Rhetorical Analysis of Where the Wild Things Are trailer

I am pretty fascinated/obsessed with Where the Wild Things Are. Like so many kiddos, my mom read me this book, and it's become sort of a representative symbol in my family. We all still own copies of it, and we often quote it to one another. I have a twin brother, and this book will always remind me of him; we grew up together with this book. (Of course, in reality, he was the true Wild Thing, and I was his shy and quiet follower, which probably made me even more interested in this imaginary land of the Wild Things.) As soon as I heard there was a movie coming out, I got pretty excited. (It doesn't hurt that a favorite author of mine did the screen play. Love me some Dave Eggers!) When I saw the first trailer they released for the film, I just knew the movie would be everything I hoped for. Oh yes, the trailer is that good--hopefully you watched it above! And I bet the movie itself will be out to rent soon; you should check it out, especially if you are a devotee of the book.

But whenever I love anything as much as I love this trailer, I have to ask myself "why?" What's going on in this trailer that makes me so excited and emotional each time I see it? What is perhaps most fascinating here is the way the trailer appeals to two different audiences--the makers of this film hope to attract both young children and adults like me, who read this book as children. So, rhetorically, everything going on in this trailer makes gestures toward each of those audiences. For instance, the wild things themselves have a friendly, muppet-like appearance. They could very easily have been scary monsters, but these wild things are approachable and kid-friendly. At the same time, the music playing is by the great band The Arcade Fire, and there I see a gesture toward twenty-somethings like myself, who likely know and identify with this band's music. I suppose pathos works in two different ways there, appealing to two entirely different groups. And, perhaps, that is a very logical rhetorical move on the part of the creators of this trailer--more people will see it now.


The use of sound in general is interesting here. In fact, there's actually only one spoken line in the entire preview, and it's at the very beginning. The wild thing, in his deep and kind voice, tells Max, "I didn't want to wake you, but I really wanted to show you something." The only other audio (besides the music) is the wild things howling at the end. These audio decisions highlight the visual nature of the trailer, putting the emphasis on the detailed faces of the wild things, their imaginary world, and the juxtaposition between Max's "real" life and his life with the wild things. The filmmakers obviously want viewers to first take in this fabulous visual scenery, which makes sense in connection with the book, which is largely a picture book. (I think it only has a total of about 33 words in it.) All this visual imagery could also be another way to capture the attention of the children who might want to see this film--kids like pictures, right?! But adults who know the Wild Things book will also be taken with it, as the trailer captures iconic images and scenes from book itself. The dedication to the visual story establishes ethos for the film in general. It demonstrates they've done their research. They know this book, and they bring it to life here.


I could go on about this....I really could. But I'll wrap it up now. Overall, I find this trailer to be an incredibly smart piece of rhetoric. It manages to capture the hearts and minds of two very diverse audiences. And, every time I watch it, I get a little teary....but that's for a different post! :)(Oh, pathos...I think it's always my fave!)

Why blog, you ask?

Don't ask me, ask the Pope!

I thought this was an interesting (and short!) article that really proves the pervasiveness of blogging in today's world. Everybody's doing it...for real. Take a quick look, if you have a chance!


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100123/ap_on_re_eu/eu_pope_cyberpriests

Blog Post #2

Writer’s Blog Prompt #2

Practicing Rhetorical Analysis for a Public Audience

DUE: Wednesday, January 27—please have it posted before class time, as we’ll be referring to blog posts in class.

Choose any object or artifact you’d like (an advertisement, a place, a photo, a piece of art, a commercial…anything!) and apply the skills of rhetorical analysis you've been practicing to analyze that object. (To review specific techniques refer to Writing Analytically, “Rhetorical Analysis" on pgs. 93-96, check out Commonplace chapters 2 and 2.5, review the Heinrichs’ chapters, or take a look at our “Doing Rhetorical Analysis handout)

1.    Choose an object/artifact/text…or even a situation you observed. (Not the one you’re already analyzing for you’re larger project, though.) Spend time recording all the details of that space and impressions you have about the organization, mood, tone, or style. The object can be anything you’re remotely interested in or curious about. It might even be something you’re considering integrating into your RAP later on…or it might be totally unrelated but nonetheless fascinating.

2. Organize those details and gather some basic information (Who made

it? What is it? Where is it? Why does it exist?), as necessary. Offer a brief summary for your blog readers so they know what you’re talking about. Remember that a strong rhetorical analysis relies primarily the author's observations and interpretation, so your summary should be pretty brief, and then launch into your smart analysis! 

3.    Pull together all your information and look for patterns and themes.  Consider larger questions, such as,

·      How are people or things encouraged to interact within this object?

·      What is the intended function of this object?  Does it have a secondary or “hidden” function?

·      Does the object accomplish its intended function? Why or why not?

4.    Post a picture or video of that object onto your blog, if possible. (For most of you, this should be possible; so try it!)

5.    Remember, too, that this is your BLOG! You’re writing for a blog audience composed of your classmates. Think about your blog writing persona and what sort of tone you are working to establish here. In other words, you need to work to adapt this rhetorical analysis to appeal to your public audience. This is exactly the kind of adaptation you’ll have to do in several weeks as we revise and re-imagine our academic writing for the Commonplace audience.

My Introductory Post: Writing + Lauren = ????

Writing and I have always had a complex relationship. That might seem odd, since I teach writing. Probably you're expecting me to say: "Writing! I love it! It's the best! I'd marry it if I could!" But...yeaaaah....not so much.

In school, I usually had a lot of success with writing. I can remember my first grade teacher reading my descriptive "essay" about the red bicycle I wanted to the entire class. I guess mine was impressively detailed or something. And, throughout school, the praise generally continued. I excelled in English, and I punished myself if I got anything less than an A+. So even though I felt good about writing, it was apparent that I was a bit, um, competitive and obsessive about it. Not the world's most healthy relationship, I suppose.

In high school, I even did some more public writing on my school newspaper. I liked writing editorials, researching and expressing my opinion to the student audience. (Who didn't really read it....but what did I care?) Then, an article I wrote stirred up some serious controversy at my large suburban high school. In our "Battle of the Sexes" annual issue, I wrote a piece that sarcastically bashed men, while a male writer wrote one sarcastically bashing women. It was no big deal--the paper did this every year. However, during this year, the administration had some pre-existing issues with our advisor, and I think they were looking to get rid of her for almost anything. So, apparently my article was a good reason, as I'd used "inappropriate" words like "sex," "PMS," and "gay." (Yes, words I am sure NO high school student had ever read before!) And as quickly as the article was written, my newspaper advisor was fired. Just like that. And, well, it was all my fault...right?

In retrospect, no, it wasn't my fault. There was context and history around her firing that I would never fully understand. But this incident, for the first time, made me realize the power of language. Words could hurt, injure, and offend, and in a ways that had very serious, real, material consequences. My already complicated relationship got even worse after this. In some ways, I never wanted to write again.

But, of course, I did. I mean, I'm a PhD student in English now, so you gotta figure there's some writing involved with that gig. But, even though I've come this far, I still find myself intimidated by writing. Sometimes I fear I'm not good enough at it--my words aren't big enough, my sentence structure too confusing, my content downright boring! Other times I'm back to worrying about the damage my words could do--who will I offend? Who will get fired? What kind of trouble might I stir up this time?

I guess this might be why I'm so interested in rhetoric, which was traditionally studied as a part of writing and speaking. (We'll be looking at how it works in visual texts, too.) I embrace rhetoric, in part, because it can help me understand how communication and language work. I can consider my audience, and make strategic stylistic and content decisions based on that. Rhetoric, I guess, has been one way of negotiating my complex relationship with writing. And it's working. I'm getting more comfortable. I'm feeling more confident. Slowly but surely. Baby steps.

Blog Post #1--the prompt

Writer’s Blog Prompt #1

The Introductory Post
 

DUE:Wednesday, January 13—please have it posted before class time, as we’ll be referring to blog posts IN CLASS. 

Using your first day essay as a springboard, create a blog post that your classmates will read.  Consider your audience and the rhetorical situation of this particular blog. Since this is a blog you are doing within a university class setting, your audience is both academic and social (complex, huh?!). You are writing for your classmates/peers, but you’re also doing it to fulfill a class requirement—you have to strike that oh-so-difficult balance. So, develop a voice for your blog that is engaging and unique, but also professional.

1.) Choose an idea or a short passage from your first-day writing assignment that you find interesting or engaging.
 
2.) Spend time writing and rewriting until you have reshaped your original passage into a blog post containing at least 250 words. 

3.) Don't just cut and paste your original response. Blog writing is a specific format, and your readers expect that a blog post doesn't use the style and voice of a text message, a gchat, or a lab report…or a first-day writing assignment! Use this first blog post to start to develop a particular blogging voice or persona. Remember, too, that the blog is exciting because it doesn’t just have to be text alone! You have the ability to add photos, videos, audio, etc. to your post, if you think serves a purpose here.

Welcome, friends!

Welcome to our English 110 blog! This particular blog will serve as a "hub" through which we can access all the other blogs in the class. This blog project is a very exciting part of our work this quarter. It will offer a low-stakes environment for us to think and write about all we are doing in our own projects. We'll also be able to connect to and communicate with our class members in a new and engaging way. Finally, we can consider what kind of writing goes on in blog spaces--how are they similar to and different from your rhetorical analysis project? How might they connect to the writing that occurs on Commonplace? Why has blogging become so popular and important in the 21st century? In short, how can blogging shed light on other acts of both academic and public writing that we'll be up to? We have all this and more to look forward to as we embark upon this blogging adventure! :)