Thursday, June 9, 2016
Sunday, May 29, 2016
WP3
The article I chose to transform for WP3 is "Whose Film Is It Anyway? Canonicity and
Authority in Star Wars Fandom" written by John C. Lyden in the Journal of the American
Academy of Religion. This article discusses the fact that many dedicated fans of the Star Wars films have claimed to believe in the religion of "Jediism" and that their reactions to the
films have led to a new "religious experience" for them. The article begins by describing what
"Jediism" is and how fans have created a community with a strong online presence to back their
opinions and claims about the films. The article also explains how intense these fans can be in
their desire for the "canon" of the series to stay intact within the original trilogy. Lyden cites
specific examples for instances in which the fans have been at odds with the creator of the series,
George Lucas, for this very reason and how conspiracy theories have even arisen claiming that
he is trying to prevent fans from seeing the "true" films.
For my younger audience transformation, I chose to create an article from a website called Oh My Disney. This website is part of a series of official blogging sites created by the Walt Disney Company for fans of their films and products. The site is geared towards teenagers and young adults and often times includes articles titled “Things You Didn’t Know About...” which usually describe fun facts that fans might not already know about a well-known film or other Disney-related thing. Therefore, I wrote my article “8 Things You Didn’t Know About Star Wars” using the main facts presented in the original scholarly article and modeled it after similar articles found on the Oh My Disney website. The goal of these types of articles, as usually stated at the beginning of each one, is to provide a list of interesting facts and knowledge that fans can then surprise and impress their friends with.
For my younger audience transformation, I chose to create an article from a website called Oh My Disney. This website is part of a series of official blogging sites created by the Walt Disney Company for fans of their films and products. The site is geared towards teenagers and young adults and often times includes articles titled “Things You Didn’t Know About...” which usually describe fun facts that fans might not already know about a well-known film or other Disney-related thing. Therefore, I wrote my article “8 Things You Didn’t Know About Star Wars” using the main facts presented in the original scholarly article and modeled it after similar articles found on the Oh My Disney website. The goal of these types of articles, as usually stated at the beginning of each one, is to provide a list of interesting facts and knowledge that fans can then surprise and impress their friends with.
When young Disney fans visit the website, they expect the articles to be fun and
informative, but also to follow the same general pattern that is common in the articles posted
there. Thus, I decided to have my article follow the same structural format and make it look like
it came straight from the website so that my audiences can make use of visual literacy—the
ability “to read the different elements of a visual text” (Losh and Alexander). The articles begin
with a large image related to the topic of the article, followed by the title and author of the piece.
For this type of article that includes a list of fun facts about something, they are often written by
the staff at Oh My Disney collectively, rather than a single author. Thus, I included the typical
symbol and byline format of the editorial staff as a whole, along with the profile image related to
“Oh My Disney” as a contributor.
The main body of the article is written as a numbered list. One sentence about the fact is followed by an image relating to it. For example, for my first fact I wrote “The fandom associated with the Star Wars movies can be referred to as a ‘religion’” and inserted an image associated with Jediism directly underneath it. Below that, a short description of the fact is written to clarify and provide more information about it in case the readers want to know more. All of this text is written in an informal and friendly tone, so as to appeal to teenagers who are interested in reading something quick and interesting about a topic they probably already know of. These articles often use phrases such as “of course” and “in fact” in order to demonstrate the informality of their tone. This demonstrates the fact that “different social spaces affect how we communicate, what is said, what is not said, and how our messages are received, understood, and acted upon” (Losh and Alexander). The social space where the article is located influenced my decisions to write in a more informal tone and to only include quick fun facts about Star Wars rather than longer analyses of the films and fandom that were part of the original article.
The main body of the article is written as a numbered list. One sentence about the fact is followed by an image relating to it. For example, for my first fact I wrote “The fandom associated with the Star Wars movies can be referred to as a ‘religion’” and inserted an image associated with Jediism directly underneath it. Below that, a short description of the fact is written to clarify and provide more information about it in case the readers want to know more. All of this text is written in an informal and friendly tone, so as to appeal to teenagers who are interested in reading something quick and interesting about a topic they probably already know of. These articles often use phrases such as “of course” and “in fact” in order to demonstrate the informality of their tone. This demonstrates the fact that “different social spaces affect how we communicate, what is said, what is not said, and how our messages are received, understood, and acted upon” (Losh and Alexander). The social space where the article is located influenced my decisions to write in a more informal tone and to only include quick fun facts about Star Wars rather than longer analyses of the films and fandom that were part of the original article.
For my transformation geared towards an older audience, I chose to create a religious
brochure promoting “Jediism.” Often times my family has received pamphlets with information
about a certain religion and encouraging its readers to join and learn more about it. These
brochures are usually passed out on street corners or handed out when older members of the
religion go door-to-door in their attempts to get others to convert to their religion. Therefore, I
used the information the scholarly article provided about “Jediism” to create a religious brochure
I modeled after the ones my parents have received in the past. The goal of the pamphlet is to get
the readers to consider converting to “Jediism” by presenting them with information about the
religious teachings, people involved in the fandom, and where to go for even more details about
the Jedi Church. The purpose of the brochure was influenced by the fact that “writing means
always changing—changing to meet the needs of different audiences” (Losh and Alexander).
When this type of religious propaganda is passed out it is meant to demonstrate to its readers and
persuade them to convert to the religion in order to lead a better life and feel at peace with their
own spiritual beliefs.
I began my brochure with a simple front cover that includes the title of “Jediism,” an image related to the Jedi Church, and a short phrase (“Join others who have felt the pull of the Force”) meant to entice people to read further into the pamphlet. The next section, titled “What is Jediism?”, includes facts about the religion that were stated in the beginning of the original article by Lyden. For example, “a number of people around the world have identified their religion as Jediism...as calculated by the 2001 census” is meant to demonstrate to its readers how widespread the religion already is throughout the world and to build ethos—which “refers to the credibility of the rhetor” (Carroll)—for the religion by quoting an official source. The first section when the brochure is completely opened describes the official Jedi Church, its beliefs, and an invitation to join the Jedi religion—“All you have to do is quiet you mind and listen to the Force within you!” This is meant to persuade its readers to become members of Jediism so that they can be around others who have felt similar connections to the natural world.
I began my brochure with a simple front cover that includes the title of “Jediism,” an image related to the Jedi Church, and a short phrase (“Join others who have felt the pull of the Force”) meant to entice people to read further into the pamphlet. The next section, titled “What is Jediism?”, includes facts about the religion that were stated in the beginning of the original article by Lyden. For example, “a number of people around the world have identified their religion as Jediism...as calculated by the 2001 census” is meant to demonstrate to its readers how widespread the religion already is throughout the world and to build ethos—which “refers to the credibility of the rhetor” (Carroll)—for the religion by quoting an official source. The first section when the brochure is completely opened describes the official Jedi Church, its beliefs, and an invitation to join the Jedi religion—“All you have to do is quiet you mind and listen to the Force within you!” This is meant to persuade its readers to become members of Jediism so that they can be around others who have felt similar connections to the natural world.
The next two sections of the brochure describe important elements of the fandom that the
article spent a while discussing. “Star Wars Uncut” and “George Lucas” are meant to
demonstrate the good and the bad of the Jedi religion, respectively. I wrote that Casey Pugh and
his film Star Wars Uncut “has helped in the spreading of the ideals of Jediism to a larger and
more interactive audience” in an effort to get the readers to see what they can be capable of once
they too convert to Jediism. The segment on George Lucas educates the readers about the
founder of Jediism and the differences between the original and re-released films. By stating that
people who have not seen the original releases “have yet to be fully educated in the ways of the
Jedi religion,” the brochure is able to encourage the readers to look into more information about
Jediism and to even consider contacting the Jedi Church.
The pamphlet ends with a section encouraging its readers to visit other websites (those listed within the article as fan websites) for more information on the benefits and process of converting to "Jediism" and joining the ever-growing community. This is a common convention of religious brochures because if the readers decide they are interested in learning more about the religion or joining the church, they need to know how to do so. I also included images in every section of the brochure in order to avoid overwhelming the audience with too many words and to keep them interested in what I had to say. As McCloud states, the goal of word choice is to “clearly and persuasively communicate ideas...in seamless combination with images.” Adding the pictures to the pamphlet (and the blog article) allowed me to communicate better with my audiences and provide them with an interesting visual medium relating to what the content of the writing included.
The pamphlet ends with a section encouraging its readers to visit other websites (those listed within the article as fan websites) for more information on the benefits and process of converting to "Jediism" and joining the ever-growing community. This is a common convention of religious brochures because if the readers decide they are interested in learning more about the religion or joining the church, they need to know how to do so. I also included images in every section of the brochure in order to avoid overwhelming the audience with too many words and to keep them interested in what I had to say. As McCloud states, the goal of word choice is to “clearly and persuasively communicate ideas...in seamless combination with images.” Adding the pictures to the pamphlet (and the blog article) allowed me to communicate better with my audiences and provide them with an interesting visual medium relating to what the content of the writing included.
I transformed an article from the Journal of the American Academy of Religion titled
"Whose Film Is It Anyway? Canonicity and Authority in Star Wars Fandom" by John C. Lyden
into an article on the Oh My Disney website for younger audiences and a religious brochure for
older audiences. I made use of various moves and conventions of each of these genres in order to
ensure that my transformations accurately portrayed what the original scholarly article discussed
in a way that was tailored to each of my new audiences. This project was an interesting way to
practice writing in different genres and making moves in order to achieve the different purposes
of each individual genre.
Works Cited
Carroll, Laura Bolin. "Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps Toward Rhetorical Analysis." Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. Ed. Charles Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky. 2010. Print.Losh, Elizabeth, and Jonathan Alexander. "Spaces for Writing." Understanding Rhetoric: A Graphic Guide to Writing. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014. Print.
Losh, Elizabeth, and Jonathan Alexander. “Writing Identities." Understanding Rhetoric: A Graphic Guide to Writing. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014. Print.
Lyden, John C. "Whose Film Is It, Anyway? Canonicity and Authority in Star Wars Fandom." Journal of the American Academy of Religion 80.3 (2012): 775-86. Print.
McCloud, Scott. "Writing with Pictures." Making Comics. New York: Harper, 2006. 8-57. Print.
Monday, May 23, 2016
Thlog #8
This week, we worked on coming up with ideas for WP3 and reviewing different moves and decisions that artists make, as seen in our readings. On Monday, we came up with a list of ideas for sub-genres within magazines. Even though I've read magazines before, I wouldn't have thought that some of these were considered to be different genres. I had considered them all to be articles and hadn't really noticed that there are significant differences, even between very similar segments like political interviews and Q & A with politicians.
Next, we discussed conventions within the genre of children's books. The convention of talking animals, which I thought was very common, didn't show up in any of the books that we looked at. I thought this was really interesting because it proves that even though something might be a convention of a genre, it doesn't mean that it is necessarily used in every example of that genre. We also looked at an example of something that included many conventions of a children's book, yet it was not geared towards children at all.
On Wednesday, we started class with a journal about summaries, why we use them, and what's included in them. Student 4 wrote that "we summarize to get out the juicy parts of a larger picture" and student 3 wrote that "you can summarize an author’s main argument." I thought that these descriptions were very accurate because a summary is meant to describe the main ideas of the original into a piece of writing that is shorter and maybe even easier to understand.
We then practiced using visual literacy when we reviewed the reading by McCloud. We summarized the important elements of this article, including the big ideas of moment, frame, image, word, and flow. Later, we looked at sample WP3s and these examples helped me think of other ideas I could use in my WP3. I think seeing some previous WP3s allowed me to better understand the assignment and what is expected of us when we actually turn in our final drafts.
On Wednesday, we started class with a journal about summaries, why we use them, and what's included in them. Student 4 wrote that "we summarize to get out the juicy parts of a larger picture" and student 3 wrote that "you can summarize an author’s main argument." I thought that these descriptions were very accurate because a summary is meant to describe the main ideas of the original into a piece of writing that is shorter and maybe even easier to understand.
We then practiced using visual literacy when we reviewed the reading by McCloud. We summarized the important elements of this article, including the big ideas of moment, frame, image, word, and flow. Later, we looked at sample WP3s and these examples helped me think of other ideas I could use in my WP3. I think seeing some previous WP3s allowed me to better understand the assignment and what is expected of us when we actually turn in our final drafts.
Wednesday, May 18, 2016
PB3A
Summary/Background
The article I chose to transform for WP3 is "Whose Film Is It Anyway? Canonicity and Authority in Star Wars Fandom" written by John C. Lyden in the Journal of the American Academy of Religion. The article discusses how many dedicated fans of the Star Wars films have claimed to believe in the religion of "Jediism" and that their reactions to the films have led to this new "religious experience" for them. The article begins by describing what "Jediism" is and how fans have created a community with a strong online presence to back their opinions and claims about the films. The article also explains how intense these fans can be in their desire for the "canon" of the series to stay intact within the original trilogy. Lyden cites specific examples for instances in which the fans have been at odds with the creator of the series, George Lucas, for this very reason and how conspiracy theories have even arisen claiming that he is trying to prevent fans from seeing the "true" films.
Younger Audience Genre
Since the article lists specific elements of the films that fans have strong opinions on, I was thinking to use each of these issues as topics for a series of nursery rhymes for children. Most of the debated ideas within the article are in response to decisions made having to do with a specific character or scene in the films, so each rhyme would tell a short version of what happened in a certain scene or a description of how the fans see a certain character. The article also discusses George Lucas and fan reactions towards him and his recent changes/additions to the film series, so this could be another topic for one of the rhymes. The rhymes would need to be relatively short and have a catchy rhythm to them, as they are geared towards young children (pre-school through early elementary school ages). They would also need to include simple and up-beat language, since children would not be interested in learning about the serious ongoing debate, but rather be much more interested in the fantastical characters and occurrences in the films.
Older Audience Genre
For the genre geared toward an older audience, I thought to do a sort of religious brochure/pamphlet explaining why people should convert to "Jediism." The article begins with facts about what "Jediism" is and how many people in the world believe in it according to a recent census survey. These facts are similar to the kinds of things listed in the beginnings of such a pamphlet when describing what the religion is and how widespread it is throughout the world. The next section in the brochure would include accounts of people who have "converted" and had life-changing "religious experiences" after viewing the films, as well as what they have done for the religious community since their "conversion." This would be based on the information the article provides about they different ways in which people have responded to George Lucas and the idea of the "true" original trilogy. The pamphlet would end with a section encouraging its readers to visit other websites (those listed within the article as fan websites) for more information on the benefits and process of converting to "Jediism" and joining the ever-growing community.
The article I chose to transform for WP3 is "Whose Film Is It Anyway? Canonicity and Authority in Star Wars Fandom" written by John C. Lyden in the Journal of the American Academy of Religion. The article discusses how many dedicated fans of the Star Wars films have claimed to believe in the religion of "Jediism" and that their reactions to the films have led to this new "religious experience" for them. The article begins by describing what "Jediism" is and how fans have created a community with a strong online presence to back their opinions and claims about the films. The article also explains how intense these fans can be in their desire for the "canon" of the series to stay intact within the original trilogy. Lyden cites specific examples for instances in which the fans have been at odds with the creator of the series, George Lucas, for this very reason and how conspiracy theories have even arisen claiming that he is trying to prevent fans from seeing the "true" films.
Younger Audience Genre
Since the article lists specific elements of the films that fans have strong opinions on, I was thinking to use each of these issues as topics for a series of nursery rhymes for children. Most of the debated ideas within the article are in response to decisions made having to do with a specific character or scene in the films, so each rhyme would tell a short version of what happened in a certain scene or a description of how the fans see a certain character. The article also discusses George Lucas and fan reactions towards him and his recent changes/additions to the film series, so this could be another topic for one of the rhymes. The rhymes would need to be relatively short and have a catchy rhythm to them, as they are geared towards young children (pre-school through early elementary school ages). They would also need to include simple and up-beat language, since children would not be interested in learning about the serious ongoing debate, but rather be much more interested in the fantastical characters and occurrences in the films.
Older Audience Genre
For the genre geared toward an older audience, I thought to do a sort of religious brochure/pamphlet explaining why people should convert to "Jediism." The article begins with facts about what "Jediism" is and how many people in the world believe in it according to a recent census survey. These facts are similar to the kinds of things listed in the beginnings of such a pamphlet when describing what the religion is and how widespread it is throughout the world. The next section in the brochure would include accounts of people who have "converted" and had life-changing "religious experiences" after viewing the films, as well as what they have done for the religious community since their "conversion." This would be based on the information the article provides about they different ways in which people have responded to George Lucas and the idea of the "true" original trilogy. The pamphlet would end with a section encouraging its readers to visit other websites (those listed within the article as fan websites) for more information on the benefits and process of converting to "Jediism" and joining the ever-growing community.
Sunday, May 15, 2016
Thlog #7
This week, we finished up with WP2 and began looking at the WP3 assignment. On Monday, we discussed how our drafts for WP2 went and focused mainly on peer reviews to prepare for our final drafts that were due on Wednesday. For the journal, we had to write down what we thought our strengths and struggles were, in addition to what specific things we thought we improved on from WP1. Student 6 wrote "I struggled with including more quotes from our readings" and student 8 said they struggled with "finding good evidence from readings to back up" their argument. I thought it was interesting that multiple students had the same issue I did, and thought it was very helpful that Zack told us to not worry so much about using exact quotes because paraphrasing also counts as evidence from the readings.
On Wednesday, we had our class online. It was an interesting experience, but I do prefer meeting in class. I thought it was harder to stay on track with the schedule this way and I found myself not timing things properly. For our journals, we wrote about our WP2s and some of the most helpful comments we received in our peer reviews on Monday. I wrote about a comment that suggested I could expand my argument by looking into how bias plays a role in the way my non-academic article was written and how that is different than the scholarly pieces I chose. This was great because it helped me add more analysis to my paper that I had not thought of before. After discussing final thoughts on WP2, we moved on to learning about WP3 and watching videos of how different artists paint and the moves they make. I thought the videos were pretty interesting to watch because each painter was so unique in both their style and what they focused on within their paintings.
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Video Reflection
Bob Ross describes what he is doing in ways that are detailed so that the audience knows what they should be doing if they want to reproduce the painting themselves. He constantly draws attention to not only his canvas, but also what he is doing with the paints on his palette. He chooses to bring the audience in closer to demonstrate the importance of not only what goes on in the painting, but also how he prepares for his great work. He uses this "move" in order to show his audience how important it is for them to have the right brush, to mix the right paints properly, and to ensure that the brush has just the right amount of paint on it. He is trying to eliminate any sort of error for them so that they will be pleased with the outcome of their own attempts at the techniques he is demonstrating. Bob Ross has a very soothing and mellow voice, and his style allows the audience to feel comfortable and relaxed while watching his videos.
The first Disney painter focused most of his attention on the geometry and architectural aspects of the tree. He directed the audience to see how he used straight lines and exact geometric shapes to create what he believed was an accurate representation of the tree. The second artist thought of the tree as having more of a living personality and wanted to get his first impression down on the canvas very quickly. His attention was more focused on what makes the tree unique and what gives it life, just as he described in his tale about the tree being inhabited by spirits. The third painter focuses entirely on the trunk of the tree, which he believes is the most important part of the tree. He is determined to paint a detailed representation of the tree and brings the audience's attention to this element of nature. The fourth artist believes the three-dimensional quality of the tree is most important to draw attention to, so he uses materials that will create this quality within his painting. Each of them are painting the same tree, but have their own unique styles and are able to lead the audience to focus on different qualities of that tree.
The first Disney painter focused most of his attention on the geometry and architectural aspects of the tree. He directed the audience to see how he used straight lines and exact geometric shapes to create what he believed was an accurate representation of the tree. The second artist thought of the tree as having more of a living personality and wanted to get his first impression down on the canvas very quickly. His attention was more focused on what makes the tree unique and what gives it life, just as he described in his tale about the tree being inhabited by spirits. The third painter focuses entirely on the trunk of the tree, which he believes is the most important part of the tree. He is determined to paint a detailed representation of the tree and brings the audience's attention to this element of nature. The fourth artist believes the three-dimensional quality of the tree is most important to draw attention to, so he uses materials that will create this quality within his painting. Each of them are painting the same tree, but have their own unique styles and are able to lead the audience to focus on different qualities of that tree.
Journal 7.2
Q1. So, in the end, how’d your WP2 paper go? What were you
happy with? What weren’t you? Why? Be specific!
I think in the end my paper went better than I initially expected. Once I found a topic I was interested in, the paper was a lot easier to write. I was happy with my topic and the amount of evidence I was able to use and information I was able to cover from the three articles. I found it pretty hard to limit myself and decide which information was more important to talk about because I felt that the assignment was so broad and there was so much that I could discuss.
Q2. Which 2 or 3 comments that you received yesterday were the most helpful for you? Why?
A helpful comment I received was about one of the sentences I wrote in my conclusion. It was pointed out to me that it might be more useful to include it in one of my body paragraphs, since it was more along the lines of evidence rather than a key element to my argument. Another helpful comment suggested that I could expand my argument by looking into how bias plays a role in the way the non-academic article was written and how that is different than the scholarly pieces. This was great because it helped me add more analysis to my paper that I had not thought of before.
I think in the end my paper went better than I initially expected. Once I found a topic I was interested in, the paper was a lot easier to write. I was happy with my topic and the amount of evidence I was able to use and information I was able to cover from the three articles. I found it pretty hard to limit myself and decide which information was more important to talk about because I felt that the assignment was so broad and there was so much that I could discuss.
Q2. Which 2 or 3 comments that you received yesterday were the most helpful for you? Why?
A helpful comment I received was about one of the sentences I wrote in my conclusion. It was pointed out to me that it might be more useful to include it in one of my body paragraphs, since it was more along the lines of evidence rather than a key element to my argument. Another helpful comment suggested that I could expand my argument by looking into how bias plays a role in the way the non-academic article was written and how that is different than the scholarly pieces. This was great because it helped me add more analysis to my paper that I had not thought of before.
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