Amazon Kindle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj5Jr0QWNMA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYUVpjrzvXc

For my artifact, I chose the amazon kindle commercial series. It is a commercial that shows a girl with a book, living out the stories she reads. Annie Little is the actress in the clip, and the song is hers titled "Fly Me Away". Stop-motion photography was the medium used to create this unique commercial. While you watch the commercial, a fantasy is lived or dreamed.
The lyrics selected for the 30 second clip are an essential part in the artifact. "Silver moons and paper dreams, faded maps and shiny things, you're my favorite one man show, a million different ways to go. Fly me away, take me away with you my love." The second commercial is very similar, and I will use it for more information. Amazon Kindle is using the images and words to convince the audience to use Amazon Kindle. I am really excited to write about this artifact and apply the fantasy theme criticism.

Amelie film review

Amelie is a French film based on a girl who changes the lives around her in a very interesting way. Set in the northern suburbs of Paris, the setting is perfect and beautiful. To analyze this film, I will be using Ideological criticism. This method is appropriate because Amelie is not like most other French girls, she is unique. The only time her father played or touched her was for her monthly check-ups. This contact was so thrilling for Amelie, her heart raced, which made her father believe she had a heart problem. They pulled her out of school and her mother homeschooled her. Her mother was killed when Amelie was young by someone jumping off a building and landing on her. Her father was devastated; he spent most of his time tending to his shrine he made for his wife.
Amelie moved out as a young adult and started her life. Along the way of helping others in their lives, she finds love. She convinces her father that his garden gnome is traveling the world by sending her father postcards. This act alone helps her father get out of his house and travel himself. Another instance, she sees that the boss at the fruit and vegetable stand is mean and rude to his assistant. The assistant only has one arm, but is very efficient and polite to customers. Customers love him and always give the boss a mean look when he insults the one armed boy. Amelie dislikes the boss for this and gets him back. She goes into his apartment and switches everything around causing to have a horrible morning and question himself.
Ideologically, Amelie is a person who helps others around her not thinking of herself. In the end, when she is curious about a man at a subway, it leads to love. This was a very good film to watch and analyze ideologically. This method of criticism helped in identifying Amelie’s goals. She believes that she should help the people around her and that is her focus.


This is a scene from the film:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sECzJY07oK4

John Locke in Lost "LAX"

Artifact: episode of LOST titled "LAX."

• premiere episode for the fourth and final season of LOST
  
• focus on the character John Locke

Reasons for choosing the artifact:

• favorite show
• very suspenseful
• John Locke's character is very interesting

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTIfUGtQeVc

Pendatic Criticism Five elements of John Locke:

• Act: Fulfilling his destiny to the island.

• Agent: The Black Smoke.

• Agency: Attempts to gain control of the people of the island.

• Purpose: To inform the audience of if exploding a bomb would send them home from the island or not. Is John Locke really dead?

• Scene: An island somewhere in the South Pacific. -any questions you might like to direct at the instructor or your peers

Pendatic Criticism of my artifact

My artifact is an episode of LOST titled "LAX." This episode is the premiere episode for the fourth and final season of LOST. I will focus on the character John Locke.

Five elements:

Act: Fulfilling his destiny to the island.

Agent: The Black Smoke.

Agency: Attempts to gain control of the people of the island.

Purpose: To inform the audience of if exploding a bomb would send them home from the island or not. Is John Locke really dead?

Scene: An island somewhere in the South Pacific.

Ratios:

Purpose-Act was the ratio that best describe the actions of John Locke. He first tries to figure out his purpose or destiny, then acts on it.

Lost "LAX"

My artifact challenges theories, beliefs, and status. The television show LOST, on ABC is about a group of travelers who were flying from Sydney to Los Angeles on a commercial plane that crashes on a tropical island somewhere in the South Pacific. Each character is unique and the storyline covers each characters past experiences. The island is very mysterious and holds both wonders and dangers. For my artifact, I chose to review the episode “ LA X.”

This episode is the premiere for the sixth and final season of the show. It gives the audience an update of what has happened and jumps right into the drama happening since the last episode. “LA X” delivers important information that the audience was looking for but also leaves viewers asking more questions. John Locke is the star of this episode because his role seems to have shifted to a very high position. Viewers believe that he has taken Jacob’s spot, or at least challenged it. On the island some people are followers while others are leaders.

It is interesting that each character that plays a role of “con artist, doctor, or of the general good,” played that character in their real life outside the island. John Locke never questions his actions, he commits to them. Ben seems scared of what Locke has become and sits blank and silent when shown the dead body of John, knowing he just saw John alive an well moments ago. My artifact gives the viewers a glimpse of what the season will be like, which is that it is going to be a very drama and action packed end to an unbelievable show.

Ideological Criticism

(According to Sonja Foss) An ideology is a pattern of beliefs that determines a group's interpretations of some aspect(s) of the world.

The primary components of an ideology are evaluative beliefs- beliefs about which there are possible alternative judgments.

3 Artifacts

For my first artifact, I chose the show Lost, on ABC. Each episode is exciting and challenges each characters ideals and beliefs.



Second, I chose an Andy Warhol piece of artwork titled "Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom from the Reigning Queens Edition." This silkscreen challenges normal images created at that time period and I plan to further examine this image.


Third, I chose the French film Amelie. The movie is about a naive girl who decides to help others around her, but in unique ways. During her journey, she discovers love.

Neo-Aristotelian Criticism

Neo-Aristotelian criticism is the first formal method of rhetorical criticism developed in the communication field. It is considered the traditional method of criticism.

There are three basic steps in analyzing the artifact (according to Sonja Foss):
1. "reconstructing the context in which the artifact occurred"
2. "application of the five canons to the artifact"
3. "assessing the impact of the artifact on the audience"

Sonja Foss says:
The five canons of rhetoric are:
1. "Invention- the location and creation of ideas and material for the speech"
2. "Organization- the structure or arrangement of the speech"
3. "Style- the language of the speech"
4. "Memory- mastery of the subject matter, which may include the actual memorizing of the speech"
5. "Delivery- management of the voice and gestures in the presentation of the speech"

A little about me

Ello!

My name is Ashleigh Fischer and I am a student at Old Dominion University studying Communications and Marketing.

I am originally from England but have lived in Yorktown most of my life.

"live laugh love" is my favorite quote.

I enjoy listening to music, playing soccer, snowboarding, rock climbing, and anything fun.

The purpose of this blog is to use rhetorical criticism as an approach in further understanding artifacts such as songs, acts, or events.