Week3_1/29/2015_Kung Fu Continues

Observing the list of newly released movies on IMDb, I came across the third in a trilogy of movies concerning fictional animal characters and their use of martial arts, Kung Fu Panda 3. As an avid viewer of the first film in this trilogy, I was interested to see how the direction of this story had progressed. Though trilogy movies tend to lack strong progression, and often lose authenticity once multiple films are made, this installment seemed to garner a lot of attention and strong reviews, perhaps due to its rhetorical approach. In this world riddled with supernatural evil, the ancient martial art of Kung fu is the greatest weapon, utilized by Po, the panda, and his powerful animal comrades. In this film, Po begins his journey from student to teacher, in order to train a group of pandas to help him defeat the powerful enemy warrior, Kai.

One of the most effective ways that this movie can appeal to its audience is by knowing and understanding them. This can be done even more effectively, because the producers had previous material to draw from in order to understand what worked and did not work with their audience. As is clearly stated in the beginning of the trailer (.02) the main audience that the film is geared towards is children and families that fall under the category of the PG rating. Further, in attempting to know their audience, the trailer uses a well known pop song, Wild Ones by Flo Rida (1:25), in an attempt to not only build a mood of up tempo energy, but to give a familiar relation to pop culture. In continuing this theme of familiarity, the director uses a number of well known actors and actresses to voice the numerous animal characters. Well known names such as Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, among others helps encourage audiences by simple association of a popular name.

The familiarity is not exclusive to the names of actors in this movie's ethical appeal towards its audience. In an effort to draw the crowd, the producers use the main character of Po as a familiar face to associate with. In an appeal to character, the focus is on Po, who is subject to themes of his own character present in the previous installments. Such characteristics as the overwhelming desire to eat often (1:47), and the assertion of Po as the underdog against a seemingly unconquerable opponent (1:27) give an appeal to his known character as an unassuming yet powerful master of Kung fu.
Although, another effort to gain the attention of the audience is apparent in the trailer's pathetic appeal. This film is stated as a children's animated comedy, and asserts that position with a range of jokes with appeal to children and adults alike. Knowing their audience as being primarily children that have seen the previous installments, there are jokes present relating to many individuals' character, such as the sternness of Tigress, the tiger (0:26), and much simpler, childish jokes (0:50, 2:28) about fatness and peeing one's pants. These are clearly in appeal to a much younger audience.
However, jokes even persist in moments that seem serious and intense, (0:20, 1:15).

Of course, this is no Oscar winning masterpiece, or film with intense meaning. However, the trailer reveals a surprisingly effective method of appeal for continuing a series of movies geared towards their audience particularly well. In a time when movies are often remade to no great effect towards their audience, this film seems to do an improved job of appealing to their audience in continuing their unique story. This is done fairly effectively through the use of multiple appeals, some powerful graphics, the familiar voices of popular actors and actresses, along with other methods. Soon we will see whether Po's story continues successfully in using the powers of Kung Fu to defeat great evil.

Week 3_01/ 29/ 2016_The Merc with a Mouth

         One of my all time favorite fictional character is DeadPool, and this Feb 12 will be the signification for this Canadian anti-hero's glory as he finally got himself a stand alone movie. The joys and hypes coming from the fan are immeasurable, including me because so far, the two trailers that had been release seem to be very promising. Out of the two, I will analyzed the red band version of the trailer.
           DeadPool, or Wade Wilsons had been feature in many x-men movie, but he never really be able to shine, or prove to the audience that his potentials are limitless. Fan who've seen that version of DeadPool had been very outraged toward the director knowledge about this anti-superhero. To fix that, the trailer emphasized one of the many characteristic of DeadPool which is the ability to turn everything into a joke. At the beginning of the trailer (0:10), as a cancer patient who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, he said "The cancer is only my liver, lung, and brain. All things I can live without". The first thing that came into the audience mind, especially the long time fan, after hearing that is "Who else would say that but DeadPool?" This joke made it appearance in DeadPool Volume #1, 1997, and had it special place in fan's heart. By referencing the joke into the trailer, the director not only proved himself to possess the knowledge about this characters but also a very effective way of using pathos by awaking the long lost memories the fan had toward DeadPool.
          Dig deeper into the core, this movie starred Ryan Reynolds, as DeadPool. According to Ryan, this character is one of his all time favorite comic superhero. In 2009 when he heard the news that DeadPool will make his  first appearance in X-men: Wolverine's Origin, he immediately sign up for the role, despite all the contract waiting for him. Although his portrait as DeadPool was fantastic, the character story were broken, unreal, the plot was idiotic, and does not follow any canon. Fan, along with Ryan himself went crazy and demand a stand alone movie for DeadPool after the release. Luckily, the DeadPool project start immediately as a respond from the Marvel Studio and Ryan, once again, cast the role of this Canadian killer-clown. But the project was suspended sue to the insufficient funding. In hope of finishing this project, Ryan himself pay for the making of the movie and now, it became a reality. Having Ryan as DeadPool was a brilliant choice, not only that he look exactly like Wade, and his love for DeadPool, but also his determination toward his fan service. This is a very effective way of using both pathos, as the fan can feel the emotions, the love from Ryan, and ethos as Ryan is also a famous actor who had brought DeadPool to life.
          One of the many thing I like about this trailer is the plot twist, which begin immediately right after the cancer joke finished. At (0:15), the screen became dark, haunted background music started playing, narration began with typical superhero clichés such as the scene where the CIA agent make a deal with Wade, saying that he will cure his cancer, and turn him into a superhero. Following that is Wade's girlfriend confronting him, and Wade asking her to be with him during the treatment. As one of the many audience, I myself shake in fear that this movie will, once again, not following the plot and the real characteristic of the main character by turning a funny, anti-superhero, into a more of a Batman kind. But the director surprised us, the merc with the mouth immediately bring up a joke at 0:37, saying "And please don't make the super suit green, or animated" This one is by far the best joke in the entire trailer since this is a reference to the movie Green Lantern, where the superhero was also casted by Ryan. No one ever expected Marvel to "burn" DC Studio that hard by stating one of the many disaster the studio had brought us, making the hero suit animated.
          Not surprisingly that this trailer remained one of the most anticipated trailer ever as it had shown the fan all the component that made up DeadPool. The director used of logos is brilliant in promising us with a hilarious, fourth-wall breaker Chimichangas lover. From all the jokes, which most are originated from the actual canon, to the action that only an undead characters such as DeadPool can pull off, this trailer had proved itself as one of the best trailer of all time, and had fan devoted themselves into seeing the movie, a real DeadPool for the very firs time.
       
       

Week_3_1/29/2016_Look Through the Bars

            The music video by Sia called “Elastic Heart” is famous for rousing many controversies surrounding its contents. It features “real cannibal” Shia LaBeouf and a child dancer Maddie Ziegler performing a very unorthodox dance in a cage. When I first saw this music video earlier last year, I could not see past the creepiness of it throughout the whole video. To me it was just full of pedophilia and savagery. Therefore, I was very surprised when it was one of the choices available for rhetorical analysis. I began to wonder if there was more to this video than what I initially perceived, and after looking at it from a rhetorical point of view I can see why it has become such a hit. The music video Elastic Heart is praised by many people for its depiction of the two parts of a person’s heart being in conflict with each other and how the person deals with it.

            The highlight of the music’s lyrics is “I’ve got an elastic heart.” Throughout the music, Sia explains what this means. Her heart can snap when stretched too much but it cannot be broken. This means she is not willing to feel emotions, but trapping it inside her heart so that it cannot come out. This concept is subtly represented in the video.  In it, the young girl and old man both act like beasts and are in conflict with each other (1:56). One would expect the girl to be sweet and innocent but that description actually fits the man more. They seem to care for each other but are constantly fighting. The girl can come out of the cage any time she wants but the man cannot (2:55). The girl also does not want to leave the man in the cage (4:40). This is analogous to how a person bottles up all of her feelings and finally chose the innocent and pretty emotion to come out, but that is just so that others cannot judge that person. The line “I’ve got thick skin and an elastic heart” supports this theory. The “thick skin” means the person is trying to appear fine and tough to others. However, that means the uglier beastly emotions must be caged in, just as the man in the video was left behind. However, as the girl could not let go of the man, the person wants the beastly side of her, such as anger, sadness, and fear, to be expressed. That person cannot erase them or let them go.

            This concept evokes such conflicting emotions with many people because most people can relate to what it feels like to hide what they are feeling. When they see a video like this as a comparison to themselves, they can view their own emotions and positions in a different way as expressed in the video and therefore appreciate the video more. Even those who do not feel the way Sia sings about can be moved by the struggle and touched by how it can tear them apart. This video can even make people address feelings they didn’t know they have by representing it through the actors. If it does, they will also be moved by the video as it evokes new feelings.

            All in all, this music video appeals to pathos by letting people relate the concept behind the music video. It can arouse conflicting emotions that can touch people’s hearts through its unique portrayal of people’s inner struggles.

Week 3_1/29/16 Overcoming struggles

In the music video “Elastic Hearts”, by Sia, we are given a very unique portray of some type of struggle she is going through. The clip manifests inner demons and the struggle of overcoming as the scene takes place in an enormous birdcage designed by choreographer Maddie Zeigler.

In the beginning, the video introduces Sia (inner demon) and Shia Lebeouf in an enormous cage (0:05). This is a strange setting that gets the audience to approach and interpret what exactly is taking place. Sia is “attempting to earn her audience approval or agreement by playing to natural human tendencies or common experience.” –Texas A&M. N.d by starting off her lyrics with “and another one bites the dust” “Oh why can I not conquer love”. Sia is stating some type of struggle she been going through for quite some time.  She maybe can’t be in love due to her past experience. Maybe she has been hurt and finds it difficult to do over again. But despite the confusion in the beginning of the video, these lyrics use an appeal called “The Pathetic appeal”. Invoking her audience’s emotion to gain acceptance and approval for the ideas expressed as according to Texas A&M. She is doing so by tapping the viewer’s sympathy and compassion, anger and disappointment, sadness, and most of all desire for love.

As the video goes on, we see a struggle between Sia and Shia Lebeouf (0:27). Lebeouf starts off by trying to approach Sia but she refuses to allow this to happen. She fights back by hurting Lebeouf and trying to keep him away. Sia sings “And I wanted it I wanted it bad”, “but there were so many red flags”, “now another one bites the dust”, “yeah lets be clear I’ll trust no one”. This shows us Sia wanting to be with Lebeouf but feels that there are too many red flags in the way keeping it from happening. She also says how she will never trust anyone. This can be from past experiences. The clip goes on and we see Lebeouf try to approach Sia as she is fighting with her inner demons, (0:57). But still Sia refuses to let Lebeouf in her circle of trust.

Scenes (1:38 to 1:60), we see Leboef beginning to try and escape from the abuse he is getting from Sia as he runs away and climbs to the top of the cage. We then see Maddie finally come back to her self as she lays and closes her eyes. Lebeouf then comes down and approaches Maddie (2:14) opening his hand out to her as a sign of comfort and warmth. Sia then comes back (2:24) biting Lebeouf as she sings “I’ve got thick skin and an elastic heart, but your blade it might be too sharp”, “I’m like a rubberband until you pull too hard, I may snap and I move fast”, “but you won’t see me fall apart”, “cos I’ve got an elastic heart”. From these lyrics we see Sia not letting her scars bring her down, she still fights back not allowing Maddie to trust anyone. We then see Maddie escape the cage leaving the inner demon with Lebeouf. Lebeouf begins to scream indicating a struggle perhaps of being left alone inside the cage with no one but Sia. (3:08). 

Last, we see Maddie come back in the cage (3:16), only this time it seems that she has overcome her inner demon (Sia) and fear of loving again and finally accepts Lebeouf as she jumps on his back sort of holding onto him in a sympathetic way. We then see her holding Lebeoufs hand as she walks out the cage but notices Lebeouf cannot escape, (4:13). This in a way explains the struggle Maddie was going through by Sia not allowing her to “conquer love”. Realizing now that Lebeouf cannot escape she is left alone hurt on the other side of the cage. Although she wont let go, we see her struggle trying to get Lebeouf through explaining the metaphor of her being like a “rubber band”. She may keep pulling but once it snaps she moves quickly to not endure pain once again.

This music video catches many peoples attention due to the fact that they all endure some type of pain in their lifetime. A piece within us doesn’t allow us to trust again. We become more protective over ourselves and try to avoid facing our fears by trapping ourselves in our own thoughts or metaphorically speaking our own “cage”.  One way or the other we will eventually have to face our fears, holding it back will just cause more suffering to us.

Week 3_01/29/2016_Western Enticement

The film Jane Got a Gun, starring Natalie Portman and Joel Edgerton, depicts a woman hell-bent protecting her estate from a gang of outlaws known as the Bishop Boys. The film is set in Western times and portrays something unique to the cinema, a woman starring in a sort of gun slinging fiasco.  The trailer runs for just over two minutes, but leaves viewers with many unanswered questions. As the cinematic trailer is analyzed, it may appear intentional.

As the trailer begins, a hoarse voice is heard saying “Boys we got another one dead”, (:10). Who is this statement referring to? Shortly after this segment, another voice enters the trailer and says “People are saying a woman was seen fleeing town. The girl fit the description of our old friend Jane”, (:15). As we begin to have a slight idea of what is beginning to unfold, the viewer can make the connection that a series of a “bad” men are attempting to do hard to this seemingly “innocent” woman named Jane.  As we focus on its content, we begin to see the plot unfold within the first few moments of the trailer.  At the moment when an unknown gentlemen states “turn over every rock until that snake slithers out into sight, and when she does you bring me her head”, (:34),  I am intrigued. Using the element of pathos, dramatic effect begins to take place and I am left with excitement. As the trailer plays on, old lever action rifles are being fired, and the dramatic music is playing in the background. As the music continues, it almost gets louder as the trailer gets more climactic. In terms of ethos, it is noted that a well-known and credible actor plays the leader role. Natalie Portman is a recognized name throughout Hollywood due to her previous works with other “A-list” celebrities. The director most likely casted her not only for her ability to act, but her household name. While the text plays across the screen, scenes of foreshadowing and flashbacks are seen. As the plot thickens Portman states “there is only one way in, one way out”, (1:03), in reference to Edgerton’s question about entrance points.  My curiosity is still getting the best of me at this point in time.

What makes a movie trailer look so enticing? Is it the well-known cast, the famous director, or the plot itself? Maybe in some way it is about the movies perception and how the art of persuasion was inserted into that two minute movie clip. Even though I watched the trailer for Jane Got a Gun over ten times, I still have many questions left unanswered about the movie’s plot. Is it a movie I am going to see? More than likely I will endure its ninety-eight minute run time. While the movie itself may not be Oscar worthy, I have been persuaded to see it in theaters. I believe that the movie trailer focuses heavily on the emotional appeal.

I will let each of you know how the movie was come Tuesday.

Week_3_1/29/2016_Her Heart May Be Elastic, but My Grade Sure Isn't!

According to Texas A&M's University Writing Center, “rhetoric is the study of how writers and speakers use words to influence an audience.” Therefore, I began to look into how to write a rhetorical analysis on the subject of Sia’s music video of “Elastic Heart.” I found that she used parallelism, strong romanticized diction with a perfect analogy and had a very beautiful delivery.

To begin my rhetorical analysis of Sia’s music video of “Elastic Heart”, I feel that the main goal of this music video was to show that while we may trust our animalistic instincts, our hearts seem to always prevail in the end, even if it concludes in failure. With that being said, I think the reason she used the analogy of a rubber band and an “elastic heart” was to show that a person can only take so much before they are broken. “I’m like a rubber band until you pull too hard, I may snap but I move fast but you won’t see me fall apart”(Sia Music, Official Lyrics of “Elastic Heart”). She uses strong romanticized diction within this particular song and I find that it blends very well with the video.
Her diction within this song was beautiful and clearly has a pathetic appeal to those who have ever experienced a heartbreak or lost a loved one, I came to this conclusion while watching the music video. Towards the end of it (4:12-5:07), you see that the young girl is trying to pull Shia LeBeouf through the cage but simply cannot due to his size. I feel this relates to heartbreak or losing a loved one in the sense that you don’t want to let that person go, you pull and hold onto that person until you simply cannot anymore. The title of the song, “Elastic Heart,” was the perfect analogy for putting yourself through so much that your heart no longer breaks when you’re hurt, it simply absorbs the blow like a rubber band and conforms back to normal. I feel her diction and analogy go together so well throughout this song and gives those who struggle with the pain of losing someone or heartbreak a sense of hope.
On the University Writing Center at Texas A&M, the word parallelism came to my attention. “Parallelism is repetition of a word/phrase or grammatical structure for effect. The repetition of a word or phrase can create a feeling of cohesion in a paper or strong emotion in the audience. It creates a rhythm and can be used to build a speech to a crescendo.” I quickly realized this fit perfectly within “Elastic Heart” by Sia, because she continually says “I’ve got an elastic heart” (Sia Music, Official Lyrics of “Elastic Heart”) which shows that she is trying to get across the point of trusting your heart will do you well in the long run. In my interpretation of this song, I think she means that going with your gut feeling may not always turn out the way you had planned, but following your heart will lead you in the direction you truly want. Which is why I find the delivery of this song so beautiful, rather than quietly singing it, she is using all of her power to show that she isn’t afraid of the pain anymore. That she isn’t afraid to put herself out there and move on.

Week 3_01/28/2016_What Makes you go on?

    I chose to do a rhetorical analysis on the trailer for The Revenant starring Leonardo DiCaprio. The film is mostly based on a true story, recounting the chilling experiences of a fur trapper named Hugh Glass in the early 1800's. However, it is uncertain how much of the legend is true, so as far as I know some scenes in the movie were written by the Hollywood producers. Because of the trailer's strong appeals to ethos and pathos, it is very good at engaging and persuading its audience.

     I must admit, the trailer is engaging right from the start, mainly because of all of the sensory details and the action that is taking place. The opening line at (0:03)" ain't afraid to die no more, I done it already," makes the audience curious to know more about the story. In combination with the music, high definition views of the setting, and the intensity of the events being portrayed, the film does a remarkable job at obtaining and keeping the attention of its audience.

    The University Writing Center at Texas A&M explains that rhetoricians use the appeal to pathos to  "tap a reader's (in this case viewer's) sympathy and compassion, anger and disappointment, desire for love, or sadness to convince them of their argument." This is done really well in the trailer, especially at (0:38), where there are scenes of violence between characters, and near death experiences that the protagonist is facing. Because of the nature and intensity of the scenes in the trailer, strong appeals to pathos are created and help to persuade the audience even more.

    Any movie that is based on a true story automatically has an ethical appeal, because you can't argue its credibility when it is portraying real, historical events. At point (0:18) we see the words "Inspired By True Events," which does a significant job at captivating the audience. Also the main actor, Leonardo DiCaprio, is extremely well known and famous, which adds even more credibility to the film. Because of the appeals to ethos in the trailer, it makes it very persuasive as a result.

     In closing, the trailer for The Revenant starring Leonardo DiCaprio does a remarkable job at persuading its viewers because of its rhetorical appeals to pathos and ethos. The intense preview scenes, in combination with the music and dialogue make it a very persuasive trailer. Because the famous actor Leonardo DiCaprio takes on the main role, and the fact that the movie is portraying real events makes the credibility much stronger. In conclusion, the trailer for the recently released film The Revenant is both credible and enticing because of its use of the rhetorical appeals pathos and ethos.

Week3_1/29/16_ Race to the Finish Line

       Watching TV one night, a commercial came across the screen for the new movie, Race. In this movie, Jesse Owens is the main focus point. The movie takes place during the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Historically, there was a lot of discrimination due to Hitler and his ideal view of people being part of the Aryan Race. Jesse Owens wants to race, and win the gold medal to defy to the stereotypes.

       As Texas A&M University writing center states “Rhetoric is the study of how writers and speakers use words to influence an audience. A rhetorical analysis is an essay that breaks a work of non-fiction into parts and then explains how the parts work together to create a certain effect—whether to persuade, entertain or inform.” Using the appeals of logos, pathos, and ethos is crucial to make an effective movie trailer, and persuade the audience to see that particular movie.

       To me, I think the elements of a persuasive argument are shown in the trailer. When I first saw the trailer, it made me instantly want to go see it. I want to see it because it is historical, and actually happened. One part of the trailer, a trail of words pop up on the screen and read “witness the incredible true story.” This part of the trailer feeds into the appeal of logos. Logos referring to the facts, actual truth, or logic. Jesse Owens was a real person, and this movie is showing his Olympic career.

       Another eye catching part of the movie was the actors picked for the movie, and one I had particularly in mind. Jason Sudeikis is casted as Jesse Owen’s coach, helping him make it to the Berlin Olympics. Normally, I’ve seen Jason Sudeikis’s more comical roles in Saturday Night Live, We’re The Millers, and the Horrible Bosses movies. Seeing him play this non comical character really caught my attention.

       Overall, the trailer played into the appeal of pathos, because after watching it, it left this impression on me. Not to sound typical, but it made me think about how this actually happened, and the trailer left me feeling sympathetic towards Jesse Owens. I would have to say the trailer overall plays into all the appeals of persuasion. BYU states “these three appeals work together in combination toward persuasive ends.” The trailer’s audience is definitely geared towards an older crowd, more like people who were alive during that time, or an audience like college student level, because of our levels of curiosity. We were not alive during that time, but it might be a curious topic and movie we want to see.

       Race caught my attention on the TV screen, because of the story it tells, and the historical truth it tells too. I think the movie will be a success, because it will reach the audience, and persuade the audience to see it. The trailer used the appeals of logos, pathos, and ethos to tell the historical story of Jesse Owens, and the things he faces while trying to get the gold medal.