It's christmas morning at our house. I jump out of bed and dart back and forth to each of my sisters rooms, "are you awake?", "Lets go downstairs". The hallway is dark as I stop abruptly at the top of the stairs. We run down the stairs and see twinkling lights on the christmas tree and hear christmas carols playing on a CD. I stop by the door and see a plate with a few cookie crumbs and a crumpled up napkin. As I go over to the tree, there are neatly wrapped presents with shiny ribbons. Several of them say "to ashley". I grab a box and gently tear the colorful paper so the plain white box is revealed. Then I shift the lid to and fro to loosen it. As I lift the lid off the box I peek inside, I hear the soft rustling of tissues paper as I peel it back to see a pair of gray suede boots. I can smell the new leather scent as I put them on my feet.
This paragraph uses a narrative to make the reader feel like he's in the story. The description, adjectives and phrases help the reader see, hear, and feel the experience on christmas morning. Vivid imagery words like, "dart back forth", provide a sense of excitement and fast movement to allow the reader to feel more in the narrative. The words are also closely associated with christmas to help paint the picture for the reader.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
bridesmaids
This article describes a sequence of creation and production of a "chick-flick" called bridesmaids. The article was written by Chris Lee, a contributor, in Newsweek magazine. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/12/13/could-judd-apatow-and-kristen-wiig-s-bridesmaids-nab-an-oscar.html. The learning outcome used in the article was number three. This demonstrated an awareness of how language and meaning are shaped by culture and context.
At the beginning of the article the reader is showered with a flowery, vivid diction. This choice of language invites the reader to see, hear, and feel the words on the page. Phrases like "female-friendly", "monster summer hit", "comedy kingpin", "wounded woman", "gut-busting sequence", "fancy-pants wedding dress shop"and others are shared in our culture and in the movies. The words in the article were put in this context to convey visual imagery. One can almost feel the words. The extreme diction is like an actor in the movie. Like of "wounded woman". Who was this lady? How was she wounded? When you have seen the movie you know its an analogy. She was an emotional, jealous, self-critical, unhappy character. The language helps the reader exaggerate her sad place in life in just one word. These words were selected in the context of the drama of hollywood. If this vocabulary was used in the seriousness of a news or political article the meaning would be completely different. This diction couldn't be used in newspaper headlines because the context requires a factual not exaggerated story. The author used figurative language to convey meaning in a dramatic method. In america, language has multiple meanings. Cultural events can shape the definition of a word or phrase as well as the context. Interpretation of phrases like "frat-boys", "buzz around hollywood", "growing louder", "change of pace", "right off the bat", "spinning out of control", "insult to injury", and more, requires more than just knowledge of the english language. It requires generalization of basic words into completely different meanings assigned by our culture. If this article was read by someone who had not seen the movie from Korea, Africa, Japan or even Iran, the reader might draw a different conclusion. If their culture was more limited or conservative some of the word choices might also be offensive. This article used learning outcome three to speak to americans about a comical movie.
At the beginning of the article the reader is showered with a flowery, vivid diction. This choice of language invites the reader to see, hear, and feel the words on the page. Phrases like "female-friendly", "monster summer hit", "comedy kingpin", "wounded woman", "gut-busting sequence", "fancy-pants wedding dress shop"and others are shared in our culture and in the movies. The words in the article were put in this context to convey visual imagery. One can almost feel the words. The extreme diction is like an actor in the movie. Like of "wounded woman". Who was this lady? How was she wounded? When you have seen the movie you know its an analogy. She was an emotional, jealous, self-critical, unhappy character. The language helps the reader exaggerate her sad place in life in just one word. These words were selected in the context of the drama of hollywood. If this vocabulary was used in the seriousness of a news or political article the meaning would be completely different. This diction couldn't be used in newspaper headlines because the context requires a factual not exaggerated story. The author used figurative language to convey meaning in a dramatic method. In america, language has multiple meanings. Cultural events can shape the definition of a word or phrase as well as the context. Interpretation of phrases like "frat-boys", "buzz around hollywood", "growing louder", "change of pace", "right off the bat", "spinning out of control", "insult to injury", and more, requires more than just knowledge of the english language. It requires generalization of basic words into completely different meanings assigned by our culture. If this article was read by someone who had not seen the movie from Korea, Africa, Japan or even Iran, the reader might draw a different conclusion. If their culture was more limited or conservative some of the word choices might also be offensive. This article used learning outcome three to speak to americans about a comical movie.
what i know for sure
Oprah's article "What I Know For Sure" reflected learning outcome one. Learning outcome one is to analyze how audience and purpose affect the structure and content of the text. Oprah's opinion is directed toward a specific audience with the purpose to inspire them to be the best they can be. She gives examples about her desire/ goal to be thin and "get into her size 2 calvin Kleins." Most women have tried to fit into a favorite pair of jeans sometime in their life. So she grabbed the attention of women (her intended audience) in a high interest topic. This story is not about weight loss, but Oprah's analogy of how goals in weight loss regimes compare to goals in life. She describes how daily choices and adhering to your end desire can make a difference. This concept relationship is powerful because she selected a goal that women can recognize. She stated that "the big secret in life is that there is no big secret." This directly related to her purpose of inspiring women to be real with themselves. There is no magic pill to be a better you. It takes hard work to reach any goal. So her inspiration is shared with the reader (women) to work hard at whatever the goal is, so you can be your best. Oprah shared her secret to success with Bob Greene's contract. She again chooses her analogy well when mentioning "to be patient with your 2-year-old." The targeted women audience can relate to parenting situations. Her purpose to inspire and help women succeed is conveyed in her sample contract. She indicated that she is one of the group when she uses the phrase "we all know.." This wording persuaded the reader to think the inspirational thought of, if she can do it, I can do it. Oprah's use of learning outcome one was effective in targeting her female audience and inspiring them to set goals and succeed.
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