I thought I was being particularly insightful when I told my husband a quarter of the way through 2001: A Space Odyssey that I noticed Kubrick seemed to be focusing on the eyes. However, it quickly became clear about mid-way through the movie that the focus on the eyes wasn’t a ‘hidden’ message, yet an … [Read more…]
In Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, we meet Jefferson Smith a naïve scout leader who is brought into a position of Senator because it is believed he will follow orders. Throughout this movie, I noticed was that Smith seemed to act more like a boy than a man. One component that wasn’t clear to me … [Read more…]
Using ‘film as ideology’ one can analyze how the rhetoric In Modern Times (1936) serves ideological purposes. As Blakesley states in TheTerministic Screen, “As a cultural expression, films reveal not only the predispositions of filmmakers but they also serve ideological functions in the broader culture” (38). We can see the how the ideological functions into … [Read more…]
What is Rhetoric? By W.A. Covino and D. Jolliffe is one of the best articles I’ve read on the background and basic principles of rhetoric. The authors’ address at the forefront that there is no short answer for the definition of rhetoric. Some individuals have a negative connotation of rhetoric, as “the manipulation of the linguistic … [Read more…]
I had never seen a Hitchcock film before, so watching Vertigo (1958) and reading Blakesley’s Defining Film Rhetoric: The Case of Hitchcock’s Vertigo in Defining Visual Rhetorics (2004), was quite eye-opening for me. Blakesley (2003) defines four approaches to film rhetoric (film as language, film as ideology, film interpretation and film identification) and he explains how each approach … [Read more…]
“Rosebud” That simple one-word phrase that Charles Kane utters on his death bed leads us on a quest to understand who this man is and the mystery of Rosebud. Throughout Citizen Kane (1 941), Kane’s identity is revealed through a series of fragments, consisting of stories told from his colleagues, newspaper clippings, and flashbacks. Blakesley … [Read more…]
An overview of Ethnography, specifically the work of Claude Levi-Strauss, Metraux, Batille and Mauss. Overview of Nambikwara tribe and studies of rituals, reading and writing.
Simulacra and Mimesis in Walt Disney World By Stacy Cacciatore The readings and videos couldn’t have been more apropos this week, as I visited Walt Disney World at the same time I was reading Baudrillard, Ulmer, Burroughs and Cage. Walt Disney World is overwhelmingly full of simulacra and mimesis, to the point where the line … [Read more…]
Book Review: Food, Feminisms, Rhetoric by Melissa Goldwaithe by Stacy Cacciatore Historically, the study of women and food has been deemed unworthy of scholarly attention. Melissa Goldwaithe turns this on its’ head with Food, Feminisms, Rhetorics. In the past feminist scholars have been reluctant to study the intersection of gender and food. Goldwaithe acknowledges this at … [Read more…]