Close Readings - September 23

Not so Modern Family: Top sitcoms make for sexist, inaccurate television

http://www.csmonitor.com/layout/set/print/Commentary/Opinion/2012/0127/Not-so-Modern-Family-Top-sitcoms-make-for-sexist-inaccurate-television

This commentary uses diction, detail, and syntax to make her point. 

Diction Use: 

- She often uses words like quirky, flawed, unrealistic, struggling, stalkers, manipulative, vindictive, ect. to further explain and exaggerate her point. 

- When talking about the female roles in television, her words are pejorative connotation. 

          * "...all of the characters are stalkers, dimwits, cleaning ladies, vindictive ex-wives, or manipulative 

          mothers." All of the adjectives she uses hold some sort of cultural baggage within our society. Not    

          only that, but together they create an image that makes the reader think about the TV shows in a bad 

          way; which was her goal. 

- When talking about the men in TV shows, she uses connotation in the good sense.

          * "...most of them are wildly successful," not only does she describe them as successful, but adding the 

          wildly in front adds more than just being successful. 

          * "And all of the men on Big Bang Theory are brilliant physicists and engineers." Saying brilliant talks 

          them up more than just saying smart or simply stating their careers; for that alone implies they have to 

          "brilliant". 

- Her use of language is paralleled to the point she is arguing. She describes men in a light fashion (which is what the shows do) and describes the women in a darker fashion. This similarity is supposed to create a emphasis so that not only so the readers see it in the commentary, but they can directly take from that and see it in the shows. 

Detail: 

- All of her details are something to knock-down the false-reality of TV shows. For example: 

          * "...Unemployment rate for women (8.3 percent) is lower than it is for men (9.3 percent)." Adding 

          that contradicts what she points out, and what we can see, about some television shows. She wants 

          to convince the reader that not only is the show hurting the image of women, it's not even close to 

          being right. 

- She uses detail to prove the point that the TV shows are falsely giving bad roles to women and working  men up. She could have included information about TV shows that do the opposite, but that would go against her argument and wouldn't prove the point she is trying to make. Instead, she lists the things that are wrong a just a few shows. 

Syntax: 

- A lot of syntax is used to parallel her issue. 

- There are multiple places where there is an interruption in her thoughts, using a dash to show that. It is a repeated pattern that should be taken into consideration. For example: 

          * "Not only is this portrayal of women sexist -- it's inaccurate. 

          * "...networks could risk losing female viewers -- and the advertisers who target them. 

- There is also interruption of thought repeated through parentheses

          *"... is a struggling journalist (and Lily, the other female character, is a shopaholic nursery school 

          teacher). 

          * "The male characters on these shows are not just employed (and attractive to women), but most of

          them are wildly successful." 

- Both kinds of interruptions add to her trying to make a point. It moves one thought into the next and adds detail and positions them together. 

- In the latter example, she uses juxtaposition. The male characters being unemployed and attractive have nothing to do with one another, but she puts them together to point out the irony in them still being successful. She is showing the flawed values and false reality in the TV show. 

- There is also a repetition of sentences beginning with "and". That repetition can be used to emphasize that there are lots of additional points to be considered. 

All in all, this piece was very firm in it's belief that some TV shows today are creating the wrong picture for women, and it's wrong. The author uses lots of rhetoric to create her picture and form an argument.   

September 16 - Essay Prompt

2003, Form B. Novels and plays often depict characters caught between colliding cultures -- national, regional, ethnic, religious, institutional. Such collisions can call a character's sense of identity into question. Select a novel or play in which a character responds to such a cultural collison. Then write a well-organized essay in which you describe the character's response and explain its relevance to the work as a whole.

     Tris, In the book Divergent, is caught between colliding cultures. She lives in a world that is composed of different factions, each representing a single thing they think the world needs to be perfect. For example, Dauntless is a faction that thinks being Brave is a main personality trait that would prevent chaos in the world. The problem comes in, however, when one faction thinks it is better than the rest. This is when regional cultures begin to collide. Tris is caught in the middle, having to choose between different factions; which is practically unheard of. Her response to the changes taking place sets up the work as a whole. 

     When the faction that recognizes intelligence wants to hide something from the world, they pair up with the Dauntless faction to gain support. Tris, someone who could fit in either category, is left to figure out what the problem is. Innocent people are dying left and right, which is something that should be avoided. Tris' response is to trust no one. She begins a quest in self-identity that leads to a larger question in life. 

     Tris sets out to learn more about everything so that she can fully understand who is in the right, and who is in the wrong. At one point, she begins to question her life's importance. Seemingly in a mission to kill herself, she tries to give herself up at any turn. It is when she actually faces death that she realizes she is wrong. This turn of events helps her find herself and helps her decide what she can do. Tris fights back, choosing to show the world the truth instead of pick sides. All of her decisions and reactions to every event show the point of the novel, that not everything is as it seems. 

     Tris' revelation shows that just because people are raised to believe something, doesn't mean it is right. Everybody should be able to discover the world for themselves and not trust everything they are taught; some things are meant to be fought. 

Response to Course Materials - Number One

     So far in the class, we have mainly done literary terms. Looking at sonnet 20, many of the concepts we have gone through are included. First, there is personification in the second line. When he says "you are as pretty as the wind" he is comparing her to it, but putting human like qualities on the wind. I also noticed that every sentence is end-stopped. Without going through the terms as a class, I would have never seen this as anything important. Now, however, after looking at all different kinds of poetry, it is something that should be taken into consideration. The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing would agree, having stressed punctuation. While there is a difference in between college writing and poetry, when there is punctuation... it is probably important. After reading the poem, I also began over thinking it, too. How would this connect back to Foster's book? What does it mean? After some consideration, I related it to the bible. After all, everything comes from the Bible (... or Shakespeare). The narrator is talking about loving his wife, regardless of all the flaws. While she has a bad side, there are also good qualities. The bible talks about loving people unconditionally, which is something that can be seen in this piece. Also, speaking of How To Read Literature like a Professor, I can now relate that book back to the rhetorical situation. Each chapter is a different argument, using elements of the rhetorical situation to make a point. He also uses the structure of an argument to form a point. Overall, this week has been full of knowledge. Which... looking back at my first sentence now... I see I was wrong. So maybe I'll keep it. Just to prove that I have learned a lot more that I thought.