, we are giving it to the internet, to the world, to the machine.  Every day, huge amounts of new data are entered, from all around the globe. How is this new information going to change the way we see the relationship between humans and computers? Or even between humans?

True Confessions

Less is more, in prose as in architecture.  ~Donald Hall

I decided to include this quote in my confession post because it explains, in a nutshell, what I need to work on while writing: conciseness.

I probably already failed at that just after a single phrase. But it seems as if I just can't help it. I have been told a few times over the years that I tend to write more than it is necessary. I think I do that because I want to get my point across exactly as I have it in my mind. I don't want to leave any space for confusion or misinterpretation.  Though I have been learning that quantity is almost never directly proportional to quality.

From now on, I'll try to use more precise, clear words instead of filling the page with unnecessary ones. We'll see how that goes.

Closers

1. Closer is the most emphatic part of a written work.

• The final scene in RENT serves to emphasize what the whole musical is about. It does so by repeating in the Finale parts from the most important songs of the play.

2. A writer should think twice before defining their closer.

3. A closer should revolve around the main point of the essay.

4. Leave the reader with the main point.

5. Don't be afraid to go back and revise the closer.

"Hell, let everybody in!" - 09/21

On Wednesday September 21st, Emerson College professor John Timbur was invited by the department of University Studies to give a conference titled Open Admissions and the birth of Modern Composition.  Although it is a topic I really do not know much about, I still found the speech pretty didactic and easy to understand.  Overall, the conference dealt with the nature of composition, focusing specially on basic writers.

Timbur argued that open admissions programs during the 60's and 70's were instrumental to the birth of modern composition, starting a reinvention of the way in which we normally see the writing process. The CUNY adopted the open admissions method for the first time during the Fall of 1970.  Though there were no admissions exams, students still had to take placement texts.  The concrete example we had was an essay written to the prompt What is reality?.  The point of analyzing the essay was to demonstrate how even works like this, that violate the expectations of academy, gave a great insight on the nature of composition.  According to Mina Shaughnessy, essays like these are not chaotic, as it might seem at first: they only follow their own order or organization.  Though a person's first reaction is to correct the mistakes (and this is true, because I was so tempted to do the same), Shaughnessy argues that we should first understand the cause and origin of the error itself.

A Painful Glimpse into My Writing Process

This video portrays exactly how I believe the writing process is/should be. It is chaotic, unorganized, random. It is also painful. I don't think any writer feels content about what they've done until they've had the chance to rewrite it, revise it, change it, modify it, burn it. I know I personally don't. I don't think I am ever fully happy with what I produce. I don't know if that comes from a deeper lack of self esteem problem, but I am truly surprised when people tell me they like what I wrote. My writing process may not be as extreme as that shown in the clip, but it is equally messy. I just start by jotting down ideas about the topic I want/need/have to write about. Then I try to see if and how these ideas relate to each other. Sometimes they don't, so I just delete them and start fresh. I like starting fresh. If I feel like my writing is going nowhere, I prefer tearing that page than continue to work on it. It just makes me feel like I have all the possibilites available again, even though that can also be a bit overwhelming. I am a perfectionist, though (and I think I've already said this before). Once I get a first draft of something, I will check it, review it, change it, keep some parts and erase others. Sometimes I'd look at something I've written and think 'I cannot believe I wrote that'.

AT&T Commercial

The AT&T commercial shows us two children, dressed like they belong in a fairy tale, walking by themselves in a big, made up city.  Based on the story of Hansel and Gretel, they are throwing breadcrumbs behind them, so they will be able to find their way back home. The city in which the scenes are set plays an important role for the purpose of selling the product, acting as a third main character.  At first, the city looks nice, sunny and, even though it is crawling with people, it seems safe.  All of the sudden, darkness.  Things don't look as safe or calm anymore: there is almost no natural light, vendors are securing their stores, there are not many people around.  The city presents itself as a dangerous place, especially for two little kids who seemed so out of place to begin with.

The aim of this commercial is to highlight people's fears and use them to sell their product.  First, it aims for one of kids' biggest fears: getting lost.  Second, and also most importantly, the ad plays on a parent's (and more specifically a mother's) biggest fear: loosing his or her child.  If we also consider the fact that the environment in which the scene develops is a city, the fear is amplified: a city is often seen as an unknown place, one where it is even easier to get lost (or lose someone).

What the target audience is led to believe is that if they get an AT&T phone, they can be connected to their children at all times, and even when they are not, they can completely trust that AT&T will make sure their kids find a safe way back home.  With this alternative, they won't have to rely on those pesky breadcrumbs anymore.

Another Heineken Commercial.

Heineken Commercial

Though a very short commercial, this Heineken advertisement manages to get to the point (selling their product) in a clear and direct way.  The people shown in this commercial appear to belong to an upper-middle class. We can infer this not only because of the clothes they are wearing (chic dresses and skirts in the case of the women, polos and kakis in the case of the men), but also because of the fact that the owners of the living space are able to afford huge walk-in clothes and storage spaces for shoes and beer.

These types of characters were consciously chosen as a way to link the product Heineken wants to sell with a lifestyle most people would like to achieve.  They try (and succeed) to accomplish this through the use of stereotypes and gender stereotypic behavior, so that people can feel easily identified with the characters they are watching.  Though stereotypes are usually used in the media, Heineken relies heavily, if not completely, on them. The aim of this commercial is to make the viewer believe that if they buy this particular brand of beer, they will be just as happy as the people they are watching on their TV screen. And who would not buy a beer that comes with a side of happiness?

12 Questions About The Heineken Commercial

1. How can you relate the narrative of the commercial with the product?
2. Why do these men need a refrigerator just for beer?
3. Why are the men so excited?
4. How are the people in the commercial dressed?
5. How are the people in the commercial acting?
6. Is this a new living space?
7. What does the commercial say about men?
8. What does the commercial say about women?
9. Why is the commercial doing a parallel between the women and the men?
10. Why are they using stereotypes?
11. Who's the target audience?
12. Why would they choose people from an (apparent) upper-middle class?

15 Things That Baseball Players Do

1. Run
2. Bat
3. Throw
4. Catch
5. Spit
6. Sweat
7. Slide
8. Practice
9. Eat
10. Endorse companies
11. Give interviews
12. Work Out
13. Get Paid
14. Curse
15. Scream

Pantene Commercial

More than a simple advertisement, this Pantene commercial closely resembles a short film.  With both a clear plot and defined characters, it manages to capture the viewers’ attention from start to finish.  The final scene shows the violinist getting on stage, but the camera focuses on her violin. Specifically, on the poor conditions of the musical instrument: broken down to pieces, it has been taped up as a way of trying to restore it.  

The first idea we can interpret from this particular scene is that the young girl did not have the economical resources to have it properly mend.  Along with the fact that we did not see any of her family or friends, we can assume that no one (except for the street performer) supports her playing.  This taped up violin is a metaphor for the girl herself. Viciously bullied, people tried to break her spirit, yet she keeps on playing, producing music.

Pantene uses this situation to sell us their product. What could have been a meaningful, hopeful story is now used to sell shampoo.  The writers build up momentum, drag the viewer into the story, and just when we are reaching the highest point of the narrative, they display the product they want to sell.  What the producers of this commercial want us to think is that no matter how dire the situation, Pantene can make our hair look gorgeous anyway. If you buy Pantene, you and your hair will shine. Isn't it that all that really matters?

FFW 9/12

With this simile, Trimble makes writing sound like a war or a battle. And I think he is onto something.  While at first we might think this figure of the writer-warrior represents only authors of persuasive or academic texts (who have to defend and back up their statements with factual evidence), we can apply this to authors in general.

For example, the author of a narrative work needs to defend the world he has created, just as much as the author of a persuasive essay needs to fortify his arguments.  If the narrative author does not defend and truly believe in the world he himself has created, then neither will the readers. The suspension of disbelief must involve both sides, the readers and the writers.  If the author does not go to 'war' ready to defend his arguments to death, then his work won't have the desired effect on the readers.

So here I am at Hofstra and I am blogging. Writing online makes me feel....

Exposed. I guess you could say vulnerable as well. I am not used to writing for an 'audience'. I mean, I do have a Tumblr and Twitter, but I see them as ways to vent or to communicate with friends or other people who share my interests. I've never before created a blog with the intention to post my own 'work' in it. I really admire people who do that for a living. I think I sort of understand the feeling? I mean, I've danced and performed on stage practically my whole life.  The difference is, I think, that when I'm on stage I am playing a part, a role. I am me, but interpreting something. When you write, it's only you. You're putting yourself, your thoughts, your opinions, out there, for the world (or the Internet, in this case) to see, and judge and critique. I am not even four minutes into this and I want to go back and correct/change some things, but I guess everyone who does this for the first time shares my feelings. It can also be because I am extremely perfectionist, though. I don't know. I feel like lately I've been using the computer a lot more than before to communicate and not just to spend my free time in it. I guess it has to do with the fact that I am so far away from home, and that the easiest/cheapest way to talk to people back in Peru is to do it through the computer. I don't really feel homesick (yet) but keeping in touch with them makes me feel a lot more at ease. And by 'them' I meant my family and friends. God, I wish I could go back and fix that, haha. As I said before, this is my first time freewriting. I can't say that I hate it, though. I mean yeah, it is difficult (and I am going all meta now) but I think it does give the writer the chance to materialize his or her ideas, and no matter how confusing they might be in their head, it can help to give him or her some clarity. I'm onto minute ten now and I don't know what to write about anymore. These last few minutes are making me seriously doubt my earlier statement about liking freewriting. I work better with an assigned topic or theme. But where is the fun in that, right?