Arianne Saucedo

3/1/23

Loptako

WRIT 2

Influence of the Big Screen

The consumption of media has become a routine norm in society, from waking up beside

a telephone, scrolling feeds to pass time, or submerging yourself into films as an escape from the

real world. Women of all ages gather around to watch romance films that toss conventional

storylines out the window to present you with something that leaves you demanding more.

I translated the academic journal, Movies, gender, and social change: the Hollywood romance

film by James Dowd, Arialle K. Crabtree, and Bryan C. Cannon into a reputable lifestyle

magazine article that reveals the truths of the film industry that details gender stereotypes in the

big screen and their reflection of society. For the sake of reaching a new audience of women

interested in fashion and media, I utilized the genre of a magazine article to put the academic

article into a new perspective to inform them entertainingly.

The journal deeply analyzes apparent storylines that seem to encapsulate the normative

definition of femininity and masculinity. It claims that romance films have become the reflection

of harmful aspects of society. This new lens of a magazine will allow me to connect with the new

audience of a wider range of women as they are the main consumers of romance films. My

choice of translating the journal article into a magazine was made as audiences for romance films

mimic those who go out of their way to read magazines. I felt as though they are the general

population most affected by the negative perceptions in the film industry. This is apparent as

stated in the article, “The problem with imagining ways in which Hollywood films might
influence progressive social change through positive depictions of women and racial or religious

minorities may have to do with the difficulty in scripting positive, non-trivial, and realistic

characters” (Dowd, et al. 10). This quote shows the strong influence films have on the general

population’s thinking. This is the direction I went in as they would have the most familiarity with

romance films than academic scholars. While the academic article focuses on feminist and film

theories which wouldn’t be common knowledge to the majority of women. In the translation,

having first-hand experience reading magazine articles allowed me to comprehensively relay

information to the new audience by withholding scholarly language and incorporating more

personable aspects.

Magazines are a source of entertainment that also inform the average reader. It has been a

source of reputable writing for decades, overcoming both online and in-person markets. The

structure of magazines with attention-grabbing titles, colorful images, and thought-provoking

articles ranges from topics to reach a wide array of readers. Most seem to vary in physical

appearance but ultimately obtain the same results. On the idea of genre structures, stated in

Navigating Genres Kerry Dirk states: “‘True, genres often have formulaic features, but these

features can change even as the nature of the genre remains’...consider here is that if mastering a

form was simply a matter of plugging in content, we would all be capable of successfully writing

anything when we are given formula. By now you likely know that writing is not that easy''

(253). While keeping this in mind when mimicking the well-known luxury magazine brand

Vogue which fully encapsulates professional methods of communication. I wanted to pick a

reputable line of magazines that had an established composition to give my work more

credibility as a magazine article. I tried to fully adhere to the “rules” of a magazine while trying

to incorporate my interpretation of how an academic article would look as a magazine. The

appearance of my translation entails the writing elements of a legitimate magazine and the

structure of one but I tried to incorporate more color and push the boundaries of the overused

minimalist style.

The translation process of the magazine started at a halt as there were so many templates

and graphic ideas which felt very overwhelming to an amateur. Actively referring to an example

from The New York Times on romance films reminded me that simplicity is key but that I

shouldn't be afraid to include my ideas. Breaking down the formation of a magazine article

which consists of a neutral color palette, blocked sums of texts and photographs. With this in

mind, I started to decide on the essential information to be included. I contemplated the approach

I wanted to take for my magazine article as the rhetorical situation differs from the original

academic journal. Listed ways to go about this are disclosed in the work of Laura Carroll she

writes: “Aristotle articulated three “artistic appeals” that a rhetor could draw on to make a

case—logos, pathos, and ethos” (52). The academic article utilized the appeal of logos through

the use of logical analysis and supporting evidence through scholarly concepts. On the other

hand, magazines use a mixture of art appeals to build a relationship of credibility with readers to

have a more beneficial persuasion. Upon learning these appeals I took this opportunity to open

with a relatable anecdote to get readers interested in the work that is to come. In my translation, I

inserted photos and pops of colors to be both pleasing to the eye and add to the whole story.

Additionally, magazine articles tend to include large quotes in color but I decided against the

distracting element as it would steer away from the overall look of the article.

To bridge the two mediums together I shifted the work of the scholars to be more

engaging while urging for change. To do this I focused on the four major films that analyzed

stereotypes more closely as it would be easier to digest for readers. Going through specific
examples and pointing out how dangerous the plotlines are for viewers. While ending with a call

to action and providing alternative films to the harmful ones detailed. Having no experience in

the informal writing style that magazines have, I was challenged on how to approach the work.

As I struggled with overthinking my work, I restarted the article multiple times as I felt it didn’t

fit into the mold of a magazine. I found myself sitting in front of my work unable to find a way

to go about putting words on the page. Lamott shares her own experience dealing with this in her

piece as she says: “Quieting these voices is at least half the battle I fight daily…[l]eft to its own

devices, my mind spends much of its time having conversations with people who aren’t there”

(26). To combat this I went through the first order thinking of putting all my ideas on the page

instead of waiting for the “perfect” one to come. Stripping the pressure and expectations of this

assignment allowed my mind to create work free of limitations.

This translation of the article, Movies, gender, and social change: the Hollywood

romance film into a magazine article allowed the spread of information to a wider audience.

Using a popular magazine line allowed this information to be communicated to the general

public of women so they can easily understand how romance movies support outdated views of

relationships. Overall, the translation of genres furthered my thinking about effective writing to

get my point across better to the audience. Through this genre translation process, I’ve come to

understand the power of words and how word choices affect the way readers digest writing. The

more experience I gain in writing in different genres will make approaching other works easier. It

has opened my eyes to further contemplate my writing choices in other classes as the assignment

depends on more than the prompt at hand. Being deliberate in your intent will have your work

come across to anyone. The skills learned from this project will be used frequently in other

ventures outside of the academic sphere.

 Works Cited

Carroll, Laura. “Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps Towards Rhetorical Analysis.” Writing Spaces:
Readings on Writing, vol. 1, edited by Charley Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky, 2010, pp.
45-58.

Dirk, Kerry. “Navigating Genres.” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, vol. 1, edited
by Charley Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky, 2010, pp. 249-262.

Dowd, James, et al. Movies, gender, and social change: the Hollywood romance film Journal
of Gender Studies, vol. 32, issue 2, 2021, pp. 1-15.

Lamott, Anne. “Shitty First Drafts” Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, 1994,
pp. 21-27.