Documentary Rhetorical Analysis II

Craigslist Joe (continued)

Essential Questions:

1. How have modes of communication been a reflection of history and society?
2. How have modern modes of communications been perceived and received by the global community?

These questions hit at the core of Joseph Garner's personal journey into the labyrinth that is Craigslist.  He set out to find community in a world that has become isolated and individualized due to the overuse of technology.

As a society, America has mutated into the world's largest 'Me First' culture. European's may have established the idea of personal property, but nothing like the extremes we take it to today. Consumerism and individual professional advancement are trademarks of the American Dream. Modern modes of communication have played a significant role in this. With the development of cell phones and instant messaging through computer databases, people are talking face to face less and less. It's a rarity to receive a handwritten letter-- something so commonplace just 50 years ago. This technology largely removes the personal warmth from communicating. That's not to say that a sweet text or email isn't still sweet, but it certainly doesn't compare to seeing someone's labored handwriting on the front and back of a wrinkled piece of paper that took 2 weeks to get to you. That's another issue. Not only does this technological advancement reflect growing American individualism historically and societally, but also the pace of American life. Patience is not a virtue in modern America. When people can be contacted instantly by email, text, or a phone call, laborers have no excuse not to respond immediately. The idea of 'down time' has been largely culturally obliterated as people in the working world are technically always 'on call'. Personally, I think this is a very destructive trend. The generation being cultivated right now in middle schools, high schools, and colleges are under more stress than any that preceded them. It can be blamed on the poor economy and struggling job market, but truthfully, it's more likely those impossible expectations set before us that are at fault. This generation is going to accomplish great things, but in order to do that it can't burn out after grad school. Modern modes of communication have created such a sense of rapidity that people feel guilty not doing things immediately. This really shouldn't be the case.

Modern modes of communication are obviously largely beneficial, however, and their widespread acceptance by the global community is proof of that. Being able to speak with someone quickly can prevent disaster, provide convenience, and catalyze progress. Does it have destructive effects? Yes. But there's two sides to everything. By some, like Joseph Garner, it has been perceived as almost a new form of community in and of itself. The internet has the ability to bring together groups of people that may never speak or meet otherwise, and that's actually pretty amazing. Despite a small sense of watered-down authenticity in this form of communication, it has proved itself useful. Just walking through high school hallways you see those kids that would probably cry if you took away their cell phones. This attachment to technology may make people more individualistic, but it also illustrates that whatever feeling of community they receive from it means something important to them. Teenagers growing up in this technological culture has painted them in a strange light, however. Older generations are constantly saying they don't understand all the new gadgets we utilize today, but the older generation never really quite grasps the trends of whichever teenagers they're criticizing. So that's not really anything new. Overall, modern modes of communications are widely accepted. Sometimes this acceptance deserves to be challenged, but the convenience they provide largely overshadows their detriments. As we go forward their lasting effect on American society and the attitude towards that will become increasingly clear.

Documentary Rhetorical Analysis I

Craigslist Joe

With nothing but a backpack, a lap top, and a toothbrush, twenty-nine year old Joseph Garner set out on a journey. His one goal: to survive for a month solely by the goodwill of strangers from Craigslist. In today's growing environment of technology and rapid industrialization, Garner took note of a disheartening sense of isolation. He believed that the idea of 'community' was slowly receding in modern America, and this social experiment put that theory to the test. His hope being that kind individuals willing to help their fellow man still existed. In the technological age it only made sense to conduct this test using a vast online community such as Craigslist. For those that are not familiar with the site, it offers a myriad of advertisements offering just about anything and everything-- from used cars, to dinner dates in Vegas. Each day Joe would publish an ad stating something along the lines of requesting food/shelter in exchange for labor or other services. 

On the first day Joe struggled to even eat. His fears about this lack of community were becoming extremely real and he questioned whether or not the experiment was even going to be a success. Throughout this difficulty, the documentary shows time stamped periods at the bottom of the screen. This explains to the viewer that hours have passed and Joe still isn't making any progress. It's especially effective as the day is winding down and the viewer can think back to how early in the morning he began this journey, and yet still hasn't really encountered the kind individual he's searching for. However, the tension and frustration one feels as the hours tick by breaks when a man finally does offer Joe a place to sleep and what food he can provide. It's almost more relieving this way because viewers honestly could understand him giving up at this point. Therefore, these time stamps create an overall mood of anticipation and establish pathos, or Joe's emotional tie, with the audience.

In addition to this consistent time-stamping, the language of the film has an overall effect on its feel and message. A lot of jargon is used and the tone throughout is generally informal. It never once sounds scripted. This gives viewers a very genuine feel of the experience through Joe's eyes. He just seems like a normal guy trying to prove that there's still good in the world, but he could be any normal guy. He could be your brother, or your accountant, or the bag boy at your grocery store. His story just seems so real and pleading. He wants to find the good in the world so badly, and he goes about it in a way that's extremely doable. His diction, as well as that of other individuals in the film, makes viewers feel as though they know him and his journey in a very personal way. Additionally, this is somewhat of a persuasive tool because it motivates viewers to go on similar personal journeys. After watching the film it's very tempting to seek out the kindness of strangers, something that's been said to have disappeared long ago. Craigslist Joe illustrates that it's not gone, you just have to do a little digging.

Metacognative Analysis

Throughout the year various assignments, projects, and papers have aided me in becoming a better writer in both an academic sphere and otherwise. One such aid was these very TOW posts. Although my posts remained very consistent, they have shown signs of maturation. One of my early TOW's was about a political cartoon by famous graffiti artist, Banksy. In this post I listed the elements that made up the cartoon, but did not really explain their deeper effect (the way in which they helped/hindered the creator's message). This is in great contrast to one of my later TOW's about the an article featuring photographs of elderly people. The photographer has placed them in front of mirrors that depicted how they really saw themselves, and it was an extremely moving piece. When I wrote about it I was able to focus not only on the individual rhetorical choices made by the artist, but also on what those choices contributed to the final product.

I feel as though I have mastered identifying at least a few rhetorical devices in the majority of pieces I would be given to look at and I can also explain why they're significant/their overall effect. I do, however, find my self reverting to the same rhetorical devices in many cases and would aim to learn more that I could then utilize in my analysis of various pieces. Doing so would also strengthen me as a writer personally because I would then be able to use these devices in my own writing.

As previously mentioned, the purpose of these TOW assignments was to make us better readers and writers of mature non-fiction texts. I feel as though they helped a little bit, but really did not carry nearly as much weight as other writing assignments we worked on throughout the year. To be honest, I think the in-class essays given every few weeks helped me the most with my writing. I am aware that the TOW's can play a role in that, by providing examples to work from, but I don't feel as though they were significantly beneficial to me as a writer.

TOW Re-write

  Dictionary Translates Ancient Egyptian Life        

           The article "Dictionary Translates Ancient Egypt Life" was written by John Noble Wilford of The New York Times. Wilford has been working as a journalist since 1956 when he started at the Wall Street Journal. He then joined The New York Times in 1965 as a science reported and, in 1969, he wrote the front-page article, "Men Walk on Moon". He’s received two Pulitzer prizes for his work.

This particular article of his was about a dictionary that has been in the works for over forty years at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Numerous Egyptologists have devoted the better part of their careers to the compilation of this dictionary in the hopes that it will make translating Demotic documents easier. This article's exigence is within an intellectual community of people trying to broaden historical understanding, basically through a massive research tool.  The assumption that ancient Egyptians’ main communication was by hieroglyphics is a common misconception. The language of the common people in Egypt from 500 BC to about 500 AD, as well as one of the languages found on the Rosetta Stone, is called Demotics. This article served to explain how creating a large dictionary about Demotics could unveil the Egyptians "words of love and family, the law and commerce, private letters and texts on science, religion and literature" (Wilford 1).

It was written partly to the public, or readers of The New York Times, but also partly to the community of intellectuals specializing in historical research. It provided information regarding how the dictionary could be accessed for free online and about its likely ensuing publication, both of these things being useful heads-up's for someone in that field of work.

Simile was a form of rhetoric utilized in this article, for example, "What the Chicago Demotic Dictionary does is what the Oxford English Dictionary does". This comparison emphasizes the Demotic dictionary’s usefulness.

Wilford accomplished his purpose by laying out what Demotic is and how it can be used in the context of historical research. He even included quotes from individuals such as James P. Allen, an Egyptologist at Brown University. Dr. Allen said, "I could not have done what I did without the dictionary," he said. “Or at least not as well.”  Wilford went on to explain that the newly defined words have already expanded upon pivotal knowledge of Egyptian life. For example, many Egyptians kept their records in Demotic, including financial records that spanned multiple years. There has also been government legislation translated that reveals interesting facts about an ancient Egyptian woman's role in society. They "detailed a husband’s acknowledgment of the money his wife brought into the marriage and the promise to provide her with a set amount of food and money for clothing each year of their marriage". Also, other contracts stated that women could own land and had the right to divorce their husbands! It's interesting to see the stark contrast between the way women were treated in Egyptian society and in other flourishing societies (such as Roman, and then eventually European, where they had little to no power).

           Wilford's use of multiple specific examples and relative quotations allows the reader to understand how essential an all-encompassing dictionary of "common" Egyptian language is to modern historians and how it can be utilized as studies in these areas continue.