A Commentary On

Commentary
David Tandetnik, Justin Rockmore, Neil Resnik, Ryan Kloiber, Siddhant Keshwani

Definition and Use

No specific definition
Generalizations more appropriate
Make a work more accessible and bring readers
closer to the topic (Smith)
Appropriate for virtually every genre
Can you guess which one it doesnt work with?

Format
Format has general form (Commentary-Writing Guidelines):
Introduction and Context
Analysis of Structure, Form, Style
Conclusion
Again, varies immensely
Op-eds, blog posts, tweets, books...

Examples - 80s Political Cartoon

"Speak softly and carry a big stick"
Iran-Contra scandals
Important/notable quotations by previous presidents

Illustrates Ronald Reagans lack of understanding of

both policies and people whom he had put into
play

Herblock's History -"Speak softly and carry a big stick," December 21, 1986. Published in the Washington Post

Example - 80s Political Cartoon

Our bags are packed"
Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and the Star Wars
program

Ludicrous nature of the Star Wars program; Weinberger

(taking inspiration from Dumbo, Mary Poppins,
Superman, and Peter Pan) is about to take flight

The toilet seat represents a further commentary on

Weinbergers craziness

Herblock's History -"Our bags are packed"--Weinberger on Star Wars program, January 25, 1987.
Published in the Washington Post

Fun Activity Video

While watching the first minute of

this video consider the
following:

What do you think Jimmy and

Christian (of
LifeAccordingToJimmy) are
commenting on?

Whats the nature of their

commentary?

Who is their intended audience?

What is their exigency?

-Stop video at 1:04

LifeAccordingToJimmy

Fun Activity - Video

Commenting On:
Social experiments and the
ludicrous nature of the
genre

Nature of Commentary:
Sarcastic
Negative

Intended Audience:
Those who watch social
experiments

Exigency:

Differences Between Commentary and

Summary
A commentary does not report the content, but expresses a way to
make sense of the content. (Trimbur)
The focus of commentary is not on the text itself, but analysis and
interpretation of the text. (Trimbur)
Commentaries have a multi faceted nature, there are many ways to
comment such providing opinion, interpretation, personal reaction,
evaluation, etc.
Summaries on the other hand are one-dimensional in nature, they
are just a brief account of any piece of work.

Summary vs. Commentary

Summary

Summary simply briefs

the story of the film.
Commenta
ry

Commentary explains
what aspects of the
film made it an
interesting/effective
storytelling medium.

Thumb-rules for Creating Brilliant

Commentaries
#1
USE ELEMENTS THAT
MAKE A COMMENTARY, A COMMENTARY.
Provide your valuable opinion.
Eg. Interstellar is perhaps the most ambitious and mindthrobbing piece of work of film-maker Christopher Nolan.
"The film has a lack of flow, loss of momentum following the
climax, clumsy sound mixing," and "thin characters".
(Mendelson)

Thumb-rules for Creating Brilliant

Commentaries
#2
Provide an interpretation.
Eg: THE END OF EARTH WILL NOT BE THE END OF US, On a deeper
level, Interstellar serves as a reminder of Earths future, and to
a certain extent gives hope that mankind will not cease to exist.

Eg: Interstellars angelic soundtrack coupled with the

breathtaking scenery and multi-layered plot will put your mind
in race-mode and fill your body with adrenaline!

Thumb-rules for Creating Brilliant

Commentaries
#3 Evaluate. A lot.

SummarisA
e.
little.of a commentary is essentially to offer an
The purpose
explanation; not to explain the what, but to explain the
why.
One cannot explain why 2+2 = X unless they explain that
2+2 = 4.
But after summarizing, form ideas and keep talking about them!
Evaluate!

Bonus Tip!
Throw in your personal reaction!

Eg: After watching Interstellar, I felt like I just

wrote my final high school examination. As
usual, I failed. I had to take 2 resits to finally
understand the film.

Did You Pay Any Attention to Me?

Another fun activity.
Watch the following video.
First Summarise it.
Then Comment it.
Explain the difference.

LIFE EXPLAINED IN 27 SECONDS

Types of Commentary
Directive

Philological Commentary
Legal Commentary
Public Commentary
Second-Order Commentary

Facilitative

Private Commentary
Self-Commentary

Directive Commentary - Example

Here is an example of directive commentary on an essay about
affirmative action:

Your essay does not take a clear or

coherent position on affirmative action.
Instead, you digress to a discussion of
merit and how to measure it. You need
to make the point that affirmative action
undermines the idea of success based
on merit - if, indeed, this is your belief.

Facilitative Commentary - Example

Here is an example of facilitative commentary on the same essay:

Your essay raises some provocative questions

about college admission standards. However, the
course assignment asked you to deal explicitly with
affirmative action and its controversial role in the
admissions process. How are some of the issues you
raise - such as GPA and the availability of professors
during office hours - relevant to the affirmative
action issue? Is your paper a consideration of merit?
A critique of admissions' prejudices? What argument
are you presenting here?

Questions/Techniques to Consider
What information is essential in the material?
Who is likely to read this commentary?
What is the best way to deliver information to them?

What effect will this commentary have on the readers?

What does this commentary add to the original material?

(Jull)

Excerpts from Remember when Public

Spaces Didnt Carry Brand Names?
Consider the public schools, some of which are
flooded with advertising for merchandise and
fast food (Liu).
Buses in Boston and other cities...have been
turned into rolling billboards (Liu).
Public Ad Campaign

We come to believe that without our brands, or without the

right brands, we are literally no-names (Liu).

Fun Activity - Your Turn!

You just read an article that argues that Bingo Nights should be banned
all across the country!
Write a short commentary from the perspective of a furious old man who loves
his Bingo Nights and thinks this is a terrible idea
Hint: What tone would the commentary have? Whats the persona? Exigency?

Be prepared to share with everyone!

Bingo Quotes and Funnies

Homework
Look back at the commentary you wrote for
homework
After listening to this presentation
Would you change anything?
Did you make any mistakes?
What was your commentarys strengths?

Citations
"Bingo Quotes & Funnies."Pinterest. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
"Commentary Techniques." Richmond.edu. University of Richmond, n.d.
Web. 06 Oct. 2016.
"Commentary-Writing Guidelines." Bristol University. N.p., 03 Dec. 2015.
Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
"Directive Commentary." Richmond.edu. University of Richmond, n.d. Web.
12 Oct. 2016.
"Facilitative Commentary." Richmond.edu. University of Richmond, n.d. Web.
12 Oct. 2016.
"Herblock's History - Political Cartoons from the Crash to the Millennium
Invasion of the Corporate Body Snatchers." N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.

Citations cont.
Jull, Andrew. "How to Write a Commentary-an Editor's Perspective." Ovid. Wolters
Kluwer, n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
LifeAccordingToJimmy. "Balcony Conversations - DMs." YouTube. YouTube, 15 Feb. 2016.
Web. 12 Oct. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9k0R9RUuXQ>.
Liu, Eric. Remember When Public Spaces DIdnt Carry Brand Names? USA Today,
March 25, 1999.
Smith, Barry. "Textual Deference: The Role of Commentaries." Textual Deference: The
Role of Commentaries. American Philosophical Quarterly, n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2016.
"Speak softly and carry a big stick," December 21, 1986. Ink, crayon, porous point pen,
opaque white, and overlay over blue pencil underdrawing on paper. Published in the
Washington Post (100)
Trimbur, John. The Call to Write. Sixth ed. Cengage, 2013. Print.

Citations cont.
Life Explained in 27 Seconds. Dir. Casey Niestat. YouTube, 8 Apr. 2015. Web. 18 Oct.
2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9VBpbnXhWk>.
Nolan, Christopher, and Jonathan Nolan. "Interstellar." Rotten Tomatoes, 08 Mar. 2013.
Web. 18 Oct. 2016. <https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/interstellar_2014/>.
"Interstellar (2014)." IMDb. IMDb.com. Web. 18 Oct. 2016. <
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0816692/>.
Mendelson, Scott. "Review: 'Interstellar' Gets Lost In Space." Forbes. Forbes Magazine,
27 Oct. 2014. Web. 18 Oct. 2016. <
http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2014/10/27/review-interstellar-gets-lost-i
n-space/#2e551502deb6
>.