Rhetoric In Popular Culture Final

Front 1

choices/ actions dependent upon meaning

Back 1

armstrong used drugs. should he be kicked out of the tournament? this is a choice made dependent on what "drug use" means to you. bad= drop him out of the tourney and vice versa.

Front 2

rhetoric

Back 2

1. rhetoric: how messages influence people. the ways in which words influence people
2. in this book we study the ways that signs influence people.

Front 3

sites of struggle

Back 3

texts are sites of struggle. for example, music. Jay Zs songs.. we struggle over the fact that kids find fun, cool, dancing meaning within the music while parents see violent, dangerous meaning within the music.

making one artist into one kind of text or another is a site of struggle.

Front 4

power

Back 4

3. power- the ability to control events and meanings
4. everyday experience is alive with persuasive influence
5. disempowerment of women happens from moment to moment

Front 5

meaning detective

Back 5

critics are meaning detectives. their role is to explain what texts mean. the best have the RANGES of meaning and why certain texts are SITES of struggle.

Front 6

sign

Back 6

B. The building blocks of culture: signs
1. how things and events come to have meaning
2. glamour and mystery could be attached to a certain perfume.
3. a sign is something that induces you to think about something other than itself (not just salt.. salt and the eggs you had.. the MEMORY attached to the salt)

Front 7

characteristics of critical studies:

Back 7

1. critical in attitude or method
2. concerned with power
3. interventionist

scholars study the way in which experiences of popular culture influence people. different approaches but as a group they are a loosely knit school of thought.

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iconic

Back 8

conically- sign makes you think of something else because it resembles that thing. like on SNL when they dress up as OBAMA and make you think of that; voices, stances, gestures.

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indexical

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indexically- sometimes the thing (sign) and the memory(meaning) are connected by cause or association. smoke is an index to fire. the meaning of cat is “a dog” because it fits indexically. one part of the meaning of cats is thier association as enemies of dogs

Front 10

symbolically

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symbolically- something that people agree to make a meaning. for example, book = the thing im reading vs. GLORPUS= the thing im reading. we all agreed to it. symbolic meanings are the most difficult to learn because the are not natural and they vary from one group to another. “fall out’ could mean faint in some countries or nuclear war to a scientist. words are not the only things: red, white, blue pattern is US but because they made it so. you can discover symbolic meaning or forget it, but you cannot legislate it. but the meaning for gay used to be “happy and carefree” so the symbolic meanings can be changed.

Front 11

slippage

Back 11

how the meanings of signs can change like happy to homosexual

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artifact (3) things

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1. action/ event of object perceived as a unified whole
2. having widely shared meanings
3. manifesting group identification to us.

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artifact as a unified whole





having widely shared meanings




manifesting group identification

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the bottom stripe of the US flag is nothing without its other parts

not that theres anything wrong with that from seinfield

American: geographical. Male or female

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high culture/ elitist culture

Back 14

very best, high intellectual. the ballet, symphony, beethoven... not rock and roll

Front 15

contemporary meaning of culture (popular)

Back 15

culture nourishes those who live within it. we need to be able to talk to people and meet people and everything, group identification, everything in our "whole ways of life"

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popular culture

Back 16

systems that most people share or that most people know about.

Front 17

characteristics of culture

Back 17

highly complex and overlapping
- entail consciousness or ideologies
-are experienced through texts

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highly complex and overlapping

Back 18

cultures can be big or small, there isnt a single whole way to just be part of one culture.

-fragmentation : when you can belong at the same time to many different groups/ cultures
- contradiction: religion and work on Sunday

Front 19

entail consciousness and ideologies

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ideology used to mean: false beliefs the rich imposed on the poor. ideologies are based on the artifacts.

contradictions within a single culture: martin luther king = american culture but stands for harmony and a turbulent time.

preferred meaning:the sum of meanings is implied by a SYSTEM of artifacts, the church, baptism (preferred for Christianity.)

Front 20

concern over power

Back 20

1. power is maintained in other less forceful ways.
- architecture and classroom layouts for public schools, behavior at sports events.

Front 21

experieced through texts

Back 21

a group of words or symbols or a baseball game all in a certain pattern to create a certain feeling.

texts are how we experience culture

discrete and diffuse texts
discrete: letter in the mail
diffuse: facebook wall, linked to another wall and another.

Front 22

individuals do things that _____ or ______ them

Back 22

empower or disempower

Front 23

ch 2. discussion of power struggles

Back 23

**those who have the power of words have control over the wor;d. hitler: germans are the only good human beings. men control over women with as incomplete copies of men.

Front 24

critical interventionism

Back 24

critics do more than just describe and interpret.
- getting involved in problems in order to change the world for the better.
- any time you show people a different way of doing things.. you have changed their lives. (interventionist)
- give people options for experiencing their lives.

Front 25

verbal

Back 25

laguage and nonverbal

Front 26

text is

Back 26

a set of signs that work together to influence people.

Front 27

expositional

Back 27

public speaking. to argue and explain. obama made arguments but did not explain his ideas.

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intertextuality

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one text reference makes use of or includes part or all of another text. - if a new element has a hippie piece
-if a new song has a hook from an old song

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discrete

Back 29

text messages. their own space and time. certain speech at a certain hour but not where theres coughing or music.

Front 30

hierarchical

Back 30

one person in advantage of others for a moment during a public speech. one person talking the others listening. message, source, reciever

Front 31

discrete text is one with
diffuse: is one that

Back 31

boundaries and space
- with a perimeter or boundary that is not so clear and is mixed up with other texts.

Front 32

traditional rhetoric and paradox of power

Back 32

paradox is an apparent contradiction.

power to control both events and meaning.it depends on how a person sees a recovery as hopeful or helpless.

Front 33

the first day of school could be a _____ text

where a wedding could be a ____ text

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diffuse (tuition, new friends and a bunch of other stuff)

discrete ( actual ceremony and reception after )

Front 34

greek paradox

Back 34

rhetoric helps build a democracy but the greek understanding of rhetoric as verbal, expositional discrete and hierarchical may not be as democratic as it seems.

Front 35

some meanings are widely held.. aka: ____
some meanings are only held by a few people aka: _____

Back 35

broad: a large group of people thought that lord of the rings showed the world conflicts

narrow: for some native americans, the small group thought that the team mascot names (seminoles) were racial insults

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subject position

Back 36

texts ask their readers to be certain kinds of subjects. take on a certain role or character to understand the text. power that a text has over you is the type of subjects it asks you to become. some texts bring up the subject of male dominance.. others or femininity.

Front 37

nonverbal texts

Back 37

images, not just words

Front 38

original/ new

Back 38

referring to contexts.

when people first heard lincolns gettysburg speech in the context of it all. The textbook will always be original, whenever people pick it up.

- new: take gettysburg address and put it in a new movie.. its a new context.

Front 39

metonymy texts

Back 39

name of a way of thinking meaning reducation. the president is a metonymy of a whole branch of goverment. reduce middle east to images of its problems

Front 40

empowerment/ disempowerment:

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mainly befall large groups versus individuals.

- clinton reduced to her wardrobe (metonymy) which then disempowered her.

Front 41

narrative texts

Back 41

telling stories. fridat nght lights. `

Front 42

judgment

Back 42

it is always in critiques. by suggesting that a text means something, that is a judgment. you cant avoid it. it must be supported with reasons and good evidence.

Front 43

diffuse texts

Back 43

whole experience of watching televised football. small group, talking, issues relating to other issues of life, people come and go,everything mixed up all creating enjoyment but there is no boundaires on the space of hte system so its diffuse.compared to reading a newspaper article in a room with coffee thats discrete.

Front 44

democratic texts

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people walk through a sea of sings in LA because they have the ability to choose what they like or not versus just a speech where they sit there and have to listen

Front 45

ethnocentric criticism

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practice of looking at the artifacts of other cultures and judging them only from the perspective of ones own culture. major tool of racism and imperialism.

Front 46

marxist criticism

Back 46

concerned with ideology, class and distribution of power in society.
MATERIALISM: ideas rules laws, customs, grows from material conditions. who should govern this, who should get what or have access to what.
MATERIALISM is a CONTRAST to IDEALISM: a way of thinking that argues that the world is the way it is because of abstract ideas and concepts. (materialism says its because of real concrete observable ideas.

Front 47

exactly what i think!

*materialism vs idealism

Back 47

idealism: people have a free choice to make decisions for the good of the people

materialism: people have a free choice to make decisions for themselves, as an individual, within the current political system.

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materialism

Back 48

superstructure: said to be determined by the economic base (schools, culture, church, politics, etc.)

several material forces working together = created ideology

everyday experiences and practices argue ideas, objects and customs. advertisements shown reflect who we have given power to and it reflects the thoughts of our society.

Front 49

economic metaphors

Back 49

the way the economy works is similar to how the rest of culture works.

Front 50

oppositional readings

Back 50

readings that are different or opposed to the preferred meanings

- INFLECTION: bending of the meaning in order to suit ones own needs. the armed robbery is now seen from the perspective of a firearms enthusiast as a reason to have firearms.

SUBVERSION: reversal, an active undermining or rejection of the preferred meanings.

within the robbery story, one may assume that the police officer used too much force

Front 51

commodities

Back 51

marxists often see meanings as if they are commodities and we buy/ sell or trade them. in popular culture.. artifacts are bought and sold with a dollar value.

for example, earrings. you sell them for 10 dollars, that is the community reflecting its significance.. but you also trade meaning with a guy who buys an earring because now he is a little more different.

Front 52

preferred readings

Back 52

the practice of readings texts as a sort of material experience with ideological consequences.

a reading that is the most obvious one. the one that seems to be common sense.

we assume that an armed robber is a poor drug addict because the police are always "right" this is where we see their power.

Front 53

oppositional readings

Back 53

readings that are different or opposed to the preferred meanings

- INFLECTION: bending of the meaning in order to suit ones own needs. the armed robbery is now seen from the perspective of a firearms enthusiast as a reason to have firearms.

SUBVERSION: reversal, an active undermining or rejection of the preferred meanings.

within the robbery story, one may assume that the police officer used too much force

Front 54

repression of desires

Back 54

[when babies are hungry.. they dont stop crying. they shit when they want to, etc.
pleasure principle: infants live for gratification of their desires]

repression = below
the child learns there are times and places to be fed. child learns the reality principle that the world will disapprove of certain actions. so the child represses some of their actions.

Front 55

patriarchy

Back 55

feminist critics that argue there is a MALE DOMINANT system of POWER in PLACE

Front 56

3 strats used to perpetuate patriarchy

Back 56

-language and images that denigrate
-silencing
-lack

Front 57

language and images that denigrate

Back 57

hip hop music calling girls bitch and ho, women in the videos are sexual objects.

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silencing

Back 58

denying girls a voice. creating no space for the expression of the female experience. religious texts talk about the male and silence the women.

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lack

Back 59

if we compare boys and girls the boys with the external gen. have something the little girls lack.

Front 60

queer theory

Back 60

queer used to be a derogatory term but it has been turned into an acceptable and empowered term. gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender.. such as nigger to nigga. if most people can be persuaded to accept this situation then you have heteronormative hegemony.


the theory has expanded to people like obama who are "queer" in the sense that they are different.. obama defies easy categorization.

Front 61

identification

Back 61

it would feel easier to identify with war victims of vietnam if we had a similar religion. to "personalize" it one may try to see images of the victims.

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PENTAD

Back 62

when people explain the world to themselves and create motives for actin in the world they do so by anchoring their reasoning in one or a couple of the FIVE basic terms

act
agent
agency
scene
purpose

Front 63

act

Back 63

actions/things that are done

"cant read because i have no inner drive of desire to"

Front 64

agent

Back 64

people with power to choose and act

"my kind of people can't be smart" "genetic"

Front 65

scene

Back 65

physical/ social environment or context for action

johnny cant read because he is in a bad environment

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agency

Back 66

the means tools or techniques used to get something done

"i didnt have the books or i used other agencies (video games)"

Front 67

act

Back 67

action things that are done or intended

"johnny cant read because he has never been taught, noone has ever done anything to instill in him the ability to read"

Front 68

what are the characteristics of the television as a medium according to MEDIA LOGIC

Back 68

Media logic: people become accustomed and they internalize ways of thinking and percieving

E.X. listening to an ipod you go looking for ways on the radio to skip tracks or replay. you might do that in real life when reading a boring textbook too.

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dominant mediums in society

Back 69

early days it was radio, then TV, now internet. affecting the ways that people think about their problems.

Front 70

when we personalize something we

Back 70

turn an ABSTRACT issue into something we can PERSONALLY RELATE to. we can do that through texts and talking about it. but sometime this creates PARADOX that DERAIL our efforts.

Front 71

how can a critic avoid cookie cutter criticism?

Back 71

be flexible. let the methods and techniques you have learned guide you in generating your own insights about a text.they avoid a rigid appliction.

Front 72

the challenge for the average citizen is to

Back 72

personalize large issues in ways that make them understanable, without disorting the issues. we personalize by breaking the big event into more manageable images stories and texts.

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PARADOX of Personalization: ENABLING identification

Back 73

the victims of the fire were portrayed positively and the story reads "why couldnt it have been me instead of my poor baby?" white audience can sympathisize with that grief. metonymized to photos of kids which all people can personalize with.

Front 74

PARADOX of Personalization: FORESTALLING identification

Back 74

the story moves on to talking about the church and really defines them as different, the gospel. the woman giving birth to her 13th child brings out opinoins about welfare.

Front 75

how can a critic avoid cookie cutter criticism?

Back 75

be flexible. let the methods and techniques you have learned guide you in generating your own insights about a text.they avoid a rigid appliction.

Front 76

the challenge for the average citizen is to

Back 76

personalize large issues in ways that make them understanable, without disorting the issues. we personalize by breaking the big event into more manageable images stories and texts.

Front 77

PARADOX of Personalization: ENABLING identification

Back 77

the victims of the fire were portrayed positively and the story reads "why couldnt it have been me instead of my poor baby?" white audience can sympathisize with that grief. metonymized to photos of kids which all people can personalize with.

Front 78

PARADOX of Personalization: FORESTALLING identification

Back 78

the story moves on to talking about the church and really defines them as different, the gospel. the woman giving birth to her 13th child brings out opinoins about welfare.

Front 79

reducing paradox of personification

1.

Back 79

reciprocal personalization: whites contsruct positions of african americns but they DONT CONSTRUCT AND EXPLICIT POSITIONS FOR THEMSELVES

WILLINGNESS to see oneself as a metonymy (a symbol of larger forces and issues)

Front 80

reducing paradox of personification

2.

Back 80

metonymizing yourself:
constructing a position for myself within the metonmy to lead me to see that i am too in this social condition. i benefit from a pool of cheap labor.

Front 81

reducing paradox of personification

3.

Back 81

metonymizing others:

metonymize more strategically/ carefully and with more awareness. look at more smaller pictures of different groups within the larger issue.

the group is very complex and not everything is represented by just looking at that one picture.

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reducing paradox of personification

3.

Back 82

resources of more careful metonymy:

synchdoche: trope of representation rather than reduction that comes from breaking up stories into smaller and smaller pieces.

the washington family remians just a metonymy as a representatino of african americans. but they could be a syncechdoche for biracial, divorced poor, famlies in the city which are too large to comprehend. breaking up issues into manageable categories which can then can be applied better.