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…]
Abstract: This article examined the semiotic representation of food symbolizing love, sex, and desire in The Sopranos. Throughout the television series The Sopranos, food served as a semiotic representation of love, sex, and desire. Women were portrayed in gender normative roles and used feeding practices to serve men, representing their sexual desires. Alternatively, men were the recipients of food and sexual pleasure. … [Read more…]