the rhetorics and composition of media objects

It's a WAM! kind of Thursday, wouldn't you say?

Agenda:

• tie loose ends on Remediation chapters
• talk about composing media objects
• talk about why (or why not) place matters

From Tuesday: Great example that fits nicely with the Bolter and Grusin: Google Chrome: Invisibility

Composing the media object

Rhetorical conventions:
(Ethos, Pathos, Logos)

persuasion: what are my rhetorical goals/compositional vision?
audience: who is this for? What kind of discourse is this? What are the genre conventions that need be adhered to (or consciously broken)?
response: how do I hope that they respond to my object?

authorship: who/what are my influences? Who will manage the pieces of this object's composition?

I thought this was an interesting example of how tricky questions of authorship can become:

The short story Benjamin Button is by F. Scott Fitzgerald and was written in 1921. Forrest Gump was written by Winston Groom in 1986. Since the movie Forrest Gump came out before Benjamin Button, we might say that the writers of the Pitt movie copied some of the thematic and story elements of Hanks movie--but that is kind of weird, seeing as the story Benjamin Button is over 6o years older. Is it possible that Groom borrowed from Fitzgerald when he created Gump? Is it a cooincidence? Is the BB short story even that similar to the movie?


The Curious Case of Forrest Gump - Watch more Funny Videos

process: what steps do I need to take to get me there? Prewriting, writing, revision still apply, but perhaps have a bit of a different feel when we compose media objects. It may require a different kind of planning process.
context/situatedness: where is this media object going to be presented? How does that influence your composition of the object? What other influence does social/cultural/historical context have on the meaning of the object?

Examples: Chancellor's email from last semester

Dear Students,

Many of you may be aware of an event known as Rush. It is my objective to warn you of the potential downsides of Greek organizations. I advise you to not succumb to the aggressive recruitment tactics used by these organizations. It has been my concern over the years, that the Greek culture of alcoholism and lack of respect for the community degrades campus life. These organizations present themselves as prestigious, yet are discriminatory, serve to perpetuate social inequality, especially with respect to the opposite gender, and promote a lack of diversity. Many students have expressed concerns with regards to safety on campus, particularly due to Greek culture and behavior. It is my hope that a student's experience on campus strengthens one's individuality, but the Greek system emphasizes the group above all, without cause or reason. This is detrimental to the purpose of universities.

I hope that you will consider wisely.

GDI Chancellor Richard Herman

this official email was sent out soon after

Dear members of the campus community:

You may have received an email titled: Regarding Greek life on campus. This message was a hoax and was NOT sent by Chancellor Richard Herman and was NOT authorized by the campus administration.

Robin Kaler
Associate Chancellor for Public Affairs

This mailing approved by:
The Office of the Chancellor

What conventions had to be considered when authoring this document?
Who was fooled?
What were the give-aways?
What of it's location?

Location, location, location

We're used to clever advertising, so we know what to think when we see something like this on the street.

And so it's funny when we see this.

So what happens when we start to see an image we can't identify in a place that we are used to seeing a certain kind of image? What might be assumed of that unidentifiable image?



The OBEY sticker campaign can be explained as an experiment in Phenomenology. Heidegger describes Phenomenology as "the process of letting things manifest themselves." Phenomenology attempts to enable people to see clearly something that is right before their eyes but obscured; things that are so taken for granted that they are muted by abstract observation.
The FIRST AIM OF PHENOMENOLOGY is to reawaken a sense of wonder about one's environment. The OBEY sticker attempts to stimulate curiosity and bring people to question both the sticker and their relationship with their surroundings. Because people are not used to seeing advertisements or propaganda for which the product or motive is not obvious, frequent and novel encounters with the sticker provoke thought and possible frustration, nevertheless revitalizing the viewer's perception and attention to detail. The sticker has no meaning but exists only to cause people to react, to contemplate and search for meaning in the sticker. Because OBEY has no actual meaning, the various reactions and interpretations of those who view it reflect their personality and the nature of their sensibilities.

Banksy

Other examples of situated media?

Are web-based new media objects situated? How?
T-shirts?
Logos?