Grow Reflection

1)    At first all you can see is a ‘g’ and an ‘r.’ Then the camera pans out to reveal the word ‘grow’ glowing against a mutant-green background. The scene blurs and the next image is a spinning globe. This is how the video “Grow” starts. As innocent as it begins, it does not stay this way. The production encompasses many of the terrifying effects of population growth, from overcrowding all the way to trash. It plays off the emotions and fears of the viewers in order to prove a point: growth, specifically in terms of population, can be detrimental to our society and way of living.

2)   The most terrifying moment comes seventeen seconds in. The music starts to get scary while the video shows a trash mound, slowly zooming out to reveal a bigger and bigger pile of trash. This moment definitely has truth value as it proposes a consequence of population growth that can be proven to be accurate, just as J. Anthony Blair states that it must. It convinces the viewer of the dangers of growth.

3)    The claim of this production is that the boom in population growth is bad. This is expressed through the dramatic use of music and images meant to play off the emotions of the viewer. In addition, in almost every still the camera zooms out in order to show growth. The fast visual pace also serves to illustrate how soon the population can spiral out of control.

4)    This visual production is predictable in that it plays off the passions and emotions of the viewing audience. Most (if not all) of the videos seen in class did this, from “Play” (feeling bad for the less fortunate children) to “Hope” (sadness for abused animals), making this a very predictable aspect of visual productions.

5)    In this production, the order of the images is meant to shock. It starts off pleasantly, with the word grow and a globe, however this leads to a more sinister strand of trash, space junk, traffic and more. Finally, to rub the message in some more, the video shocks the viewer. The order was really intended to fit the music, with the scariest parts (trash) appearing when the music was most intense. This helps the viewer grasp the severity of the situation.

6)    In some situations, images can do more than writing, however we must recognize that images cannot be the sole way of communicating. This project was meant to be all about images and a single four-letter word, however in reality more than one word was used. It was not enough to search “grow” in Google Images. I had to search many different terms in order to get the right pictures for my video. In fact, I had to figure out what the right terms were before I could get an image. The terms ranged from “overcrowding” all the way to “deforestation.” Therefore, words are still necessary and relevant in conjunction with images.

Works Cited

Blair, J. Anthony, and Christopher Tindale. Groundwork in the theory of argumentation: selected papers of J. Anthony Blair. Dordrecht [etc.: Springer, 2012. Print.

Kress, Gunther R.. Literacy in the new media age. London: Routledge, 2003. Print.

Spitzer-Rubenstein, Jessica. "Grow - YouTube  ." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.  . N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hEoUyseU1o>.

Blog 12 of 12

From my observations in Dr. Lay's class, there are two kinds of writers. There are the ones who are comfortable writing, and those who are not confident in their writing abilities. My advice to these different types of writers is, understandably, different.

For those who are uncomfortable writing, don't get stuck in the thought that you can't write. You can. You just need to give it a chance. Maybe you feel like you can't because your writing was put down in the past. I know that was definitely me. I came into this class with a bad attitude. I was ready for it to be my worst class, the one I dreaded every day. Imagine my surprise when I realized that I enjoyed the class, and even more, I enjoyed writing for it! Give it a chance; it is just trying to find your voice, but in text.

And then there are the ones who are confident writers, used to the usual essay writing. Don't get stuck on the fact that you are writing in a different form. That is just what it is, different. A new way of doing things. Keep an open mind. Experiment with ways to improve your usual writing with new media. It improve your essay if you link to a video source. Try new things, and enjoy a change of pace, a challenge.

To all the writers, sit down, and let the words flow. If they aren't coming, take a break. When you come back, read an article or two that relates to your topic. Let it give you ideas. Then, try free writing again. Revise, revise, revise.

Blog 11 of 12

Our four-letter word projects are not writing. Writing is an inscription of letters. While those letters can be inscribed on paper, clothing, computers and the like, they must still use letters. The four-letter word project is more accurately defined a composition, as it uses many different elements, from images to our single four-letter word, music and movement.

EDIT: Response to Comments
I agree that hieroglyphics are writing because they were in fact originally inscribed on stone or parchment. However, pictures are not inscribed; they do not have only one single meaning to them, only one word that can describe them. There are a multitude of words that describe one picture. This is not the case with hieroglyphics.

Blog 10 of 12

In Hubris at Zunzal by Rodney Jones, Jones argues that all writing is good (or at the very least, workable), and that there is "no image like the image of language." He invokes a scene of throwing a bottle into the ocean, and then realizing that he "was not finished" with the bottle. This can be seen as a metaphor for writing, or more specifically throwing out writing only to realize seconds after it is too late to recover it that it may not have been so bad. Jones is telling the reader not to trash work, but rework it, to save it for later.

Blog 9 of 12

When I put on clothing with text, I do not anticipate readers. Sometimes I don't even know what my own clothing says. In fact, I have a shirt (September 25, 2011) that I love. I wore this shirt for months before someone told me they liked it because it said "simple math" under a peace sign, and math equations in the background. What? Math equations? I never saw them! Now that its been pointed out to me, of course I see it and wear the shirt because the message is smart: peace is simple and has an answer, like math. But I did not wear it for that reason originally. I wore it because it has a nice blue color to it, and because it is soft.

Blog 8 of 12

Words sometimes are easy. Images & other visuals sometimes are hard. However, if we build up our picture or image bank, like we have built up our vocabulary, then of course we can argue in images. We can even be flexible too, like Zadie Smith states, if we learn how to effectively communicate with images.


Can every argument be viable, even in images?
(stick figure drawing of two men. One says "I'm flexible." The other says "Cool man... I don't think I am.")
Why can't every argument be flexible?
(Another stick figure says "oh wait. I am flexible.")

-Andrew Marks

Blog 7 of 12

The writer of the crayoned paper I am reading was definitely influenced by the writing implement he used. In addition to writing text, he also drew a cartoon and decorated the word "easy." The writer is more expressive as he places emphasis on the words "easy" by circling it a number of times, "learn" by underlining, and "images" by using a different color. This could not have been done in the normal pen and paper format, and had to use crayons.

I do believe this writing is good as it uses humor and expressiveness. Even the stick-figured cartoon was successful as it took the voice of teens today in a humorous fashion.

Blog 6 of 12

"The Twouble with Twitters"

The trouble with twitter is that most of us don't know who actually reads our tweets. It could be that other twitter users actually care what we have to say, but it is more likely that your twitter situation sticks to one or more of the following scenarios. One, it is possible that no one cares that you love cookies. Two, it is also possible that people you do not know will see your updates, and will care in a bad way or spam you (I know I've gotten a follower that seemed like an inappropriate spam account). Three, your real friends might actually find your constant tweeting annoying and rude, as it takes you away from social activity.

That being said, there is a place for microblogging. For example, I understand the use of twitter in the case of celebrities. I understand the use of twitter as a marketing tool. I understand the use of twitter for comedic purposes. But not as social network.

Blog 3 of 12

What I really think about the writing space that twitter affords is that that, while twitter is a place with writing, it is not necessarily* a place for writing. Twitter is a micro-blogging service. It is meant for short thoughts or statements, not well thought out arguments. The writer is limited to 140 characters which inhibits the free flow of thoughts and makes informal abbreviations a necessity, which in turn detracts from the quality writing. 140 characters is not enough space to persuade.


For example, if this blog post was written on twitter, the first sentence would not have been complete. The * indicates where the tweet would have to end. Therefore, twitter is not a space for writing. It is a space for linking and sharing, but not smart, insightful, analytical writing.

Blog 2 of 12

I'm not sure why so many people wear texts on their clothing and on their skin.  Perhaps they feel that such portable writing serves to express their personalities. However, most of the time portable writing shows a trait that the wearer would (or should) not want to show, such as a vulgar comment. Sometimes people just throw on whatever is clean. Other times, the wearer believes the sarcastic comment is actually funny.


We need to think about what our clothing says about us. Why is the reaction different if the text is written on our body than if it is written in an essay? Both medias express ourselves, so why is it more accepted to say "I gave one too many F***S" (November 3, 2011) on a shirt?

Fanfiction

Jessica Spitzer-Rubenstein

Professor Lay

WSC 1

December 2, 2011

Fanfiction

What is writing? According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, writing is “the activity or skill of marking coherent words on paper and composing text.” However, in 2011, this definition seems inadequate given the technological advancements of the modern era. Writing today does not just include pen and paper; writing is not only written for “printed reproduction or publication” (New Oxford American Dictionary). Now, writing is done on computers and published online. Anyone can do it, and everyone can read it. The genres of writing have changed as well. Now, a very common online genre is fanfiction. UrbanDictionary.com defines fanfiction as a written work where “someone takes either the story or characters (or both) of a certain piece of work, whether it be a novel, TV show, movie, etc, and create their own story based on it.” Fanfiction has brought a new group of readers, writers and editors into the mix. But is fanfiction really literature?

It can be argued that fanfiction is not a novel concept. In 1614, an anonymous writer published the Second Volume of the Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, an unauthorized continuation of Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote. In it, the author used Cervantes’ characters to make his own story, which by definition is fanfiction even if he did not write the book out of admiration for the original work. However, despite the existence of fanfiction that predates even the most rudimentary of contemporary technology, fanfiction is a “modern phenomenon”(Wikipedia).

In the early 1900s, fanfiction was used to describe original science fiction works created by novice authors and published in fanzines. After 1965, however, the definition of fanfiction changed to a more modern version. However, The growing interest in fanfiction is due mostly to the Internet’s interactive and participatory qualities. Sites like fanfiction.net now encourage readers to review the fanfiction they read in order to better the author’s writing in a constructive manner. Both the readers and writers tend to be fans of the original work, but being a fan is not required.

There are many examples of fanfiction that succeed. In 1966, Tom Stoppard premiered Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, a highly acclaimed play based on the characters of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. In 1995, Gregory Maguire published Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, a Wizard of Oz fanfiction novel following the life of the Wicked Witch of the West, a character Maguire lovingly names Elphaba, instead of Dorothy, as the original did. It soon became a hit Broadway musical, earning around $1.6 million each week.

However, one big question remains: is fanfiction literature? Much of the online fanfiction is not of great quality. Fanfiction cannot be purely original, as it uses other’s work for influence. Because of this, many will argue that fanfiction is in fact not literature. But literature is “all writings in prose or verse, [especially] those of an imaginative or critical character, without regard to their excellence” (Webster). This definition of literature most certainly encompasses fanfiction. Fanfiction is most commonly in prose, fulfilling the first part of the definition of literature. Authors of fanfiction imagine situations for their favorite characters, thus fulfilling the second part of the definition. The final part of the definition states that it does not matter if the writing is good or bad to be literature, so therefore fanfiction is, by definition, literature.

Works Cited

Abate, Frank R., and Elizabeth Jewell. The new Oxford American dictionary. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. Print.

Bolter, J. David. Writing space computers, hypertext, and the remediation of print. 2nd ed. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2000. Print.

"Fan Fiction Statistics - FFN Research: March 2011." Fan Fiction Statistics - FFN Research. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2011. <http://ffnresearch.blogspot.com/2011_03_01_archive.html>.

"Fan fiction - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Nov. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_fiction>.

"How Harry Potter Became the Boy Who Lived Forever - TIME." Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews - TIME.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Nov. 2011. <http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,2081784,00.html>.

Mistaki. "Urban Dictionary: fanfiction." Urban Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Nov. 2011. <http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=fanfiction&defid=1904435>.

Morrison, M.. "Tips for writing a great fanfiction story - by M. Morrison - Helium." Helium - Where Knowledge Rules. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Nov. 2011. <http://www.helium.com/items/1749167-tips-for-writing-a-great-fanfiction-story>.

Neufeldt, Victoria, and David Bernard Guralnik. Webster's New World dictionary of American English. 3rd college ed. New York: Webster's New World :, 1988. Print.

"Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Nov. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosencrantz_and_Guildenstern_Are_Dead>.