(Tentative) Written Task 1 Proposal

The following is a potential proposal for a Written Task. I say 'potential', because it doesn't fit the exact structure of the Written Tasks we have done in terms of using primary and secondary sources (I don't have any main ones). I'm open to suggestions about how to approach this idea differently. :)

This Written Task is centered on Part 2, Adverinfotainment, of the course. It is a pair of blog entries titled 'Why Rihanna Has Destroyed Feminism' and 'Why Rihanna Is My Feminist Icon'. It aims to fulfill the third learning outcome, and explore how mass media (in this case, the blogs) have used language to persuade people of their startlingly different conclusions. 

This idea is still in its infant stages - the format itself is something that I have not fully decided on, as it would also work as a magazine article. I chose this topic because we studied the objectification of women in media in this unit, and our current work on Alice Munro also gave some background on Feminism that can be used (especially for the negative article). I selected Rihanna as the subject due to her widespread fame - many who don't even listen to popular music know about her (such as my mom) - and her influence has expanded far beyond just being a singer. 

To support my claims on either side, I will be looking at the way she portrays herself (quotes etc.), her music videos, personal events, and publicity stunts. While there will be different examples used to support each side, I will include 1-2 examples that are the same for both Rihanna being anti-Feminist and Feminist to allow the audience to better recognize the bias and manipulation present in the media. One such example would be her Pour It Up video, which received both criticism and praise. Her newer B*tch Better Have My Money video was also deemed both feminist and un-feminist by critics. 

In all, I hope that with these two parallel blogs/articles, the audience will be able to see through the way the media manipulates us using language and literary devices. Usage of the same literary devices in the opposite way would further strengthen the contrast.

Note: This isn't the best timing for a Written Task, given that the IOC is only 13 days away. However, I posted about it now so that I wouldn't forget about it, and to encourage more development of the idea.  

Tempest IOC

Link to IOC:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B13rR1KO5wYqb25wdjhycC1Id0ltcjVYZmlUbGJSSVNDWEM4/view?usp=sharing

Passage:

TRINCULO 

O king Stephano! O peer! O worthy Stephano! look what a wardrobe here is for thee! 

CALIBAN 

Let it alone, thou fool; it is but trash. 

TRINCULO 

O, ho, monster! we know what belongs to a frippery. O king Stephano! 

STEPHANO 

Put off that gown, Trinculo; by this hand, I'll have that gown. 

TRINCULO 

Thy grace shall have it.

CALIBAN 

The dropsy drown this fool I what do you mean 

To dote thus on such luggage? Let's alone 

And do the murder first: if he awake, 

From toe to crown he'll fill our skins with pinches, 

Make us strange stuff.

STEPHANO 

Be you quiet, monster. Mistress line, is not this my jerkin? 

Now is the jerkin under the line: now, jerkin, 

you are like to lose your hair and prove a bald jerkin. 

TRINCULO 

Do, do: we steal by line and level, an't like your grace. 

STEPHANO 

I thank thee for that jest; here's a garment for't: 

wit shall not go unrewarded while I am king of this country. 

'Steal by line and level' is an excellent pass of pate; there's another garment for't. 

TRINCULO 

Monster, come, put some lime upon your fingers, and away with the rest.

CALIBAN 

I will have none on't: we shall lose our time, 

And all be turn'd to barnacles, or to apes 

With foreheads villanous low.

STEPHANO 

Monster, lay-to your fingers: help to bear this away where my hogshead of wine is, 

or I'll turn you out of my kingdom: go to, carry this. 

TRINCULO 

And this. 

STEPHANO 

Ay, and this.

This is Water

Let me begin my providing my own version of David Foster Wallace's thesis in 'This is Water': he suggests that true freedom acquired through education is the ability to choose to be adjusted, conscious, and sympathetic. People without education don't lack this ability, but without having been taught how to think they may not know they have this choice.  

The most obvious device Wallace uses to develop his thesis is meiosis and litotes. He deliberately undermines his own wisdom and that of what he's saying, for example in 'I am not the wise old fish' and 'please don't think that I'm giving you moral advice'. By reducing the importance that he attaches to his words on the surface, the audience believes they attached the importance themselves, making the speech more personal. 

Wallace uses one main example throughout the essay, which details the life of an average adult after leaving work and having to go to the supermarket for groceries. This is a well chosen example, as many can identify with the boredom and thoughts about these 'stupid god-damn people' in the checkout line. Even if many students may not have experienced these feelings in a supermarket, many in first-world countries have gone through sub sections of his example - be it waiting in line, being stuck in a traffic jam, or having to deal with inconsiderate driving. This manner in which he links his central idea of freedom of thought to the real world makes it more applicable and relevant. 

Later on, Wallace also employs pathos by talking about 'worship' and making sweeping statements like 'everybody worships'. This elicits an emotional reaction, as Wallace has already primed the audience to accept him (see earlier devices) and his ideas. Now, this idea is accepted more readily by the audience, and they respond to the personal question of 'worship' (which asks what supports us?) by looking inside themselves for an answer. 

This is just a selection of ways in which he develops his thesis. This theory contributes to the inquiry question because literature is a form of education, and it makes us aware of other people's emotions, just like Wallace claims education does. The inquiry question is thus an example of his thesis. For instance, as Alice Munro's stories reveal to us more about what average women go through, we are becoming more sympathetic (seeing and identifying with their feelings), adjusted (we see how fortunate we are and where we stand in this world), and conscious (I am now aware of other people's feelings and thoughts). 

David Foster Wallace's essay was truly thought-provoking, and I felt that he put into words an abstract idea that many people may have already been aware of on some level. By doing this, he made the concept of thought choice more concrete, and put more responsibility on us for our own happiness. Personally, I agree with his ideas, especially that it is not knowing these things that is important, but rather applying them in daily life. 

Word Count: 499