WRITING

ABOUT
POPULAR
CULTURE
Escrito III
 01

ANALYSIS
 A microscope takes something small and makes it bigger. In much
the same way, you might take a portion of a text, examine it closely,
and reveal some larger truths. One might examine a particular image,
such as Lady Gaga’s clothes or Lisa Simpson’s pearls and write
about how they represent a particular value. Or you could write about
feminism in Beyoncé videos. Either way, these essays require close
attention to detail.

—SOLOMON, J. & MAASIK, S. (2012)

EVERYTHING IS
AN ARGUMENT
In a sense, each text has an argument and
narrative that invites interpretation, whether
it is a movie, an advertisement, or a
building.
 LET’S
PRACTICE
PURPOSE
The Coca Cola Company has
strategically chosen several
communicative elements with the
hopes of persuading you to buy their
product.
 THE STRATEGY
The rhetorical devices chosen include their logo, a
couple different fonts, Taylor Swift (including the
clothes she’s wearing and the position in which Swift
is placed), a catch, the concept of lyric writing, the
colors red, black, gray, and white; etc.

The rhetorical elements collectively communicate a

message to intended audiences. The rhetorical
elements may communicate “Coke is sexy” or “Coke
is good for creativity” or “Coke protects your body
image,” or “Coke is endorsed by famous people, so
you should love it, too.”
(http://thevisualcommunicationguy.com)
 TO REMEMBER
UNDERSTANDING
What is a simple, literal description of your
subject? You need to make sure you
understand this before looking for “deeper
meanings”.
COMPARING
Compare your subject to similar ones. Try to
find common characteristics of the genre. Ask
question thinking through different lenses to
unveil possible layers of meaning.
 02

RHETORICS
& WRITING
 RHETORICS

ETHOS:
01 The credibility that a
speaker or writer brings to

PATHOS
the subject they discuss.

02 The use of emotion in

LOGOS
03
debate or argument.
The appeal to reason, to
the forcefulness of a well-
thought out and well-
structured position.
 Here is where reading and writing
intersect, because learning to identify
rhetoric in cultural and visual texts
better enables you to use rhetoric in
your papers. In fact, writing is itself an
important component of interpretation.
 READING

WRITING THINKING
WRITING
Writing about the world as a text may not
only facilitate writing and thinking but also
writing and feeling. Stephen King, Franz
Kafka, Emily Dickinson, and dozens of
other writers turned and continue to turn to
writing because it helps them get a handle
on the world. In part, writing means
sharing, participating in a community of
language and ideas. We learn about others
and ourselves through writing because
writing is simultaneously self-exploration
and self-examination.
WHEN WE WRITE,
we see ourselves in a larger context. Of
course, we may not always like what we
discover (perhaps traces of sexism or
racism or classism) but uncovering those
elements of our personality and
understanding them is a rewarding
experience. Writing that is honest, candid,
and reflective attracts us, because those
are traits we value.
 03

STRATEGIES
METAPHOR!
Metaphor remains one of the most
popular approaches to any text. A
metaphor is a part of a narrative or
text that can be taken for the whole
of the text itself or as a small
indicator of a larger trend.
 EXAMPLES OF METAPHOR
REALITY SHOWS GRUNGE MUSIC
01 A culture’s lack of interest in
story in favour of spectacle, or for
02 Generation X’s need for
controlled catharsis.
the postmodern world we live in
(everything is edited, everything
is performance).

LOST THE HANGOVER

03 The sense of directionlessness 04 Waking up in a post 9-11
and entrapment felt by young world in which nothing makes
people in the new millennium. sense.
 CONTEXT!
To place something in context means in
essence to put something in perspective,
often through comparison. Typically, we
think of context in historical or temporal
terms, but context could also mean
comparing, for example, all baseball
stadiums in terms of their playability,
seating, and vistas. It can also refer to
genre—the kind of text it is.
 EXAMPLES OF CONTEXT
CITIZEN KANE THE BIG BANG THEORY
01 is more meaningful when
knowing a bit about William
02 could be put into any number of
contexts: sitcoms, comedies
Randolph Hearst and the that featured science, the 2010s
newspaper business in the generally, and so on.
1920s, 1930s, and 1940s.
THE ADVENTURES OF
METALLICA HUCKLEBERRY FINN
03 It would be most fruitful to 04 The historical situation of the Old
place Metallica alongside Iron
South, slavery, and black/white
Maiden, Nirvana, or Black
relations.
Sabbath (not Celine Dion).
RACE, CLASS
GENDER!
People often write from the larger
perspective of these groups, which have
been historically discriminated against.
Our perceptions can be influenced by a
number of factors, including
stereotypes, tradition, popular culture, and
family.