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?