Blog Entry 11

Resumé

• EVALUATE
  • I think that this resumé does a number of things right. I think that the layout is clean, and it is only a page long which I think is generally a good thing. I also think that this resumé seems to be catered toward a specific job, which is great for that job, but needs to be changed for anything more general. I also think that the wording of the resumé is done nicely. It is short and to the point, which I’m sure that employers who read thousands of these really appreciate.
• DISCUSS
  • As I said before, I feel like this resumé does a good job communicating her point. She seems to have modified her resumé for a specific job, and I feel like the things that she has listed on her resumé are all cohesive and seem to be making a point about what kind of employee she would be. I do think that this resumé is lacking some detail though. I think that finding a balance between giving enough information and giving too much on a resumé can be difficult, so I’m not sure that this is a very fair critique.
• SPECULATE
  • I think that this resumé has a clean and simple layout which is effective. I think, though, that the fact that her education section is so small and at the bottom makes it seem like it is not something that she wants to put on display– perhaps it wasn’t her strong point.
• CONNECT
  • The intended audience here appears to be a specific future employer. I think that one thing that resumés can show us is that to employers we can kind of be treated as a commodity, and short, simple, to the point versions of ourselves are sometimes all that they have time for.

Part 2

• The music that I listen to while I do work or study varies depending on the subject. I am a Spanish major, so I do a lot of reading and writing in Spanish. While I am doing Spanish homework, music in English really distracts me, so I tend to listen to either music in Spanish, or classical music. While I write in English, I can listen to anything. I tend to listen to rap (it’s one of my favorite genres) or country music. While I am studying for an exam, though, the only music I can listen to is classical music. For me, I can really tell how close of attention I need to pay to something based on whether or not I am completely distracted by background music. I always have music playing, but if I find myself no longer paying attention to my work, I tend to switch from my “fun” playlists into a focus playlist that I found on Spotify. I think that sometimes music has the ability to put people into a focused zone, but sometimes it can also suck your brain all the way in. When it does this, it becomes a distraction rather than something to help you focus.

Writing About Resumes While Listening To Country

The example resume that I am evaluating is a resume for a registered nurse. Looking at the resume at first glance the bolded words stand out to me. I think this resume is effective in its purpose. The resume contains all the pertinent information; professional experience, education, and certifications, as well as dates and locations. Each of the main categories contains subcategories with more detailed information. The shorts length of the resume is also good because it doesn’t drag out and become boring. It’s quick and easy to read. The intended audience of this resume is someone who is highly educated because of the job position, registered nurse. This type of writing is very organized, proper, and straightforward. A resume is a good way to know about a complete stranger that applies for a job. In a way resumes are a good way to get to know about someone’s accomplishments. Resumes also don’t show the full potential of one’s personality and accomplishments that are not related to school and work. Like anything, resumes have pros and cons. Our society depends on resumes to keep structure in the workplace.

As I am writing my blog post, I am listening to a variety of country music, Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw, and David Nail, just to name a few. My favorite song I listened to was “Night’s On Fire” by David Nail. I like the upbeat tempo and the carefree feeling this song gives off. I like listening to country while I do homework because it is easy to listen to. The lyrics aren’t overpowering and therefore, I can focus more on my work than on the lyrics. Country music is nice background music. Listening to music while doing homework, especially writing, helps me to come up with ideas and get my creative juices flowing.

Resumes, Cover Letters, and Identity Curation (Blog Entry 11)

Split entry!

This week, we’re departing from our focus on music and looking at the features of strong resumes and cover letters–two types of important writing in the “real” world that I’m assuming you’re already familiar with. If you haven’t written a resume or cover letter before, now is your opportunity. If you already have a resume and/or cover letter that you’ve written for a professional context (school/scholarship, internship, or job application), then this is your opportunity to revisit these documents and make them stronger and up-to-date.

Identity curation is the process of thinking rhetorically about what kinds of information you make publicly available. A personal website on which you highlight your personal successes for prospective employers is a classic example, but these days you are probably aware that even your Facebook and Instagram sites need to be carefully curated with privacy filters so that only specific messages reach the intended audiences.

Visual rhetoric is extremely important in strong resumes and cover letters. It’s a delicate balance–you don’t want to go overboard with an artsy approach, but you don’t want to just stay with boring Times New Roman either (unless you’re writing to a specific business community in a particular field). You need to fill up the white space of the page fairly evenly, but you don’t want to include so much text that the page looks like a block of grey at a glance. Your text needs to be easy-to-read and include enough visual cues (italics, underlining, or boldface) in sparing amounts to draw the reader’s eye (hint: use one of these visual cues at a time, not more). But what’s the right mix for you? Fortunately, the internet abounds with examples from which to choose from.

Part 1 of this entry:

• POST a link to an electronic example of a resume. There are several ways to find this. Two ideas are: you can run a Google image search using the keywords “resume examples” and go from there, or you can find an online resume or CV for an individual through a specific website personal or company website.
• EVALUATE the resume that you found. Be honest and fair, and identify specific elements in the resume that shape your thinking.
• DISCUSS the effectiveness of the resume in communicating what you perceive to be the goal of the text
• SPECULATE about how white spaces/text and other tenets of visual rhetoric impact the resume
• CONNECT this resume to the larger sociocultural context–what is the intended audience? Does this example reveal anything about the way our society values this kind of writing?

Part 2 of this entry:

• What are you listening to as you are writing your blog post? Or, what kinds of music do you like to listen to when you study? Post the link to the song, or provide an example. (If you’re a person who normally doesn’t listen to music when doing these kinds of tasks, humor us– think of a genre of music that you could listen to in this case.)
• Why do you think this music is conducive (or perhaps distracting) while you do work? Why do you choose to listen to it?

Have fun!

Live performances! (Blog Entry 10)

Blog Entry 10

Live performances

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This music blog entry is dedicated to live musical performances! Can you feel the excitement?

Unlike music videos or film, which are edited, live performances take place in real time: they provide experiences for the audience. There are many kinds of live performances, as we’ve touched on in the content of our course and your assignment this week, but in general: we can assume that the performer has a specific purpose in performing and will behave accordingly to produce an intended effect on the audience. Your goal: pick a YouTube clip from a live performance (which cannot possibly capture the real experience, but try to go with it) and analyze the relationship between the artist and the audience. Is the live performance effective in creating an intended experience for the audience? How does the filmed version of this live performance aid or dampen our ability to appreciate the recorded live performance?

As we’ve been doing this week, continue to use your skills of visual rhetorical analysis! Critically engage with all of the details of the live performance (colors, clothing, setting, body language/facial expression, lighting, sound quality, improvisation, juxtaposition, set “flow” etc.) to evaluate the performance’s effectiveness. Remember to consider the audience and context of the performance in your analysis.

Chose wisely and, and as with all of your writing, make this posting analytically rich! In commenting on 3 of your peers’ posts, enjoy engaging in conversation with them!

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“Dream On” -Blog Entry 10

Aerosmith

“Dream On”

Live in Rio, 1994

I chose to write about this video of a live performance, because it is one of the few one’s that I have actually seen and enjoyed on YouTube. I think that this is a good video of a live performance for a number of reasons. First of all, the video has clearly been edited, and was not taken by an amateur on a cell phone or camera. Thank god it was the nineties and not everyone had their iPhones in the air quite yet. This video does a good job at capturing what it would be like to actually be in the audience at this time. You can tell that this was probably performed near the end of their set (like popular songs usually are) because of how exhausted the band looks. They are all still maintaining good stage presence, but they are soaked in sweat. Watching this video and seeing Steven Tyler shirtless and soaked in sweat is also an indicator that this concert was probably a hot one. It allows the viewer (of the video) to put themselves in the shoes of the crowd and almost to feel like you are at the concert rather than in the comfort of your own home. I think that Aerosmith is a good live-performance band, and I think that no video could ever capture what it is actually like in real person, but I think that this video does a decent job of capturing them on stage.

One of the aspects of live performances that is lost when they are filmed is the sound quality. Music venues are generally designed to have great sound, and that isn’t something that is easy to capture on a camera. That is certainly one part of this video that is lacking, and cannot be made up for. I think, however, that you can still see a strong connection between the band and the audience in this recorded live performance. The second that the music starts, and the crowd recognizes what song is playing, they erupt in excitement. Throughout the video, you can also hear the crowd singing the words along with the band which is an indication of a strong connection between the band and the audience. I hope you all enjoy this video!

-Lauren

The visual rhetoric of music in film (Blog Post 9)

Blog Entry 9

The visual rhetoric of music in film

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This music blog entry is dedicated to music in film. It’s not as simple as it might appear on the surface…

Unlike music videos, which use visuals to promote music, soundtracks use music to promote film. We must assume that the music included in the film was employed to serve a specific purpose and have an intended effect on the audience. Your goal: pick a scene from a film and analyze the music in the scene. Is the music effective in adding to the overall narrative project of the film?

As an extension of our content this week, continue to use your skills of visual rhetorical analysis! Critically engage with all of the directorial/artistic choices of the film (colors, clothing, setting, characters, lighting, texture, film editing, juxtaposition) to evaluate this scene’s purpose within the larger narrative. Remember, most films contain hours of deleted footage, so if it’s in the film, it’s due to the conscious choice of the director and editor. From there, consider the audience and context of the film as a larger artistic artifact. In what way does the music impact, enhance, or perhaps detract from, the overall purpose of this particular scene? How does this song relate to the larger film as a whole? How does this music reinforce or perhaps challenge genre norms, either within the film or our society? How does the music engage with the viewer’s emotions?

Chose wisely and, and as with all of your writing, make this posting analytically rich! Then, be sure to comment on 3 of your peers’ posts and keep the conversation going.

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Blog Entry 9

Pulp Fiction

“Girl, You’ll Be A Woman”

In order to understand what is happening in the scene, a few things are important to understand. Mia Wallace (played by Uma Thurman) and Vincent Vega (John Travolta) are out together because Mia’s husband is out of town and asked Vinny to escort her out for the night. Earlier in the film Vinny purchases heroin, which is what Mia finds in his coat pocket (she is borrowing his coat). Mia mistakes the heroin for cocaine, and overdoses in this scene. So, Vinny is in the bathroom experiencing an internal debate, because he is interested in Mia, but she is married.

BUT back to the scene. The colors in the scene are fairly starkly contrasted, but they are plain colors. Mia’s black hair, and the white sofas and walls in the living room are juxtaposed beautifully. Then, in the bathroom where Vinny is, the green wall stands out. The filming of these scene I think is incredible for a number of reasons. First and foremost, I think that the moments that Mia dances behind the wall and the camera does not attempt to follow her are really incredible. I also think that the sound in this scene is incredibly important. The volume in the living room where Mia is is very loud, and Tarantino captures the muffled sound of the song from the bathroom where Vinny is debating his next move. The scene itself is also incredible in that it is almost like two coinciding monologues. Mia is letting loose, and preparing to do drugs, while Vinny is in the bathroom debating the moral consequences of making a move on someone else’s wife. This movie, along with many of Tarantino’s films, has a lot of monologues in it, which is a very interesting stylistic choice on his part.

The song playing in this scene, which Mia importantly chooses herself, is “Girl You’ll Be A Woman Soon”. This song was originally written by Neil Diamond, but the version played here is by a band called Urge Overkill (not a very popular group). The fact that Mia is the one who puts this song on, in my opinion, is monumental in the effectiveness of the music in this scene. The music is not just playing without any reason in the background, but is actually chosen by a character. I also think that the song and Mia’s dancing and singing along are really telling of the character in the movie. I think that the music impacts this scene in a really positive way. Not only is the song almost chilling, given the fact that at the end of the scene Mia overdoses, and appears dead. Spoiler alert: she doesn’t die here, but it sure looks like she does. It is almost as if the lyrics “girl you’ll be a woman soon” are less about a girl maturing and more about Mia dying.

This scene received a lot of attention, and Neil Diamond supposedly didn’t want his song in this film because the film is so violent. However, the scene helped the band Urge Overkill to gain popularity, and also helped Diamond’s song to experience somewhat of a comeback. I think that using an unoriginal version of this song challenges what a lot of movies tend to do. It seems as if it is almost a testament to the kind of characters that are in this film– they are characters who would not have Neil Diamond’s record in their home, but instead a cover of the original record by a much “harder” band.

I think that this song, although it is a sweet song, in this context has a rather chilling quality in the context of this scene. I think that Tarantino always does an excellent job of producing some kind of a disturbing quality in his movies that leaves the audience feeling unsettled in some way, and I think that this scene is a really good example of that. I hope you guys enjoy this scene, and watch the movie if you haven’t seen it!

Homage to the music video (Blog Entry 8)

Blog Entry 8

Music video!

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This music blog entry is dedicated to….. *dum dum dum*…. the music video!!!

Pick a music video (made by the artist, intended to accompany the song) and evaluate the effectiveness of the video in relationship to the song. We must assume that, given the nature of music video as a type of genre in and of itself, that the goal of any given music video is to promote the music attached to it (in sales, popularity of the artist and/or label, etc.).

“Evaluate the effectiveness” means: use your skills of visual rhetoric analysis! Critically engage with all of the directorial/artistic choices of the video (colors, clothing, setting, characters, lighting, texture, film editing, juxtaposition) to evaluate the video’s purpose, audience and context. Is there a narrative in the video, or do the images not “build” in any logical way? Are there multiple story lines at work, or just one cohesive visual without multiple cuts? Is the video intending to “sell” anything: a concept, a product, a genre? Or just the likability or personal image of the artist (as in a video that mainly relies on a visual performance of the song)?

Chose wisely and find a way to make this posting analytically rich… after all, a lot has happened since “Video Killed the Radio Star.”  😉

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Homemade Jar, Lemon Drop, Take A Sip

I chose to write about another song by Florida Georgia Line, “Get Your Shine On”. Florida Georgia Line is a new and more modern band in the country music industry. Their popularity has been skyrocketing and they have received many awards for their music. “Get Your Shine On” is my favorite song by Florida Georgia Line. I saw them in concert back and June and the crowd went absolutely wild for them. They gave a great performance, giving country a little bit of edge. I’ve been playing this song on repeat, listening to it on the beach in Mexico. This is relatable right now.

In relation to the person who originally posted about this artist, I would have to agree that Florida Georgia Line is a great band that is a little more pop country than what most would consider to be country.

“Get Your Shine On”, as well as most of Florida Georgia Line’s other songs, is fun and catchy. It has a steady beat and exudes a feeling free of worries. My favorite lyrics in the song are “homemade jar, lemon drop, take a sip. Don’t stop girl you know I love it when you get your shine on”. It’s not so much that I like the interpretation of these lyrics, getting a little bit tipsy, but I like the way in which they are sung. The voice of Florida Georgia Line is unique with a little country twang to it.

I’ve listened to this song quite often, but I had never seen the music video until today; it’s actually quite funny too watch, I wasn’t expecting the two midgets dressing up like super heroes. Besides that, this is your typical country song about a boy and girl falling in love. All around this is just a feel-good, summertime song.

Curiosity Enlightened the Cat

I chose the song “Safe & Sound” by Taylor Swift featuring The Civil Wars. The song originally posted was “Blank Space” by Taylor Swift for the guilty pleasure blog. I chose this song because I am not usually a huge fan of hers. I find most of her songs (at least recently) to sound almost identical to one another. I would agree with Lauren that she “sold out” on her country roots for a more pop style. I would also agree, however, that her songs are easy to sing along with. Lauren had mentioned in her original post that she found Taylor’s voice to be average and her lyrics dull. With most of her music I would agree, but this song highlights a much better side of hers.

The whole reason that I chose this particular song of hers is because it sounds completely different than her typical songs, straying more toward The Civil Wars’ folky sound. Taylor’s music is usually much more upbeat and features a more sassy timbre to her voice. They also feature infectious tempos created by the drums and guitar. In this song, on the other hand, her voice has this airy, melodic timbre that lulls me into a sense of contentment. John Paul White’s acoustic guitar creates this gentle rhythm that complements her voice and carries you through the song. The back up vocals from Joy Williams give this hauntingly beautiful feeling to the song. The lyrics feel sincere and protective like something a mother or older sister would sing to a child during times of war and hardship. (It was featured in The Hunger Games for just this reason I imagine).

Taylor’s catchy melodies and upbeat tempos lend her to be liked by a large audience, particularly young girls. Her music may not be enjoyed as much by those seeking more lyrical quality or people who are really into country music because they might feel that she “sold out.” This song, on the other hand, lends itself to those who enjoy a slower more folky sound. If you enjoy acoustic guitar and airy vocals then I would highly recommend this song. Some people may not like it because of its lullaby-esque timbre, but that is precisely what draws me in.