Saturday, January 30, 2016

Considering Genre

In this blog post, I am going to detail how I am going to use the quick reference guide as my genre to complete project 1.

Luiz Guilherme Queiroga, "A Banner." 9/8/2013. via flickr. Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic. 
I am going to commit to doing a Quick Reference Guide for Project 1. I believe that this is the best idea for me because I believe that it is the easiest new medium to adjust to from previous experience in writing and minimal new technology. Also the podcast, the video essay, and the essay I believe are also much better suited for projects 2, 3, and 4 respectively at this point in time.

I plan on developing many of the graphic and subheading conventions of the quick reference guide this coming week, along with the rest of the text as well. The subheadings and graphic organization of the quick reference guide specifically are new conventions that I have not previously had much exposure to. I plan to begin working within these conventions this week almost immediately, along with completing further research concurrently with the project as well to ensure that I am using these conventions correctly. I believe that I will highlight the graphic elements and highlights of the quotes to ensure that the opinions of both parties in this controversy are seen.

I believe that it is going to be difficult adjusting to these conventions due to my lack of experience in working with them. I believe the content of the work is not going to be difficult, but once it comes to organize I am going to have to pay very close attention to the examples given to ensure that I am doing the work correctly throughout the project.

Cluster of Stakeholders

In this blog post, I will detail and reveal my cluster of stakeholders on my controversial topic of the Nightingale casting controversy.

Scott Maxwell, "3D Bar Graph Meeting." 12/25/2007. via flickr. Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic.
In my cluster of stakeholders, I linked out the 3 major groups that were effected by the controversy, namely the La Jolla Playhouse, the Asian American Performers Action Coalition, and the cast members of the show itself. I then linked out important main "characters" in each of those groups. Split off from each group and individual in red, I explained their relationship to the controversy itself and their opinions and bias regarding the topic itself. The cluster of stakeholders can be seen here.

Evaluation of General Sources

In this blog post, I will be discussing two of my sources that I am using for my 1st Project controversy on the Nightingale casting at La Jolla Playhouse.

Dan Morelle, "Nightingale." 9/12/2007. via flickr. Attribution 2.0 Generic.
The sources that I will be using for my controversy for Project 1 can be found here and here.

The URL for both sources ends with a ".com". This domain name infers that the information is intended for commercial purposes, and to be read and consumed by a large audience, preferably as big of an audience as possible. While these sources that end in ".com" are not always deemed credible, The Huffington Post and the Los Angeles Times have both established themselves as credible works of journalism.

The author for the first article is Lucas Kavner and the author for the second article is David Ng. Lucas Kavner has written and created content for The Huffington Post, The New York Times, Washington Post, Time Magazine, and many other pieces of reputable media outlets. David Ng works for the Los Angeles Times as an Arts Reporter after receiving his Journalism degree from New York University after serving on other newspapers such as The Chicago Tribune.

The first article was published and last edited on July 19, 2012 while the second article was last edited on July 23, 2012. This was within the last 3 years and the information is not out of date as it describes the event shortly after it had occurred and the outcries from the surrounding theatre community in California. There are no links on the first article, however the second gives links to other stories in the Los Angeles Times that further cover the story in the preceding days in July of 2012.

Both texts have the very specific purpose of trying to inform their audience on the controversy at La Jolla Playhouse regarding the casting of The Nightingale. Both of these articles come from reputable newspapers, where the purpose of news stories is always to inform their audience rather than persuade them to think a certain way. While there are opinion columns in newspapers as well, both of these stories are news stories and therefore do not offer opinions on the issue coming from the authors themselves but rather from the surrounding community.

Both articles include graphics. The article from The Huffington Post includes a slideshow of images showing the sort of miscasting in Hollywood that has generated so much controversy with white actors being cast to portray characters of another race. The article from The Los Angeles Times features an image of a director of this particular version of The Nightingale defending his decisions at a public forum. Both of these images offer context to the story, showing the cultural significance of this sort of casting and the alternative position of why the casting was done in the first place.

There is an unbiased perspective from both articles due to being news stories from reputable newspapers. Those that profit if the information is believed to be true is the newspapers themselves, because both of these newspapers strive to be shown as reputable to their audience or else no one would read or take their news seriously. Both of these stories are backed up by one another, as well as by the sources in which they use as well to gain credibility.

Both sources suggest links, in fact both articles suggest further reading of The Los Angeles Times due to their extensive coverage over the event as it happened, and the after effects and feeling of the theatre public as well. It cites other reputable newspapers and quotes directly from the sources effected in order to support themselves.

Reddit and What I Found There

In this blog post, I am going to discuss the findings from Reddit, specifically in regards to theatre and acting.

Martin Lafrance, "Reddit logo." 4/12/2010. via flickr. Attribution 2.0 Generic.
The Reddit forums in regards to theatre, like Twitter, are very subjective discussions for the most part. However one of the most drastic and notable differences between the discussions that occur between those on Twitter and those on Reddit is the higher level of professional discussion that occurs within Reddit. The discussions on Reddit deal with theatre on a more professional level, and deal with those working in the professional world coming together and sharing their own experiences and opinions. While Twitter appears to be anyone sharing their own opinion in regards to the topic, those that are a part of the Reddit discussions have much more experience in the field.

The most interesting Reddit threads that I found can be seen here and here. These are both extremely interesting because they are written with a higher level of knowledge and wisdom than those found on Twitter. These discussions are being had between people who have cared about theatre for most of their lives, and know a great deal about the professional world and the applications of theatrical techniques in the real world.

The first one is interesting because it shows the real life applications of theatre outside the theater itself, especially from those who have learned the craft shows the interest. The second one is interesting because it maintains the professionalism that can be found on Reddit. The discussion is comprised of people who have had experience in the real world, and are discussing the real life applications of working in professional media.

I definitely was not expecting such a drastic difference in professionalism from Twitter to Reddit. I was not expecting as many people with unique, professional experience to be giving their opinions on such subjective opinions. While the discussion topics are mostly the same, it was definitely the level of professionalism that shocked me.

Evaluation of News Magazine Stories

In this blog post, I will detail out the articles that I found from Time and Rolling Stone magazines regarding the political race. Specifically these are stories regarding the Republican front runner, Donald Trump.

Tony Fischer, "TIME Magazine; Person of the Year, Greg's Art and My Photo Online." 12/27/2008. via flickr. Attribution 2.0 Generic.

The stories that I have chosen are from Rolling Stone linked here, and from Time linked here.

The debate regarding the former, titled "Donald Trump Is Skipping the GOP Debate Because He Hates Women", focuses on Donald Trump boycotting the most recent Republican Debate on Fox News due to perceived bias against him from moderator Megyn Kelly. Donald Trump back in August at the Republican debate was confronted by Megyn Kelly for his statements which degrade women. Trump took this line of questioning as offensive, and garnered a personal problem against Megyn Kelly. The article lays claim that Trump does indeed have a hatred for women, and does not want to be confronted again by a woman who had previously made a fool of him.

The most sympathetic character of the story is Megyn Kelly. She is the reporter for Fox News who attacked Donald Trump and his comments against various women. The article may paint her also a very poor reporter due to her frequent racist stories which they link to here, However, the main focus is on her tough questioning of Donald Trump, and her at this moment correct ability to call Trump out on his poor comments

The least sympathetic character of the story is Donald Trump. The article goes on to frequently name him a misogynist, as well as a "schoolyard bully" who makes "weird, inappropriate, and outright hostile" comments. Donald Trump throughout the article has a variety of accusations laid against him, with the story definitively stating that Donald Trump has nothing but hatred for women, which many in the comments section outwardly disagree with.

The debate regarding the latter, titled "Donald Trump Doesn't Win in Cheap Seats at Rally" details out why Donald Trump's decision to have a rally rather than attend the Republican debate was a poor idea. The article highlighted that many of those in the audience, surrounded by many empty seats, were not planning on actually pursuing the Trump vote whatsoever. Many came because they were curious about what Trump had to say, but none of them actually took the vote of Trump legitimately seriously to the point that they would go out and vote for him themselves.

The most sympathetic character of the story is the people that attended the rally for Donald Trump. The author painted them with the picture of those who were simply curious without real interest in the policies of Donald Trump. Only one had given actual thought to voting for Trump, however he did not know the caucus process and was unwilling to learn. The author painted the audience as a very innocent minded audience coming to hear Trump.

The least sympathetic character is again Donald Trump. However in this case, it is because he had gotten himself into a situation where he gave up the debate stage to come speak to those who were unwilling to actually participate in the democratic process. He lacked the foresight to realize that he could do much better taking on the other Republican candidates head-to-head on the debate stage than at a rally filled with those lacking in dedication.

Twitter and What I Found There

In this blog post, I will discuss my findings of different theatre discussions that I was able to find on Twitter.

Jon Gosier, "Twitter Logo." 4/4/2008. via flickr. Attribution 2.0 Generic.
The most lengthy and personally-charged discussions relating to theatre on Twitter usually involve personal experiences that people have had relating to the field and their experience from the problems faced professionally and the problems that are dealt with on a personal level as well. The most interesting exchanges occur when people state a problem that they have faced in regards to theatre, and it opens up the discussion for others to come in and state their feelings, whether they relate to the original post or not.

One of the more interesting discussions that I found were here and here. The first story demonstrated a sort of debate that had come up between the difference between confidence and overconfidence, and when confidence can pass into arrogance. The second story showed the ability for a community to be unified as well in a common problem that is faced within theatre. There are many who have experienced a lack of acting in musical theatre, and it is a situation where people came together and understood and related to one another in similar experience.

There was not much of a surprise at the conversations I was able to find in regards to theatre. Many of the discussions are subjective, as that is the only way in which theatre can truly be debated. The most common forms of discussion are when a subjective opinion is brought up and others are allowed to disagree. Other than this the discussion in theatre is minimal, as the most common form of discussion in theatre is either between those relating to one another or disagreeing in opinions of one another as well.

Evaluation of New York Times Stories

In this blog post, I will detail the stories from the opinion and political columns from The New York Times.

Steve Rhodes, "big iPhone in Apple store window displaying New York Times." 6/27/2007. via flickr. Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic.
The stories from The New York Times that I have chosen come from the Opinion column and the Political column, specifically the former being linked here and the latter being linked here.

The opinion story, titled "Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Nomination" follows Hillary Clinton specifically as the main character, followed behind with many mentions of names such as Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley, with comparisons between Hillary Clinton and a blanket mention of all of the Republican candidates. The article focuses on Hillary's accomplishments throughout her long political career and why she is the best choice for the Democratic nomination.

The story goes over her career, particularly her most recent career from 2008-2012 as Secretary of State for President Obama. The story focuses on all of her accomplishments that she has made in Washington with highlights in her foreign policy.

There is much debate over this article, with over 2,000 comments posted either supporting or disagreeing with The New York Times endorsement of Hillary Clinton. These are everyday people who either read the paper itself or had seen the title through social media and took to the comments section to give their opinion.

Many disagree with Hillary as a candidate due to her incidents such as the event in Benghazi and her ties to Wall Street, and are either supporting a Republican candidate or the other major candidate for the Democrats, Bernie Sanders. The stake of debates such as these are huge for the candidates because it is the people commenting and those with such strong opinions that will show up to the polls in the coming months.

The political story, titled "Our Man in Iowa: A Signal of Who Might Win the Caucuses" specifically follows a reporter as he goes to Iowa and notes the various tension as the primary polls begin to come out. Specifically detailing the similarities of the main characters of this story, Marco Rubio and his similarities to Mitt Romney in the 2012 election.

The specific events of this story take place in the state of Iowa as the coming polls from The Des Moines Register are being released. This poll is acclaimed for it's accuracy, specifically regarding it's ability to correctly predict the outcome of the primary election.

There is not much disagreement going on with this story, specifically because the poll has yet to be released and the similarities between Mitt Romney and Marco Rubio can not be fully founded until after the fact.

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Course Projects

Marco Belluci, "Question mark." 8/4/2005. via flickr. Attribution 2.0 Generic License. 

1. What are you most confused by or nervous about in regards to the four major projects?

  • I am nervous about the planning that is going to have to go into these four major projects. I have never worked in any of the new areas outside of an essay in terms of what I am trying to accomplish, and am nervous about the adjustment period.
  • I am also nervous about finding topics in my major as well. It is much more difficult to find a controversial topic in theatre as opposed to a STEM major. 

2. What are you most interested in or excited about in regards to the four major projects?

  • I am most interested in seeing how I am going to learn about my major this semester. I was unaware that this class was so thoroughly involved with my own form of study, and am excited to learn about my major through this new perspective. 

3. Based on your understanding of the major projects, what are the elements of this course that you have to plan ahead for? How will the coursework described in the four project assignment sheets challenge your time management skills this semester?

  • All of the major projects are going to have to be fully planned ahead in advance. All of the genres for the corresponding project need to be chosen before any of the major projects are due, and meeting with professors/grad students/those in the field is also going to take much needed planning as well. 
  • Also the blogs taking less and less importance over time as each project passes is important as well, it is important to know what is the main focus while going throughout this course and allow that to shift to fit my needs. 

4. How has your past English coursework in high school or college prepared you for the challenges of this course? What skills will you bring into the course with you?

  • Previously in high school I have written a paper on a controversial topic in a field of interest, however at the time I was planning on being a Journalism major. However, the importance is that I am able to go through sources and find important information that is pertinent to the topic at hand. 
  • Also I have taken Principles of Dramatic Structure in the fall semester and am familiar with how theatre handles their written work, while I am no expert by any means I do know of a good place to start. However, adjusting to this new criteria may prove difficult overall. 

5. Do you have any questions about the four major projects that haven't been answered by the assignment sheets? What do you still want to know?

  • Due to the lack of experience in the new areas, is there going to be time to learn more about the genres in order to adequately complete a project in a currently unfamiliar genre?
  • Is there any sort of team work involved at any point whatsoever? At what point are our classmates an asset in terms of asking for help?

Reflection:

I wrote comments on Katy's and PJ's posts about course projects. What I learned from my classmates was that I am not alone in my apprehension and, personally, terror at the thought of learning all of these new skills in place of writing essays on the topics. Specifically PJ mentioned that this class was going to be a challenge, and it reminds me why I chose this class in the first place. I did not go into this class asking for the easiest English class experience, and therefore I should not get that. Also Katy brought up that learning these skills that were not previously expected is indeed exciting as well as nerve-racking, as we will be able to leave the class as a whole with a much wider variety of knowledge and experience than we ever had previously. These posts gave great comfort in that not everyone is experienced in all these new forms of media, and this class is not going to be easy for anyone. 

My Major

In this blog post, I will go over my major.

Boeke, Jonathan. "Theatre" 9/17/2006 via flickr. Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License
















1. What do students in your program learn how to do?
  • I am currently pursuing a BA in Theatre Arts. The students in the BA program are exposed to a wide variety of theatre by the time of their graduation. Students learn about acting, stagecraft, costuming, stage management, directing, the history of theatre, dramaturgy, and a variety of other topics over the course of the curriculum. 
  • The goal in the BA track, as opposed to those in the BFA, is to allow students to be exposed to a range of topics in theatre. Therefore when they enter the real world, they can be placed in any theatre situation and understand what is needed of them. 
2. What do people who get degrees in this field usually go on to do for work?
  • Those who graduate with a BA in Theatre Arts are able to go into any general area of theatre that they so desire.
  • The degree is able to give a general, universal knowledge over all of theatre and therefore most people who earn this degree usually go out and try to achieve in the field professionally. Other options are creating theatre in the community, or teaching theatre to future generations. 
3. What drew you to this field?
  • Personally I have been interested in the field since I was 4 years old, and it has been a lifelong part of my life for as long as I can possibly remember.
  • The amount of joy that goes into creating theatre and observing it as well also drew me to the field. It is by definition something I absolutely love to do, and therefore the amount of money that is earned is irrelevant at this current moment. 
4. Who are the leaders/most exciting people involved in your field right now? Why? 
  • One of the most important organizations in theatre is organizations such as The Broadway League. The organization promotes the shows that are on Broadway, as well as honor those who excel in theatre through events such as the Tony Awards.
  • Other important individuals of the theatre are those who bring attention and acclaim to theatre worldwide. For example people such as Neil Patrick Harris, Idina Menzel, Hugh Jackman, Kristin Chenoweth, and many others. These are performers of theatre who have brought attention to and notoriety to the theatre, and allow the business to grow.
5. What are the leading academic/scholarly journals in your field? Where are they published?

Some of the top theatre academic/scholarly journals are: 

Investigating Genres

Francois Schnell, "Podcasts anywhere anytime." 2/10/2010. via flickr. Attribution 2.0 Generic License

1. What purpose(s) does this genre usually serve?

  • Podcasts serve the purpose of transferring opinions and facts through an informal, audio-exclusive setting. Those who take part in a podcast are able to give facts to the audiences, while also seamlessly adding in their own opinions.

2. Where, how, or in what context do readers usually find this genre?

  • The prime way to consume podcasts is through the internet or online using applications such as iTunes. The genre is consistently similar to that of a radio interaction, with audio being the only way to transfer information. 

3. Who is the typical audience for this genre?

  • Podcasts, due to their location being online, is mostly consumed by young adults and those who have been consistently exposed to the technology present in today's society. 

4. What are some of the key features or characteristics that are unique to this genre, distinguishing it from other texts?

  • Podcasts are extremely simple in terms of what they use to transfer information. Podcasts use music and other forms of audio in order to get across information to the audience. 
  • Quick reference guides and video essays may/will use audio as well, however they also use recorded words or videos to get their point across. Podcasts are unique in that it is solely audio.
  • Podcasts are also informal, as there are many different individuals who can take part in a podcast, creating the feeling of a regular conversation. 

5. Based on your answers to the questions above, come up with a definition in your own words for this genre.

  • Podcasts are the next step in technological evolution compared to radio interviews or radio talk shows. It is a way to allow opinions and facts to be released to the audience directly online, through only voice or music. 

Reflection

I commented on Arun's and Michaela's posts about Investigating Genres, and each of them posted about the other two genres that I am not familiar with. They both were able to help me grasp the concept of both of those genres, as well as the purpose of each of them as well. Specifically Arun was able to definitely show just how common video essays really are in society today, specifically on different aspects of social media which is definitely new information that I was previously unaware of. Also Michaela was able to simplify the quick reference guides and specifically lay out how it is unique in that it allows for a much more detailed and thorough presentation of ideas that couldn't be otherwise experienced elsewhere. Each of these posts enlightened me on different aspects of the genres that I had yet to research, and made them much more understandable especially in this current digital society. 

My Writing Process

Matt Hampel, "EDIT>." 10/4/2008. via flickr. Attribution 2.0 Generic License 


1. What type(s) of writer do you consider yourself to be?
  • I consider myself to have the most attributes of a heavy reviser. I find myself spend very little time on the actual writing phase, and going through heavy editing either through peers or alone.
2. Does your writing process seem to be successful? What are the strengths and weaknesses of your approach?

  • I believe that balance is key. If I spent more time on the writing phase, like sequential composers, than the editing process would be far less extreme than it currently is.
  • I also do not spend enough time on planning a paper. The initial reaction is to come up with an idea of what I would like to write, and then jump into writing. This leads to many of my ideas needing drastic changes in the editing phase, and may lead to entirely new papers.
3. Does your writing process include several of the above approaches? If so, which ones?
  • There are certain aspects of procrastination that are a part of my writing style. While I may not write the paper on the last day it is due, because I leave definitive time for editing, the writing takes place usually all in one day. If I were to give myself more time for the writing process, the ideas would come out far more clear than they are currently. 
4. Do you think it might be beneficial for you to try a different approach? Why or why not?

  • I believe that it would be helpful to try the sequential composer approach. While it does take more time in the writing area, it combines both areas and spends an equal amount of time on both, ensuring that nothing is unbalanced.
  • Also, the process of editing while writing would also be beneficial. It would allow the ability to adjust the course that I am taking in the middle of the writing process. Allowing me to catch major and minor mistakes, and make corrections so as to avoid completely rewriting.