Muted Group Theory

Muted Group Theory attempts to explain why certain groups in society are muted which means they are either silent or not heard. Women and men are obviously biologically different but socially treated differently as well. These differences explain why women (and minorities) are considered muted groups because they are considered to be lower in status or subordinates than the dominant groups. Because women as a muted group feel muted, they believe that they have no choice other than to conform and to change the way they act and talk.
This clip, shown above, is from the comedy series Everybody Loves Raymond and the episode entitled Debra Bad Moon Rising. In this episode, Ray's attempts to alleviate Debra's PMS moodiness but only makes her more irritable. When Ray witnesses Debra's hypersensitive mood and generally annoyed reaction to everything he says and does, he checks the calendar and realizes it's going to be a long couple of days ahead. In his convenient desire to get a "quick fix" for Debra's womanly problems, he turns a bad situation worse by suggesting that a simple pill will help with his wife's insufferable mood swings.
We live in a patriarchal society dominated by men. Ray is showing his dominance over Debra by being insensitive to her biological issues. He thought he could conveniently help her with a pill, which really he just wanted to help himself. He diminished and simplified her problem, but ignored the bigger issue which was his lack of support for her needs. She wanted to her express her feelings of the way she felt throughout her time of the month but he kept silencing her. He tried silencing her by ridiculing and saying that he understood but just wanted to get the pill. He also used control but making his male dominant role as central and her needs as eclipsed. He interrupts her and does not want to listen to her needs but tries to stop her bad mood from rising.

Muted Group Theory

The muted group theory explains why certain groups in society are either silenced or not heard at all. Because women, as a muted group, believe that they have no choice but to "fit in" or conform to the male dominated society than to change the way they talk. Women are not only considered as less powerful than men but a group that doesn't speak the same language. Males are mostly the cause of women's mutedness because they do not want to even begin to understand a language that is not their own.
The muted group theory relates to this clip of Martin starring Martin Lawrence and Tisha Campbell because he uses control as a method of silencing Tisha. Martin thinks that Tisha works entirely too much and he feels that she should be home more often in order to perform her duties as a wife such as cooking. He went to her boss and demanded that he cuts her hours. In the process, her boss fires her.He uses a "sugar-coated bullet" when silencing her by praising her accomplishments and telling her that she could get another job anywhere. This is an example of gender-based differences in perception. The explanation lies in the division of labor that allocates work on the basis of sex, such that women are responsible for tasks in the home while are responsible for work outside of the home. Martin exerted his dominance by taking control of the situation and demanding that his wife take her place in the home while he worked.

Muted Group Theory

This cartoon demonstrates some of the basic concepts behind mute group theory. The man is part of the dominant group and the female is not so she is silenced. Harassment is one of the processes of silencing that we learned about in class. In this example the silencing is done through sexual harassment. The man in the cartoon is letting the female character know that sexual harassment by upper level employees is alright and she should not complain about it. Harassment like this makes women feel as if they do not belong in the workplace. When sexual harassment occurs, it portrays the message that women are not real employees and are simply sex objects.

This cartoon also demonstrates one of the strategies for resistance to silence. By giving the harassment the title of "sexual harassment", women are preventing further harassment. If everybody knows that sexual harassment occurs and is not okay, it is far less likely to occur. Unfortunately for the women in this cartoon, men also control the subculture of the office. The person that the woman is supposed to go to if she is being sexually harassed is also a man. The man in the cartoon clearly sees no problem with harassment done by himself or by his superiors. This is definitely a huge problem for women because men not only are the dominant sex in our culture as a whole, but they also dominate smaller cultures like the office, the media, and the criminal justice system. That is why the silencing of women continues.

Muted Group Theory: Sex and the City

Sorry! The youtube file was disembedded by the user, but you can view the clip by following this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFKvXbgXVMM

The Muted Group Theory suggests that language is limited in its ability to serve all groups equally, so it serves the dominant groups better than subordinate groups. Because the English language was created by men, many woman experiences are left unnamed or difficult to express, making women appear less articulate or “muted.” Women can employ several strategies to resist being silenced; one of them being to create a language that better represents themselves and their experiences.

Since its creation in 1998, the television show Sex and the City has “fought back” on behalf of single women, famously contributing to pop culture by creating its own words and phrases. There had never before been a show like this on television that revolved around the lives of four, single, successful women, so a new lexicon representing these women was just waiting to be established.

In this episode, titled “Evolution,” the girls are discussing how men have evolved in relationships. In the older days, men were either gay or straight. More recently, we have coined the phrase “metrosexual” to describe men who embrace some aspects of the homosexual lifestyle, like nice clothes, designer hygiene products, etc. However, these words were still not sufficient to describe the experiences some women face while dating. In this scene, starting about halfway through the clip, Charlotte is out with a friend, a pastry chef from Chelsea. She had thought for some time that he was gay, but at the end of the night he kisses her, clearly making her very confused. When she brings up her dilemma to her friends, they bring up a not-so-simple question: Is he a straight-gay man or a gay-straight man? Carrie goes on to explain that a gay-straight man is just an overcultured straight man, similar to a metrosexual, while a straight gay man is just a gay man that watches sports and acts tough.

Because this is clearly an experience that most men would never have to deal with, it is not surprising that there was no real phrase prior to this episode to describe this phenomenon. Rather than having to translate the “male” language or talk endlessly around the subject, these women compensated by coining a phrase for this event to make conversation much more direct. In the future, women will be able to say a “gay-straight man” or a “straight-gay man” and it will be accepted and understood. Now these women have officially named the experience of dating questionably-cultured men, and helped give women in this position a voice.

Cultural Studies- Make Me A Supermodel

Stuart Hall's Cultural Studies Theory illustrates the idea that the media exercises power over subordinate groups in society. Often the media leave us with frequently false and misleading images. This can be seen in Hall's definition of ideology, those images, concepts and premises which provide the frameworks through which we represent interpret, understand and make sense of social existence. Ideology is enrooted in the media and one of the most prominent examples is that attractiveness equal thinness. The portrayal of thinness is well defined in such shows as American's Next Top and Make Me a Supermodel.

In this episode of Make Me a Supermodel is a perfect example of the medias powerful ideology of thinness. Halfway through the segment the contestants are given a runway lesson. Each week their waist and bust measurements are taken to see if they have lost or gained inches in those areas. This constant ridicule of the contestants further exemplifies that at least as a supermodel you must be so tall and a certain weight. In addition, this show establishes the norm as a model and that being overweight is not an option. With the normal model being 5ft 10inches tall weighing around 110 pounds the message to women is that you must be showing bones or be ghaustly skinny in order to be attractive. The judges furthermore convey a message to young girls and women everywhere that thin is in. By measuring their waists to see if they have gained or lost weight shows a girl that they must be constantly be evaluating themselves each week. This show does not help the self confidence of girls that are considered average or appropriate wieght but further demostrates the misleading idea of thinness in society. These show as well as additional modeling shows have great power over the population to persuade and influence their idea of thinness being attractive.

Cultural Studies - Doctor Who

Doctor Who is a long running British science fiction show about a time traveler known as the Doctor. In this particular episode, the Doctor travels to earth's far future and discovers that instead of finding the earth in a golden age of prosperity, people live in a constant state of poverty and haven't yet reached enlightenment. After doing some digging, the Doctor finds out that the world is in this state because an elite group of aliens had infiltrated the timeline and had used their money and power to replace the television programming with reality television shows that kill off losing contestants. This programming sends the message that human life isn't important. With this message in mind, many of the breakthroughs in science and medicine never occur and neither does the golden age of humanity. When the humans fail to reach their golden age, the aliens use this period of weakness to go through with their full scale invasion. Above is a clip of a reality show that killed off its losing contestants.

Beyond the fact that the name of the show shares its name with our professor, this show syncs up with what we've been learning in class really well. The rich and elite aliens use our television as means to send out a message to oppress the general population. Although this show exaggerates the issue considerably (to the point of potentially parodying the issue), the powerful aliens in this episode really do use television's messages as a way to dominate society, leading up to a plot to make themselves even more powerful.

Cultural Studies- Dominant Celebrity Class

Stuart Hall's Cultural Studies explains how elite and dominant groups use their power over subordinate groups. Antonio Gramsci's in depth idea of hegemony is defined as influence, power, or dominance of one social group over another. In America's society the most powerful people are usually the most famous. Since television makes such an impact on viewers, the ideas and messages conveyed by celebrities are a major factor on how the American Culture is shaped. One negative effect of viewing celebrities as powerful is that teenagers try to emulate them. For example, since most celebrities and famous people are beautiful, skinny, and flawless many teens especially teenage women feel pressured to look like this.
Jackass, a show where celebrities become more famous and wealthy the more they hurt themselves, is one recent phenomena that has a negative effect on its viewers. Since the stars of Jackass like Johnny Knoxville and Phil Margera are seen as celebrities they are at a higher class than the rest of the public. This is a concern for many because teenage boys who see these actors as role models are trying to emulate them.
This clip below demonstrates what is seen on television and in movies by millions of teenagers.



This clip below shows how many teenagers try to emulate actors like Johnny Knoxville and hurt themselves. A main reason why these teenagers feel as if this is the "cool" thing to do is because they view Knoxville, Margera, and many other famous actors as dominant and powerful figures.

Cultural Studies- Knocked Up

(only watch the first scene)


Cultural Studies is a theory by Stuart Hall supporting the belief that dominant, powerful groups influence culture. It assumes that culture is a part of all human behavior, and that people are a part of a hierarchical structure. Ideologies- frameworks of meaning of our social existence- rule the everyday life. A driving factor of this theory is hegemony, which is defined as the domination of one group over another, usually weaker, group. Sometimes, however, individuals will challenge that domination; these instances are what are known as counter-hegemony.

This clip is a good example of how a certain ideology can drive hegemony to suppress, or push out, the minor public. In this instance, there is an ideal of young, attractive women, and the doorman at the club will only allow this certain social group access. When the two ladies attempt an entry, he quickly rebuffs them. He explains it is the fact that they're both old or pregnant, and as a representative of the dominant group he cannot grant them access, since they don't match the requirements. The older lady however does not fall under a false consciousness, where she is unaware that she's being exploited, but instead uses counter-hegemony to fight back and eventually walk away in anger and frustration.

The Spiral of Silence - Everybody Loves Raymond

In this clip, anne's parents come to the Barone house for Easter weekend. When Anne's father asks about going to a Presbyterian church, Marie tells him that they should all go to their Catholic church. It is clear that Anne's parents are uncofortable with going to the Catholic church however they decide to not voice so. Her mother says that they suppose they can go to the Catholic church with uncertainty in her voice. Her father stays quiet about it but it is obvious that he doesnt agree with his later comments about going.

I chose this clip because while it doesnt involve the media, it does involve a situation where people with the minority opinion (the Presbyterians in a Catholic household) make the choice to stay silent in fear of isolation. Instead of saying that they do not agree with going to the Catholic church or suggesting that they all go to their church, one changes her opinion and the other stays quiet. The room has a tense feel to it to begin with since they are meeting each other for the first time, therefore the fear of being isolated in a room of unfamiliar faces seems to be high.

In any situation, whether the media has created it or not, people will fear having the minority opinion and choose to not speak out. They would rather go along with the crowd, even if it means going against beliefs. Anne's parents, while making small comments that show their disapproval of the situation, never stand up for themselves and speak out about what they believe in. In turn, the room gets more uncomfortable and everyone tries to change the subject.

The Spiral of Silence - Shindler's List

The movie "Schindler's List" is about a man in Nazi Germany named Oskar Schindler who ran a factory which was run by Jews in order to save them from concentration camps. As everyone is well aware, Nazi Germany is the perfect example of the Spiral of Silence. Hitler used massive amounts of propoganda to get across his ideals and because of this, many people we put into concentration camps and tortured. Many people knew that Hitler's ideals were wrong, but they recceded into the silent minority.

The reason I chose this specific clip is because it shows the end of the movie and the war has ended. The reason the war has ended is because of people like Schindler who were hard core. Schindler spent all of his money to take hundreds of Jews and have them work in his factory to save then from the horrible fate of the concentration camps. The definition of a hard core group is groups the the end of the spiral willing to speak out at any cost. Well, not only did Schindler waste all of him money saving the lives of these people, but as shown in the clip, he also risked his own.

While his factory was running, even though it was technically a Nazi factory, Schindler always had the risk that someone would find out he was using the factory as a way to help out the Jews rather than put them to work. This would have put his life in danger. In addition, because he had run a Nazi factory, once the war ended he was seen as a criminal and he was to be punished. This was the cost he faced for saving so many people, and he did not care. He only cared that he had done the right thing and saved them. This makes him part of the hard core group.

Spiral of Silence

In the Spiral of Silence Theory, one of the main assumptions is that public behavior is affected by public opinion assessment. This is shown in the picture I posted showing a Yankees' fan holding a sign during a Red Sox-Yankees game in Boston. The public opinion of being a Red Sox fan is affecting the behavior of the Yankees' fan with the sign. The fan is rooting for his team even more than usual even though public opinion says to root for the Red Sox. Sometimes public opinion can influence public behavior inversely such as is in this case. This also shows that public opinion assessment affects the behavior of certain people. The Red Sox fan next to him has a "thumbs-down” signal, which tells him that he is not welcome according to public opinion. However he decides since he is not welcome, he will root for the Yankees even harder. This shows how public opinion affects public behavior.

In the video I posted, a Red Sox fan (holding the camera) makes his way through the bleachers at Yankee Stadium trying to get to his seat. He is being heckled by Yankee fans who show their hatred for the Red Sox fan. The Red Sox fan chooses not to say anything and quietly makes his way to his seat. He chooses not to say anything because he does not want to start any fights or even be noticed in a hated environment. He is being silenced by the opinion of the Yankee Stadium crowd. This is the effect of the public opinion on public behavior, which is one of the major assumptions of the Spiral of Silence Theory.

Spiral of Silence Theory: The Nazi'propaganda

Spiral of Silence is a theory which suggests that media influences people, and the Nazi’s campaign during World WarⅡis a good example.

Adolf Hitler is known for his skillful speeches, but his propaganda also helped the party get a large amount of support from the citizens. This clip of footage is an example of Nazi propaganda from 1939, which shows German military maneuvers of tanks, troops, and combat planes. It suggests that the Nazi party is superior to other countries and displays their great source of power. It says that their combat planes can even fly under bad weather conditions. It also describes that people are watching the sky with some fear, but at the same time they are smiling for hope and faith. The film is made with brave music and emphasizes the Nazi’s military strength. Also, it shows German tanks moving in to attack the Soviet Union.

Nazis used not only films, but also other media such as newspapers, radio and magazines. The magazine “Signal” was a magazine which was published by the Nazi party from 1940 to 1945. It published about 2,500, 000 copies and was about German’s with a modern blend of articles and pictures about stories from the battlefield. Also, it showed pictures of extreme weapons which other countries avoided showing.

The media repeated themselves all the time, including similar values and beliefs, such as the view that the German army was superior in many ways. Also, people could get information everywhere through different types of media. Once they turned on the radio, they could get information by ear, and once they got the newspapers or magazines, they could get information through sight. In addition, films give people information by both visual and auditory means.

Because of the media’s influence, the Nazi party received tremendous support from its citizens. On the other hand, minority groups closed their mouths because they feared isolation from society. It is no surprise that everyone thought that non-Aryan people were inferior to Aryan people. How could everyone agree that its anti-Zionism? The society formed this idea, and the majority of people were willing to speak out, while minority groups spoke less. They were afraid of isolation from the society, and this concept reinforced the Nazi party. The majority had confidence, so they spoke out much more. They published several news papers and magazines, and used other media such as radio and films in order to display their convictions. Therefore, it could be said that these forms of media were the most effective weapons of the Nazi party.

Uses and Gratifications Theory in "How I Met Your Mother"

Special thanks to Marla Pachter for helping me get this you-tube clip up.


The above clip from CBS’s “How I Met Your Mother” is a prime example of Uses and Gratifications Theory, which asserts that people utilize media to satisfy specific needs. In this particular episode, the main characters had planned to watch the Super Bowl together, but then learned that they would have to attend a funeral on Super Bowl Sunday. The friends decide to “TiVo” the game, agreeing to go an entire day without finding out the score or the victor; this way they could all watch it together as if it was the first time. By the time the clip above takes place, everyone has found out the score except for Ted. Although Ted’s initial reaction is getting angry and saying that there is no point in watching the game, he and his friends eventually realize that their primary reason for watching it is to satisfy their need to spend time with each other.

Uses and Gratifications Theory has five key assumptions, four of which are exemplified by certain aspects in the clip above. The first assumption is that the audience is active, and that their media consumption is goal-oriented. In other words, individuals actively choose to use media to satisfy different needs. On “How I Met Your Mother,” Ted and his friends plan the Super Bowl party for affective needs (otherwise known as the desire for a pleasant or aesthetic experience) and social integrative needs (which deal with enhancing connections with family, friends, and so forth). Planning a party around watching a single piece of media shows that as audience members, these friends are actively planning to use media to satisfy these needs.

In addition to consuming media in a goal-oriented manner, the second assumption of Uses and Gratifications Theory states that audience members take the initiative in choosing which specific medium will meet those goals. That is, audience members with a certain goal may utilize different specific mediums to reach those goals. Since the clip from “How I Met Your Mother” focuses on the same medium, it can show how this assumption also works in reverse order: instead of using different media to satisfy a similar need as the assumption implies, Ted and Barney choose to use the same media to satisfy two different needs. Barney betting on the outcome of the game shows that he is using it to satisfy a personal integrative need, which deals with enhancing his credibility and status in the sports world. On the other hand, Ted’s main goal in watching the game is to fulfill a social integrative need, because he wants all of his friends to experience something together.

It is important to note that media and their audiences do not exist in a vacuum; both are part of a larger society that can influence the way audience members use the media. This is taken into account in the third assumption of Uses and Gratifications Theory, which states that media compete with other sources for need satisfaction. In the clip, it is obvious that all of the characters (except for Ted) have somehow found out the score of the game. Since the Super Bowl is such a widely-publicized event, reports of the scores were probably found all over the place – on billboard advertisements, in commercials, in the newspaper, on the news, etc. Therefore, it would have been very hard to rely solely on the “TiVo”-ed tape of the Super Bowl for the cognitive need of acquiring information. Despite this, the group in the clip could still use the taped game as the media type to fulfill their social integrative need of enhancing connections with friends.

The fourth and final assumption of Uses and Gratifications Theory that this clip exemplifies is that people have enough self-awareness of their media use, interests, and motives to provide researchers with an accurate picture of that use. This has the most impact in terms of the research methods used to investigate Uses and Gratifications, because the researchers believe that surveys and interviews of media consumers will provide reliable and accurate information. Ted illustrates this type of self-aware audience member in his recap at the end of the clip: “what I remember is that we ate wings, drank beer, and watched the Super Bowl together.” However, even though most media consumers know exactly why they are watching a particular type of media, or even know how it will end, they can still "enjoy the ride."

Uses and Gratification Theory: Disturbia

The Uses and Gratification Theory implies that we as humans utilize various sources of media; i.e. video games, movies, music, television, and etc. to meet goals. Our choice of media links what type of need is to be satisfied.

The first clip above is an excerpt from the 2007 movie Disturbia where the main character Kale is placed on house arrest. Without the freedom to travel outside his home Kale uses multiple sources of media as a diversion.

He immediately uses his Xbox, avidly playing video games and talking to other players. The need gratified by the selected media was social integrative, because he cannot make contact with the outside world, he is enhancing his connection with the other players by verbally communicating with them through a headset. When access to his Xbox system is denied he resorts to watching television. He begins to become active with what he’s watching talking to the characters in the television show. When his Itunes is deactivated he watches a tv program that arouses his interests. These examples have met the affective need because he was aroused by the women on television, and was interested in the outcome of the first show. Kale also began watching a local news report which is an example of surveillance.

Overall, Kale constantly shows frustration and a form of irritability because he is unable to access his video games, music, and television. It is clear that Kale had a dependency on the various forms of media sources.

Uses and Gratification Theory: Sex and the City

These clips from an episode of Sex and the City provide a good example of The Uses and Gratification theory. This theory discusses what people do with media and why. It states that people choose media to satisfy their needs and are aware of why they use the media. In this episode Miranda’s use of her TiVO and favorite TV show demonstrates the Uses and Gratification theory in action.
Miranda’s desire to watch her favorite TV show Jules and Mimi shows that she is an active audience and is goal oriented in her media use. It’s clear that after a long day at work she wants to sit down with a big bowl of ice cream and use the TV show as a diversion to escape from her daily routine as a busy lawyer and single mother of a young son. This is one reason she gets so upset when she realizes her son’s babysitter has accidently deleted the show from her TiVO.
Miranda is also using the TV show as a personal relationship, which is when people substitute the media for companionship. Earlier in the episode, she jokingly refers to the TiVO as her “boyfriend”. Instead of going out with a guy she prefers to just stay home watching TV. In addition, after the TiVO breaks she talks to a repairman as if she’s trying to fix a broken relationship rather than a just a machine.
Miranda also uses her choice of the specific TV show Jules and Mimi to satisfy her own personal needs. Watching the show gratifies a few need types. One is affective needs. Jules and Mimi provide Miranda with emotional and pleasant experiences each time she watches. The show is a British drama about a man and woman from different classes who are in love. The program is similar to a soap opera. Miranda seems to follow the show religiously and really enjoys watching it. It appears that Miranda is using the show to fill a void in her own life. In the past she had many problems finding love so instead of going out and looking for it she finds it easier to watch the show and experience life through the lives of others. Miranda seems to be using her TiVO recordings as a tension release as well. It provides an escape from her every day schedule. At the end of a long day she just wants to sit back and be entertained.
From these clips, it is clear that Miranda has a dependency on this show. When she realizes that her TiVO was tampered with and her show is no longer recorded she becomes very upset. She even seems angry. It is clear that she misses her favorite show. In the end, when the TiVO is finally fixed, Miranda shows excitement and happiness. She knows she will be able to use Jules and Mimi as a form of gratification.

Uses and Gratifications

The Uses and Gratifications theory discusses the ways in which individuals the media. It recognizes that the audience is active and that people use media for many different reasons. These reasons include, but are not limited to, diversion, acquiring knowledge, social connection, and emotional gratification.
With this clip, I decided to look deeper into the topic of video games. These individuals who are admittedly addicted to the games talk about the reasons they use this particular type of media. They connect with peers, they escape to the world of the game, and some even experience a type of euphoria due to game play. However, they also acknowledge that they choose to engage in the addictive behavior not because of the content of the game, but because of the feeling they get from playing it. This exemplifies the assumption that the audience is active.
These cartoons exemplify the active audience as well. Although they acknowledge that the programming is less than quality and that they can change the channel, they continue to watch because their needs get gratified.

Uses and Gratifications- Gilmore Girls

Gilmore Girls - Season 1 Teaser - Dean Say Something



As stated in "Uses and Gratifications," people watch television and use the media for different purposes. As a general rule though, people typically know why they are watching television. It is usually to fulfill a need that one has. These needs, according to Katz, Gurevitch, and Haas (1973), are either cognitive, affective, personal integrative, social integrative, or tension release. In the clip of Gilmore Girls, these needs are being fulfilled.



In this clip, Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Rory (Alexis Bleidel) are watching an episode of "The Donna Reed Show" and invite Rory's boyfriend Dean (Jared Padalecki) over to join them. By everyone watching television together it is fulfilling their social integrative need. They are being social and spending an evening together. Also, when Dean asks what is going on in the show, he is trying to fulfill is personal integrative need. Since this show depicts life in the 1950's, he is trying to learn what actually went on during that time period. In addition to these needs, the women are using the tension release need. As shown they are sitting on the couch eating pizza and just relaxing on a Friday night. This implies that they must have had a difficult week and are now trying to relieve some of the stress and tension. Watching television is one way of using the media to satisfy particular needs.



It was believed that people were victimless to the mass media and would just believe whatever the media told them. Today, we believe that the media still effects us, just not entirely. This is called the limited effects theory. One approach to this is the Individual Differences Perspective. This states that the media impacts us based on our personal characteristics. In the clip from Gilmore Girls, Lorelai and Rory have the same belief system since they are mother and daughter, while Dean feels differently on certain issues. When the three are watching "The Donna Reed Show" Lorelai and Rory look at it as something that they would never be able to believe in and would not be able to live their lives as portrayed on the television show. Dean however believes that the idea of life in the 1950's is actually quite nice. This is because he is an outsider and has a different set of morals and beliefs. This demonstrates how one's upbringing and beliefs can effect how the media influences them.



This clip also demonstrates the dependency that the women have on television. They are sitting around it waiting for Dean to arrive with their food, which they will eat around the television. They do not want to be away from it. Also, they are able to cite which episode of this show was their favorite, clearly demonstrating that they watch a lot of television. The women are very dependent upon this type of media, and would greatly miss it if they were ever without it.



The media is something that we rely heavily upon. We use it to satisfy our needs. It tells us about life and we need that to compare to our actual reality. We are dependent upon this, and without it we find ourselves lost. The uses and gratifications the media provides us with are unparalleled.

Cultivation Analysis and the Local News

As stated in the Narrative Paradigm, humans are storytelling beings. Cultivation Analysis posits that television has become the source for the majority of stories in modern culture. Based on this constant influence of television, our world views are shaped by what we see on television. An important aspect of this theory is the idea of light versus heavy television viewers. Heavy viewers, those who watch four or more hours of television a day, are more likely to mainstream, or perceive reality as similar to what is pictured in the media despite the fact that it differs from actual reality. Heavy viewers are also more likely to agree with the statements of the Mean World Index-that most people are looking out for themselves, you can't be too careful in dealing with people, and most people will take advantage of you given the chance. In examining local news broadcasts, it becomes clear why heavy viewers would see the world as a mean place.

The local news is dominated by stories of arson, robbery, and violent crime. As these video clips show, stabbings are always a hot ticket for local news programs. Based on these facts about the medium, heavy television viewers are likely to be strongly affected by the local news. For example, despite the fact that many television viewers live in safe, suburban neighborhoods, they may mainstream their view of their society and view the world as a dangerous place. In other words, despite the fact that these local stories may have no resonance with many viewers, in that their lived realities do no coincide with the reality portrayed on the news, the viewers will still face the world with increased fear.

Additionally, viewers of local news will most likely experience both first and second order effects. Using the video clips as examples, it's easy to examine how such effects would manifest themselves. These clips state factually the events of two violent crimes, specifically stabbings. Viewers learning the facts of the crimes are experiencing first order effects. However, should those viewers take those facts and hypothesize that stabbings are a common occurrence in the area, they are experiencing second order effects. They are making assumptions based on the facts they've learned from the news.

The local news coverage also relates to the three Bs of television. Firstly, it blurs traditional distinctions between people. For example, an unemployed, uneducated man and a successful, well-educated woman would often have differing views of the world. However, if they both frequently watch the news coverage of their area, they could very easily begin to see the world in a similar way. Secondly, television blends people's realities to form to the cultural mainstream. In other words, based on our exposure to television, we agree on what is real. So despite the fact that people in their personal lives have very different realities, television blends everything together into one mainstream reality. Finally, television bends that reality to the interests of television sponsors. In other words, if the local news constantly focuses on stories of violent crime, the home security company that sponsors the broadcasts will benefit.

Clearly when we watch the local news we are doing far more than simply observing the events in our community. We are part of a storytelling experience which subtly but surely influences our perceptions of reality.

Cultivation Analysis: A Portrayal of African Americans on Television

Above you will find three pieces of television media: one music video, a clip from a television show, and a clip from a news station. In the following blog entry, I will explain how each of the videos pertains to George Gerbner’s Cultivation Analysis.

To begin with, a brief explanation of Cultivation Analysis must be given and elaborated upon. Cultivation analysis essentially believes that if people are exposed to media messages over a long period of time, people’s perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, and understandings will be shaped and changed in congruence with the media messages.

There is a Four-Step Process that researchers developed and used to help explain how cultivation works. The four steps of the process are message system analysis (analysis of content), formulation of questions about viewers’ social realities (make questions about how people understand their everyday lives), surveying the audience (asking about how much media intake audiences receive AND asking the questions from step two), comparing the social realities of light and heavy viewers (this involves cultivation differential which is the difference between the responses of light and heavy viewers). Although the Four-Step Process is an important aspect of Cultivation Analysis, it will not be used in this particular blog because it is only used by Cultivation researchers.

There are also three products of Cultivation Analysis. The first is mainstreaming, which is the phenomenon that people who watch a lot of television end up viewing the world in terms of how the media messages portrayed the world. The second is resonance, which occurs when the reality portrayed by media messages is reality in the real world. Both mainstreaming and resonance produce effects on two levels: first order effects and second order effects. First Order Effects pertains to learning facts from the media. Second Order Effects pertains to learning values/assumptions from the media. The third and final product of Cultivation Analysis is the Mean World Index, which is an index that is based on three statements: most people are just looking out for themselves, you can’t be too careful in dealing with people, and most people would take advantage of you if they got the chance.

Cultivation Analysis also contains what Gerbner terms as the 3 Bs of Television. These are blurring (traditional distinctions are blurred), blending (“reality” is blended into a cultural mainstream), and bending (the mainstream reality benefits the elite).

Because it is very difficult to find pieces of media that depict the affect of particular media messages on people over a long period of time, I will draw from personal experiences, and experiences of my friends, in incorporating the video clips into the Cultivation Analysis Theory.
In this blog analysis, I will show how black people are portrayed in the media, and how this portrayal affects perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, and understandings. The reason that I chose to use three video clips, instead of one, is because black people are mainly portrayed in the media in three different ways. They are portrayed as sexual and materialistic, wholesome and intelligent, and criminal and dangerous.

The first video clip is a music video entitled “Pop Bottles”, and performed by Birdman featuring Lil’ Wayne. This video is categorized as sexual and materialistic. Throughout the video there are many sexual references made and the women in the video are dressed in a very provocative way, and they also seem to participate in provocative actions such as dancing in a very sexual way. I interviewed a close male friend who is a heavy television viewer, and asked him what he thought about this video and the message it portrays about black people. He said that he saw black people as very sexual people, which can be supported by the number of accidental teen pregnancies that are rampant in the black community. This is an example of both mainstreaming and resonance. It is mainstreaming because sexual and materialistic media messages, such as the ones in the video, portrayed about black people has shaped his worldview. It is resonance because he related these views to the real world in the way he described the problem of accidental teenage pregnancies. My close male friend’s response can also be associated with first order effects and second order effects. His response is associated with first order effects because he has learned facts about the consequences that have occurred due to a supposed overly sexual community. These facts (coupled with the many sexual videos featuring black people rampant in the media) then caused him to make the assumption that the whole black community is overly sexual (second order effects). Blending is also part of this example because my friend’s reality was blended into the cultural mainstream of the views on sexuality in the black culture.

The second video is a clip from the popular sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Using comedic effects, this show portrays a family that grows, loves, and learns through different trials and tribulations that happen daily. This is a compilation of three different clip is categorized as wholesome and intelligent. In each of these particular clips Will, the main character, seems to switch role from being wholesome and intelligent at some instances, but at other instances he comes across as abrasive and “ghetto”, especially when making sexual advanced towards women. However, it should be noted that these sexual advances are no where near the level of sexuality of the previous music video. Overall, the show is more wholesome and intelligent than not. I asked a friend (a medium television watcher) that I met at college to view this clip and give me her reactions and what she thought the video portrayed about black people. Her response was that she has many black friends that are both wholesome and intelligent individuals. She said she often watched this show (and other shows like it), and felt that many black people were just as the show portrayed. She also recognized that there were black people (that she knew) that are not wholesome and intelligent, but not many. I found that her response contained resonance. It contained resonance because she could compare the wholesome and intelligent side of Will, and also the non-wholesome and unintelligent side of him, to people she knew.

The last video clip is a 4-minute clip depicting a group of black girls arguing with and beating up a white man on a New York subway. Although this clip is a very disturbing thing to watch, many more scenes like this, depicting criminal and dangerous black people are rampant in the media every day on shows like COPS. Although this clip was originally just a YouTube video, it was played countless times on both local and national television news stations. This clip is categorized as criminal and dangerous. Instead of interviewing someone else to learn their views on this clip, and how black people are portrayed, I decided to use my personal reactions and feelings. Even though I am a black person, and know what it feels like to be stereotyped because of a generalization, after watching this video (and others like it on shows like COPS), I could not help be pulled into the idea that many black people are indeed violent and criminal individuals. I also know black people who act like the girls in the video. Again, this is an example of mainstreaming because I ended up seeing the media messages that black people are criminal and violent, and believing the messages myself, even though I am a black person. This is also an example of resonance because I know people who act like the girls in the video, thus making the two realities the same. The Mean World Index also partly played a part in my views on the supposed criminal and violent aspects of the black community because one of the statements (you can’t be too careful in dealing with people) rang clear when seeing the portrayed violent and criminal aspects of the black girls in the clip.

Cultivation Analysis in the film Rain Man

This clip is an excerpt from the Oscar winning film Rain Man. To give some background, Charlie (Tom Cruise) is trying to get to Los Angeles and gain rightful custody of his older, mentally challenged brother, Raymond (Dustin Hoffman). Raymond has a certain type of autism, which enables his brain to function at superb speeds in some instances, but unable to perform fundamental tasks at other times. Charlie is attempting to get Raymond on a plane with him to Los Angeles, but Raymond is reluctant because of a study he was made aware of on television concerning plane crashes. Raymond is under the impression that plane crashes are a common occurrence, when in reality; air travel is the safest mode of transportation.

As we have learned, “cultivation analysis is a theory that predicts and explains the long-term formation of perceptions, understandings, and beliefs about the world as a result of consumption of media messages” (Turner 407). Raymond is exhibiting the belief that air travel is unsafe because of his exposure to a news story on plane crashes. Just as a person who is consistently viewing violently themed television programming and believes they are that much more susceptible to violence, Raymond is susceptible to the belief that plane crashes are common due to the programming he has watched.

Mainstreaming is the tendency for heavy viewers to perceive a similar culturally dominant reality to that pictured on the media, despite its countering what actually happens. The concept of mainstreaming can be related to this specific scene in Rain Man. Statistically, air travel is the safest mode of travel. But thousands of Americans are terrified of flying, because of the prospect of a crash. This is due to the fact that when a rare plane accident occurs, the news broadcasts are inundated with footage of it. But the news does not report on the thousands of car accidents that occur daily.

The belief by Raymond that air travel is dangerous is a result of a first order effect. This means that Raymond learned this fact directly from the media, contrary to a second order effect which involve hypothesizing about more general issues and assumptions. So Raymond’s fear of flying is due to direct news results, evidenced by the fact that he quotes every flight accident that has occurred to every major airline in the last twenty years.

Cultivation Analysis - NYPD Blue

These three clips are from the police television drama, NYPD Blue.

The three clips are short examples of the common roles women both play in this particular show and on television in general. We have three separate women who are fulfilling common societal misconceptions about women. In the male dominated world of television there is a continuous usage of women and their bodies for a purely sexual aspect. Whether it is a cop's girlfriend, a hooker on the street, or a woman getting ready to shower, each scene is an example of television developing the way people look at the world and each other.

The Cultivation Analysis theory examines the effect television has on its viewers over the course of time. Researchers have found people who watch more TV have distinctly different views of the world. Someone who watches a heavy dosage of TV every day will probably feel they are likely to be a victim of violence or that violence is much more prevalent than it really is. TV can warp viewers feelings about other issues as well. Television that depicts the dangers of inner-city violence may inspire racism in its viewers or television that bombards its viewers with corrupt politicians may find its audience highly suspicious of their governing body. TV blurs and blends the reality of those who watch it. Blurring occurs when educated people see the world similar to those with less education and blending happens when television "reality" blends with cultural reality.

One of the greatest ways television can warp reality is through its consistent use of women in a sexual manner. As shown in these clips and in many others, television that portrays its female characters as sexual objects inspires the same kinds of feelings in its audience. While you can not see the cultivation analysis theory exactly in that it is impossible to see the reaction people will have to these clips, the theory states that over time, people who watch women consistently portrayed in such a manner will see females that way. The audience even seems to have grown to expect such behavior from its television, nearly every night there is a hooker being questioned or attacked in a police drama. Likewise, women are shown without wearing clothing, or much less clothing so much it was become common place. You have to ask yourself why the woman in clip 3 is walking around in a robe, but is at the same time showing her under garments. Or why exactly is the woman in clip 1 have to be naked on camera? It is just as easy to show a woman "naked" without having to actually show her below the shoulders and above the knees. The clip almost seems excessive if not for the fact that women are routinely shown in movies naked for seemingly no cinematic reason.

These clips show the sexualized version of women that far too many people really thinks exist. The clips blur and blend reality enough times that we think it is normal behavior to see a hooker on every street corner or a woman openly showing off her body. Again, it is impossible to find a direct television example of this theory since it is only theorizing the reaction we, the audience, has after watching it! But, these clips are useful for examining the kind of reality TV has created for us, and as a helpful reminder that women are definitely not really like this.

Cultivation Analysis- A Clockwork Orange

The movie "Clockwork Orange" is about a young adult named Alex who is inclined to commit violent acts. He and his friends go around hurting other people and trashing others' properties. After accidentally killing a woman, Alex is sent to prison. In prison, he agrees to become part of an experimental program so that he can have a decreased sentence and be released sooner.

The experimental program entails Alex watching several videos. The second picture posted is a picture of Alex with his eyes held open. The hand in the picture is someone else putting drops in Alex's eyes so that his eyes don't dry up. The videos Alex is watching are all of violent acts of beatings, murders, rapes, war sequences, and other horrible acts of violence. This program lasts for several weeks.

At the end of the several weeks, Alex is scared of all violence despite the fact that he once committed many of those acts himself. To prove that he can be released from prison, someone starts shoving him and punching him to get a reaction. Alex just stood there scared not knowing what to do.

In Cultivation Analysis, George Gerbner talks about television and how it shapes our lives. One of the aspects in which television shapes our lives and opinions is violence. The common thought about tv and violence is that heavy viewers are more likely to be more violent and commit violent acts. But according to CA, heavy viewers are more likely to be afraid and stay away from violence. Heavy viewers are also more likely to view the world as mean.

One of the products of CA is mainstreaming, the tendency for heavy viewers to perceive a similar culturally dominant reality to that pictured on the media although this differs from actual reality. In this experimental program, Alex was a heavy viewer. For several weeks he watched horrifying videos to the point that he was scared of all violence. Although the videos he watched were comprised of violent acts that had actually happened, violence in real life does not occur in a continuous string in the way Alex saw it. So according to Gerbner, the fact that Alex watched these videos on end for several weeks would be the reason why Alex was afraid of violence and getting into a confrontation.

The other product of CA is resonance which occurs when a viewer's lived reality coincides with the reality pictured in the media. After Alex goes through the experimental program and is sent home, he is then faced with the obstacle of trying to start over in his home town. The people that he once hurt and that he once acted violently toward know of the program he went through and how he no longer acts violently. They therefore start acting violently toward him. Alex then begins to experience resonance since the "reality" that was portrayed to him in the videos was now coming to life as people were acting violently toward him. This is also a good illustration of what Gerbner calls "double dose" where Alex is first subjected to violence through the videos and then it is reinforced through getting beat up. It is evident that Alex is a prime example of the concept of cultivation analysis in terms of violence.

The Narrative Paradigm - Good Will Hunting

This clip is from the movie “Good Will Hunting.”

Here Matt Damon’s character, Will Hunting, is at an interview for a job at the National Security Agency (NSA). Will Hunting is literally a genius, but at this point in the movie lacks any motivation to do anything substantial with his gift. When the interviewer asks Will why he should work for the NSA, Will uses Narrative Rationality in the Narrative Paradigm to tell the interviewer why he in fact should not work for the NSA.

Narrative Rationality has two parts, coherence and fidelity. Three types of coherence are structural, material and characterological. Structural coherence deals with the way the story’s plot unfolds. While it is apparent that Will’s story is based purely in hypotheticals, his thought process of how his work at the NSA could theoretically affect a neighbor or friend from his hometown is believable. He believed that taking part in codebreaking overseas would inevitably affect lives, oil, and fish.

Material coherence has to do with the facts in one story as compared to the facts in another story concerning similar people and events. Codebreaking is known to be used in breaking foregin transmissions. The military would use the information garnered from this code to attack the enemy there and it certainly would result in death. This new ally of a country would potentially be a site for outsourcing and could indeed cost a returning soldier a job. Human beings are sleazy creatures and would in fact manipulate war, death, and the oil market to line their own pockets.

Characterological coherence refers to the believability of the characters in a story. Will uses stereotypes to prove his point. Politicians who would rather send Marines to their death instead of their own children, scheming oil companies that would manipulate war to make a profit, and a down-on-his-luck veteran to accentuate that repercussions of his potential job at the NSA. Though, yes, the story is not based on actual events the point gets through as to why taking the job would be detrimental.

The other part of narrative rationality is fidelity, the credibility of a story. As stated above, the movie watcher is aware of the fact that Will's story is not based in actual events. While the events in the story are vague, they are plausible even if they are a little far-fetched.

The Narrative Paradigm: It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

In the movie It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, Linus uses storytelling to attempt to persuade his friends to believe in the great pumpkin. He uses elements of Walter Fisher’s Narrative Paradigm in order to make the others wait for the great pumpkin in the pumpkin patch, instead of trick or treating. Linus believes in the great pumpkin, even though his friends are skeptical of his existence. Linus’ sister Lucy is embarrassed that her brother believes in the great pumpkin. Eventually sally, Charlie Brown’s little sister, waits with Linus in the pumpkin patch, but the great pumpkin never visits.

Linus’ story lacks good reasons, or the value of accepting a story as true and worthy of acceptance, according to Fisher. Linus’ story lacks any historical, biographical, or cultural substance. His story only contains character. Unlike Santa Clause who has a rich history, and cultural background, the great pumpkin appears to be Linus’ fabrication, and his friends, especially Charlie Brown who believes in Santa Clause, does not believe the story.

Linus’ attempts to persuade his friends ultimately fails because he lacks narrative rationality and the principles of coherence: structural, material, and characterological.

Linus’ story does not flow smoothly, so it suffers from a lack of structural coherence. According to Fisher, structural coherence is the ability of a narrative to flow smoothly. Linus’ story about the great pumpkin is juvenile and fragmented, so Linus’ friends are not able to fully believe it. He gives a fractured account of a being that resembles Santa Clause, except it is a pumpkin that rises from the pumpkin patch. Linus’ story also lacks material coherence, of the degree of congruence between stories. Linus’ is the only account of the great pumpkin. Because he is the only one who believe in it, the story lacks material coherence; there are no other accounts of the great pumpkin to back up Linus’ story. Linus uses characterological coherence, or the believability of a character in a story, to support his claims about the great pumpkin. He confronts Charlie Brown about his believe in Santa Clause, and says that it is no different than believing in the great pumpkin.

A good persuasive story has fidelity, or truthfulness and reliability. Although Linus believes in the great pumpkin, he can not convince the others that he truly exists. Although Linus builds a good argument by comparing the great pumpkin to Santa Clause, the others remain unconvinced. Sally is the only one who waits with Linus in the pumpkin patch, but only because she is in love with Linus. She eventually becomes frustrated when the great pumpkin does not show up, and laments having missed Halloween while waiting in the pumpkin patch.

The Narrative Paradigm: A Time to Kill

This segment from the 1996 feature film A Time to Kill provides a good example of Walter Fisher’s Narrative Paradigm. Set in Canton, Mississippi, the premise of the film is as follows: after Carl Lee Hailey’s (Samuel Jackson) daughter has been brutally raped by two white men he seeks the counsel of Jake Brigance (Matthew McConaughey); afraid that the two men may be acquitted due to a deep-seated racism in the area. Hailey acquires an M-16 assault rifle and kills the two men and he is immediately arrested without protest. Brigance plans to plead not guilty on the behalf of Hailey citing temporary insanity.

In the beginning of the clip, Brigance says that he had “a great summation all worked out”, but he abandons it for a story instead. He explains how all the “legal maneuvering” was getting in the way of the truth, that very truth which he is only able to reveal by recounting the story to the jury members. His story is told so well, that you can see the audience hanging on to each word, as he invokes feelings of sympathy among audience members for Carl Lee Hailey’s plea. Many of the jurors, even those who are white and had previously expressed racist beliefs in the film, are persuaded by Brigance’s powerful story.

Without coherence and fidelity, two integral components of narrative rationality, Brigance’s story may have not won the support of the jury. Brigance’s rendition of the gruesome story (with particular emphasis on the progression of heinous deeds performed by the two white men) has definite structural coherence. The story moves from beginning to end with no holes in-between. Material coherence is imminent as a result of testimony provided by other witnesses, as well as the evidence that has been found at the scene of the crime. Characterological coherence is especially important in this particular example. The fact that Brigance is white and a respected member of the community definitely gives him more credibility in the eyes of the jury.

The second important component of narrative rationally is fidelity. To finish his story, he asks the audience to imagine that the girl is white which allows the jury to better relate to Hailey, as well as better understand why he acted as he did. They understand what their children mean to them and the story suddenly becomes more true and tangible to them.

All of these elements combined provide good reasons why Hailey was innocent. The value of family and children is universal, and allows the white members to better relate to the plea of Hailey, who they otherwise would view as unequal because of his ethnicity. Brigance skillfully incorporates the audience’s history, biography, culture, and character into his closing argument in a way that invites the jury to see passed their prejudice.

“What is it in us that seeks the truth, is it our minds? Or is it our hearts?” This question alone addresses humans’ innate tendency to often evaluate truth through narrative rationality, not through a collection of facts and statistics.

The Narrative Paradigm Presented Through the Bangladesh Genocide

A few decades ago in Bangladesh, genocide occurred by Pakistan which left many killed, as well as many women distraught and emotionally scrambled due to the horrific crime of rape. NBC tells the story of a victim, Sieba, a sixteen year old who was one of the many who were victimized by Bangladesh’s oppressors.

Her story is an example of the Narrative Paradigm, an idea proposed by Walter Fisher. The Narrative Paradigm is the belief that humans are storytellers and their values, emotions, and aesthetic considerations ground our beliefs and behaviors. The assumption that humans are naturally storytellers is shown when we view the video about the dilemma in Sieba’s life. When we hear her story, not by anyone else’s account but hers, we feel for her because her emotions rattle ours, causing us to understand the horrors she has faced and how what has occurred is horrible and intolerable.

It is true that we are more persuaded by a good story rather than a good argument. NBC created a solid image of how life has been for the women living in Bangladesh and the sacrifices they have to make. After the genocides, life changed greatly for the women in the area. They were raped, impregnated with children they did not want, and were looked down upon by their own people, living a life of solitude and despair, all against their will.

After viewing the video, I was persuaded by the story presented and realized that much needs to be done to prevent this from happening in the future. My values were the same as that of those telling the story.

Other assumptions that Fisher presented were that a story’s worth is based on “good reasons,” including history, biography, culture and character. The Bangladesh genocide shows the history of the area, how it impacted the culture, and how the main character, Sieba, presents her character, a tortured soul. Also, the story has truth behind it, testimonies and consistencies throughout, explaining why the genocide happened and what has changed in the lifestyle of those affected by it.

This clip is an example of one of the three types of coherence: characterological coherence. Judging by Sieba’s testimony, the viewer can believe what she is experiencing due to her facial gestures, a solemn and quiet attitude. That and the narrator’s explanation of what she has gone through make her believable. When we hear that Sieba’s parents look after her, but realize that no one will ever marry her, makes us understand that rape has ruined her life, and it was completely against her control.

Lastly, the Narrative Paradigm looks at the key concept of fidelity with the story, or its credibility. Fisher explained that there are sets of values that appeal to the audience, which is the primary method for assessing narrative fidelity. When a viewer sees the video, he is met with a set of values that appeals to him or her, realizing that they feel the same way that these victims do and therefore believe the story and what these people have experienced.

Narrative Paradigm Theory in Monty Python

This clip is from the British television show, Monty Python’s Flying Circus. In the “Dead Parrot Sketch,” John Cleese goes to the pet store to complain to Michael Palin that the parrot he has purchased is dead. Palin uses story telling to try and convince Cleese that the parrot is perfectly alright. Cleese uses Narrative Rationality of the Narrative Paradigm Theory to decide whether or not to believe Palin’s story.

The two aspects of narrative rationality are coherence and fidelity. Coherence refers to the consistency of a story. One type of coherence, or lack there of, displayed in the Dead Parrot Sketch is structural coherence, or the way a story flows. Palin’s story is choppy and inconsistent, giving Cleese reason not to believe him. Palin jumps back and forth between subjects, often bringing in irrelevant information, like the “lovely plumage” of the parrot. His explanation of the immobile parrot changes as time goes by. First he says that it’s resting, but later he claims it is stunned. He moves one to say it’s pining for the fields. Cleese chooses not to believe him because of the lack of structural coherence in Palin’s obviously improvised and constantly changing story.

Material coherence has to do with information learned in other stories about the same subject. Cleese reminds Palin that when he bought the parrot, Palin assured him that is was not moving because it was "tired and shagged out." Cleese has been told multiple stories involving the parrot, none of which check out with each other. This leads Cleese to believe Palin even less.

Fidelity is the truthfulness and reliability of a story. Palin is severely lacking in fidelity, mostly because his story is that the parrot is alive, while it is dead in Cleese’s hands. There is physical evidence that contradicts his facts. Palin claims that the parrot is sleeping, but Cleese proves him wrong by unsuccessfully trying to wake it up, destroying any fidelity Palin has in his argument.

The Narrative Paradigm in Nicki's Story of Racial Profiling

Racial profiling is a very serious issue in today’s society. Day in and day out, stories are told of how certain people in certain situations were discriminated against, or treated differently because of their race. As seen here, Nicki Sok tells a story of how he and his brother were enjoying a great day while traveling to a movie, and came across an act of racial profiling. Throughout this narrative, various examples and assumptions of the Narrative Paradigm are present.

The first of the Narrative Paradigm’s assumptions, humans are naturally storytellers, is shown from Nicki choosing to describe his unfortunate experience in the form of a story. This event being told in story form allows for a deeper impact within the minds of audience members in the process of Nicki conveying his emotions at the time. In terms of the Narrative Paradigm’s second and third assumptions, Nicki’s story holds up in the minds of his listeners because it is both believable and easy to relate to. Because of the knowledge his listeners had of previous racial profiling occurrences in the past, Nicki’s listeners were able to view his story as one that is both logical and credible, illustrating the second assumption of the Narrative Paradigm. The third assumption involves a narrative’s rationality being affected through its listener’s history, biography, culture, and character. Both history and biography allow for the persuasion of Nicki’s listeners through their recollection of historical events in which racial profiling existed, and their relation to a time when they too were bullied and humiliated. The material ultimately persuading Nicki’s listeners is that which is relevant to them personally, not that which works according to a set code of logic or persuasion.

When considering the fourth assumption of the Narrative Paradigm, the narrative’s rationality is dependent on the internal consistency and truth within it. Because Nicki’s story most likely strikes home with how listeners would’ve felt if put in that same situation, there is no question regarding the internal consistency and degree of truth present in his narrative. The paradigm’s fifth assumption involves the experiences of individuals within society as a set of selected stories, ultimately resulting in society living life in a continual process of re-creation. Nicki’s narrative follows this assumption through the idea of his listeners changing the way they think about racial profiling as a whole. From viewing how personally affected Nicki was by the events on that particular day, it would come as no surprise to me if his narrative’s impact on particular listeners was significant. As a whole, the story Nicki told about being racially profiled was one which demonstrated the various assumptions of the Narrative Paradigm successfully.

No Country for Old Men, the Coens' Masterpiece of Narrative Storytelling

The Coen brothers have been defining and redefining storytelling throughout their entire careers. As writers, they utilize narrative storytelling techniques to the fullest. Although they create fiction, they still seem to follow the guideline set popularized and accepted by Walter Fisher’s Narrative Paradigm. Although the Coen brothers usually write their own original screenplays, the one that will be discussed here is the new film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men. This is only the second time the Coens have used outside material in their films. The Coens use many of the assumptions of this theory in researching, writing, and/or adapting their screenplays. They heavily research the era, settings, locations, and overall times of their material. For instance, the Coens used an old picture of a 1970s man at a bar with a unique haircut that was relatively popular at the time for Anton Chigurh’s, Javier Bardem’s character, haircut and clothing style. They also shot on location for the most part depending on budgets. As for the characterization, these characters are very believable. Josh Brolin plays Llewellyn Moss, a hunter who stumbles across a drug deal gone bad while out for the day in one of the Texas desert fields. From the minute he touches this money, Brolin’s character shows the signs of what almost anyone would do in the situation. He begins to think about what to do with all of it, but is overcome by human instinct to aid one of the barely alive drug dealers who was left for dead by bringing him some water. He is discovered by the drug dealer clean-up squad and immediately was on the run. Two parties are now searching for the lost money. The aging Sherriff Tom Bell played by Tommy Lee Jones and the psychopathic hitman Anton Chigurh played by Bardem. Sherriff Bell is struggling with a rationality paradigm as well as a good reason paradigm. His upbringing and experiences are being challenged by the new world in which he lives as an aging Sherriff, making it increasingly difficult for him to cope with the transition of his laid back ways of old and the take-action times in which he lives now. Chigurh has left a bloodbath across Bell’s county and outlying areas, which Bell does not fully understand. Bell just knows that he must find Moss before it is too late. Anton Chigurh is a bit more complicated of a character. His paradigm as a character is based on a twisted reality view and a morbid set of rules that he is bound to. He kills at will, sometimes for no reason, others part of a sadistic game of chance by offering his potential victims a coin flip to decide their fates. His brutality, unleashed with a silenced shotgun and an air gun used to kill cattle, is part of a paradigm that many people do understand and accept as something that can happen. Media in these times spares no detail to the audience, depicted grisly acts in their entirety. All of these characters are connected through their actions and reactions in the story.
As for the storytelling, the Coens tell the tale through use of unconventional narrative in the way that there is no defined middle or end. Everything begins, but it is up to the watcher and listener to piece together the events, as it is in real life. It has a great sense of coherence, as everything that goes on relates to each other, acting like glue between the characters, even if they do not meet on screen. No Country has all of the coherence aspects covered. Structural is covered with the smooth running editing, material with the storylines of the three main characters constantly linking back to each other, and characterlogical in the ways explained before about the believability of the characters in the movie. For good reasons, the Coens continue to wow audiences with their stories, adapted or original, creating unforgettable settings, characters, and a style not seen by many filmmakers anymore. They truly are some of the best storytellers of this era.

JFK Speech to Berlin

John Fitzgerald Kennedy is noted by some to be one of our nation's most inspirational presidents. As seen by this, one of his most famous speeches, he was an undoubtedly captivating orator. Along with Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, JFK has given some of the greatest speeches in the history of our nation. This speech is known as the "Ich Bin Ein Berliner" speech. In it, he addresses a crowd in West Berlin, the sight of much controversy and debate throughout the entirety of the Cold War. He manages to relate to an entire group of people with a different culture and history, all because of the way in which he delivers the speech.

Primarily, Kennedy utilizes the three proofs of rhetoric to perfection. He exemplifies every aspect of ethos. For his character, there is none better. He appears to be a genuine person who is concerned with the plight of the Western Germans over the Communist doctrines of Eastern Europe. His intelligence is unquestionable and is made obvious in the speech. Kennedy is a Harvard alum who can hold his own in any debate, discussion, or dilemma. In terms of his goodwill, Kennedy made it clear that the United States had the backs of people of West Germany without question. By doing so, he establishes a sense of camaraderie with the audience, thus winning their attention from there on out.

For his logos, JFK provides some strong points to promote the interestes of Western Berlin, along with all of Western civilization, against the foes behind the Iron Curtain. For every grievance someone may have against West Berlin, he repeats over and over "Let them come to Berlin!" to see for themselves how vastly different the two sides of the city truly are. Finally for his pathos, Kennedy exudes sentiments of concern for the people of West Berlin, while showing a slight indignation of the leaders of East Europe. His speech is one of confidence and hope; confidence that good will prevail over evil, and hope in the eventual spread of democracy throughout the world.

In addition to sticking to all of the proofs of rhetoric, Kennedy also uses all of the canons perfectly. In his arrangement, he provides a convincing introduction, body, and conclusion by connecting each individual portion of the speech with the phrase "Ich bin ein Berliner." His style is one of elegance and eloquance. He realizes that this is a serious subject matter and the German people are a serious and reserved people. As a result, his delivery is not over the top and meant to garner laughter, but is moreso intended to give a people torn apart by the ravages of World War II hope for a bringter future. In essense, John Fitzgerald Kennedy provided hope for America as well. He was a breath of fesh air, a new face to mix up the stagnant old guard which had ruled Washington for so long. Unfortunately, he was unable to see his message lived out.

The Rhetoric

I felt that this video truly portrayed the rhetoric because it used several available means of persuasion to get its message across. The video is based on one of Barack Obama's speeches and was turned into a song by several famous people. All of these components are highly persuasive means of communication.

Obama's actual speech in this video is very deliberative because his goal was political and directed towards the wellbeing of the public through his messages of hope and change. This presentation effectively uses the three proofs. The Ethos was extremely effective because many people love and trust Obama, as well people are big fans of the stars who created the song and care about their opinions. The logos or logic surrounding Barack's arguments was convincing as well as he used the stories of immigrants and our founding fathers as examples of the country's hope. The presence of Pathos was very strong in this clip as well. Not only was Barack emotive, but the famous people who sang in the video were as well. They all portrayed emotions of love, determination, urgency, and hope.

The canons of this presentation were beautifully composed. The invention was to turn Barack’s already influential speech into a song. The style of his speech is hopeful and deliberate, as well as eloquent because Barack demonstrates all of those qualities in his language. The delivery was unique because it was not only a speech but a song as well, sung and spoken from memory. I believe that this presentation is a truly remarkable example of effective rhetoric because it encompasses all of the qualities Aristotle outlined in his studies of rhetoric in an original manner.