Reflection on Class

1) I found a lot of information in this class very helpful. It allowed me to expand my thoughts and analyze certain things in life in different ways.

2) My favorite part of the class was creating this blog and posting blog assignment through this website.

3) The most challenging aspect of class was the essays and attendance. I have attendance problems because of health issues and it is always an issue in every class I take.

4) I believe I can use the skills I learned in this class in my everyday life because of the processes I will use to analyze and criticize certain aspects and artifacts of life.

5) How can I better my grades in the last week of classes? I can fix this issue by studying and using analysis from this class to understand the classes I have taken and apply my findings in my exams.

Dealing with Hardships Using Religious Views

In today's society there are many different views on religion. Christianity is the view of singer/songwriter Carrie Underwood. In her song, "My Temporary Home," she describes the situations of three different people in their journey's through life. They all are faced with hardships but show that they know this is their temporary home on earth because when they pass away their real home is in heaven with God. The view of Christians is that life is a test and that your real life begins in heaven. The characters in the song show their beliefs and do not let their troubles bother them. In this essay, I will analyze "My Temporary Home" to explore the beliefs and thoughts that people use to cope with hardships throughout life.

Setting Themes:

• New house
• Half-way house
• Hospital

Character Themes:

• 6 year old boy
• New mom and dad
• People that ask questions
• Young mom
• Baby girl
• Old man
• People the old man loves

(7 Characters)

Action Themes:

• People asking questions
• Little boy looking up and smiling
• Windows and rooms that they pass through
• Young mom looking for a job
• Young mom whispering to her daughter
• Old man whispering "dont cry for me"

"Hair" Analysis

In the mid 1960s American society was in a state of change and turmoil. A group of non-conformists decided to protest the Vietnam War and develop a culture of peace, non-prejudice, and free love. They were know as hippies. In the movie, "Hair," a young man from Oklahoma named Claude leaves his sheltered southern life and heads to New York City before going to training for the Vietnam War. While in Central Park he meets an interesting group of people that accept him with open arms into their group. They introduce him to a lot of different things including different drugs, sex, and extremely different views on life. Claude keeps an open mind while spending time with these people and is introduced to a whole new society, far different from his in Oklahoma. The group also introduces him to a debutant named Shelia. Shelia is a part of the upper class in New York City. The group decideds to crash one of the dinner parties at Shelia's home and the group catches the attention of the beautiful girl. Claude is infatuated. However, throughout the days of their adventures, Claude does not get the opportunity to develop any kind of relationship with Shelia. He is sent off to boot camp in Nevada and prepares for the Vietnam War. While in boot camp, his new friends from New York, along with Shelia, decide to hijack a car and drive to Nevada to save Claude from going to war. Claude's good friend from the group, Berger, finds a way to extract Claude from boot camp so that he and Shelia can see each other once more. However, while Claude is meeting with Shelia, Berger takes Claude's place in the war and is shipped to Vietnam.

To analyze this movie I think it would be best to use ideological criticism. The film shows a lot of the views of the hippies during the Vietnam War. It suggest that the war is bad and that class ranks and society need to change. Ideological criticism is a method that dissects the beliefs and ideas that some groups of people have. It uses symbols and indirect language to show their own beliefs. "Hair" showed the world during the 1960s from the view of the hippies and why they believed what they did. It allowd the audience to understand their beliefs.

During the film the hippie group shows that they do not approve of the Vietnam War and cannot understand why Claude wants to go. They show their beliefs towards peace and why they protest the war. They do not directly attack Claude's beliefs but they let him know how they feel about different situations. In the dinner party scene, Berger dances on the table and goes against every rule that the upper class has established. This shows the beliefs of social class and that they do not aree with the separation or judgments.

Addition to Pentadic Criticism

Ratios:

Applying the ratios of the key terms to my artifact, Planned Parenthood, suggests that the dominant term in the pentad is the agent. The agent fully dominants all other elements and gives existence to the other key terms.

Pentadic Criticism Elements

I have decided to start analyzing the artifact of the organization, Planned Parenthood, using Pentadic Criticism.
http://www.plannedparenthood.org

Act- The promotion of women with unexpected pregnanies to get an abortion.

Scene-reactions to the organization's beliefs and the controversies it arises.

Agent-Planned Parenthood Organization.

Agency-The women with unexpected pregnancies.

Purpose- To provide information for women experiencing unexpected pregnancies and help them find clincs.

Social Networks: Facebook

I decided to narrow down my artifact to the social networking website, Facebook. This artifact has many different features and services provided to its users. It is a communication service for the public.

Key Elements:

• You can search for old friends that you have lost contact with
• You can add the friends of your choice and share information of your choice
• Can keep you connected to people and know what is going on in their lives
• You can inform friends of events and also attend other events that friends have created
• You can join or create interest groups and blog about personal interests
• You can chose to make public comments to friends or send personal messages
• You can share or view pictures with the people you are friends with

Suggested Elements:

• Advertising is catered to your own interests and is implemented through every facebook page
• The service is catered to college students and originially developed for this age group, but is utilized by many diverse groups of people
• Many politicians and other social icons create pages for publicity purposes and to gain support of younger followers
• Charities and other fundraising groups will also use Facebook to attract more supporters and contributers

Many people see Facebook as a way to communicate and keep in touch with friends. A lot of people don't realize the impact that marketing and advertising plays in social networks like Facebook. Facebook was originially developed by the makers to cater to college students. It was a way for new students to meet people at their universities and create groups to cater to college students interests. However, today Facebook has become a multi-million dollar network that has attracted millions from all over the world and from many different age groups. Marketers and advertisers noticed the attraction and have used these websites to promote their companies or services. Many people have also started using this network as a way to promote themselves or their passions to attract people to their cause. Facebook has not only provided communication services to the world but also has developed a new medium for advertisers and other organizations for promotion.

My Artifacts

Being a communication major and a marketing minor I had a broad category to pick from for my artifacts.

1. Marketing and Advertising Regulations: I believe this is a good artifact to analyze because is can be a controversial issue and have blurry lines. Many regulations through the media have changed drastically throughout the times. It can be looked at from different views and different possibilities for regulation.

2. Fox network: The Fox television network is also a good artifact to evaluate. Many people see this network as a biased media organization. However, some see it as a truthful look into politics and modern society.

3. Marketing Techniques: Using different markets and different advertising styles you can analyze different types and segments. Targeting different markets requires different types of marketing. Different commericials and products for different people.

What is Ideological Criticism?

To understand ideological criticism you first have to look at the definition of ideology itself. Ideology is a pattern of beliefs that determine a group's interpretations of some aspect of the world. It can also be looked as a way to define the world and artifacts within it. Groups use ideology to make sense of things and break down their internal meanings.

There are also some primary components of an ideology. These are also considered evaluative beliefs, which mean there can be more than one meaning to an artifact. These can serve as foundations for knowledge, attitudes, motives, and predilections that adhere to ideology.

About Me & My Blog

My name is Caitlyn Casey and I'm a communications major at Old Dominion University and will be graduating in the spring of 2011. In my future I hope to work for a media company or ultimately become a news anchor. I love working with media and communication and I believe studying communication will be extremely beneficial throughout my career and my life.

I have created this blog to record my thoughts and writings from my Rhetorical Criticism class, here at Old Dominion. Through this blog I will grow in my critical analysis and post blogs analyzing different artifacts.

Thank you for following :)

Neo-Aristotelian Criticism: Blog Post #1

1) How does the textbook define "neo-Aristotelian criticism"?

The first formal method of rhetorical criticism developed in the communication field. It served as a necessity to which the other formal methods responded. It is different because it states a certain end for criticism. However, this form of criticism is rarely used by critics in present society. It encouraged the mechanical application of categories to unimaginative and self-fulfilling. It was used because critics wanted to find out the particular rhetorical techniques in the artifacts they were studying. Overall, it served to differentiate between literature and literary criticism and it also helped to legitimize it by focusing on its classical roots. Understanding the basic components of Neo-Aristotelian criticism will help to understand the other approaches to criticism.

2) What are the three basic steps in analyzing the artifact?

Using Neo-Aristotelian criticism when analyzing an artifact there are three basic steps:
· Reconstructing the context in which the artifact occurred
· Application of the five canons to the artifact
· Assessing the impact of the artifact on the audience

3) What are the five canons of rhetoric?

The parts, or canons, of rhetoric are helpful in the process of public speaking, they are:
· Invention: the location and creation of ideas and materials for the speech
· Organization: the structure or arrangement of the speech
· Style: the language of the speech
· Memory: mastery of the subject matter which may include the actual memorizing of the speech
· Delivery: management of the voice and gestures in the presentation of the speech.