Since the last blog post, we have had four interesting presentations in this class. We learned how Lady Gaga, the movie Forrest Gump, the book Fifty Shades of Grey, and Patrick Henry's famous speech to the Virginian Convention reached their various publics and how they affected those publics.
While these presentations have all focused on different pieces addressed to different publics, and each presenter focused their presentation differently, there are still a lot of similarities between the presentations. One of the common themes between all of these pieces, and one that I consider worth looking at more in depth, is their focus on why these texts have become popular. To an extent, all of these texts were created to be popular. The speakers fashioned their utterances to appeal not only to a specific subpublic but also to the mass public. In this class, in this blog, and in the presentations, we have discussed the various ways by which speaker's try to make their utterances appealing to the public. My question to you is: which of these texts do you believe to be constructed most successfully to appeal to both the speaker's subpublic and mass public? Please explain your opinion using different ideas that we have covered throughout the semester.
Forrest Gump is probably the most successfully constructed text for the mass public and speaker's subpublic. This is because one, it came out 19 years ago. I think that even though that is not long enough to claim that it has stood the test of time, it is still nearly two decades ago, but the messages in it still apply to society today. I also think that because of it's messages on race and sexuality, it speaks to many humans that may be a part of the speakers subpublic. However, those are also such strong and relevant ideas that can be so controversial, so they spread. Therefore, this movie has most certainly reached the masses and is still a popular and well-known movie today. Basically, the ideas of disability, sexuality, gender, and race all play a big role in this movie which is a great base structure of ideas to draw attention from -- attention from both the subpublic and society as a whole.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that Forest Gump is the most successfully constructed text for the mass public and subpublic. I think this is because it relates to a "real" person. I don't mean that other text don't monopolize or seek the interests, what I am saying is that Forest has to over come the hardships of how people judge him with in reality. As in warner we talked about how text is interrelated through speeh utterances, well Forest has a unique voice that speaks in a special way and reaches more then one level of publics. This movie also has some controversial issues that make the ideas spread more rapidly through out the public spheres. And this movie is still popular in today's culture. So the messgaes are certainly recognized.
ReplyDeleteI believe Forrest Gump is most successful so far as reaching a wide range of demographics within its audience. I believe this is because it caters itself to issues that are significant to many different subpublics and counterpublics. The fact that it shows both sides to every story helps with this. For example it shows the dedication of soldiers who enlisted into the Vietnam War but also shows the turmoil in the US about the antiwar movement. I also agree with Paige about how the movie stands the test of time. The characters are so relatable that they stay relevant to society even in a totally new era. While Patrick Henry’s speech has also remained relevant throughout history and into today, his language has become not quite as relatable because of modern changes.
ReplyDeleteI would argue to say that Lady Gaga was constructed most successfully to reach the mass public. Her songs can be heard daily on the radio, through youtube videos and through other outlets as well. Almost everyone in the mass public knows who Lady Gaga is and she has constructed herself to stand out from the norm which attracts attention, whether that be in the form of fans or critics. The other texts and utterances may have done a good job of reaching the mass public, however, I do not believe the main point in their construction was to do so. I believe Lady Gaga wanted to be known to all of the mass public from the very beginning and she does so very well.
ReplyDeleteI mean, I'm sure I'm a little biased, but I think that the "Give Me Liberty" Speech successfully reached the mass public best. I say this mainly because it is the oldest utterance here, and still people have a common knowledge of what that speech refers to. I agree with Gabby, it is not exactly as relatable as the other topics, but I think it still stands as successfully reaching the mass public. At the same time I feel it reaches the its sub public perfectly, not only is Henry talking to a political party, but he speaks to all of the colonies as well, and his words resonate with them.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that Forrest Gump has constructed the most successfully to fit into it's subpublic and the mass public. Although the movie is not the oldest utterance, it appeals to many generations. It is a good movie that can be enjoyed by a younger generation and an older generation. In the mass public I have noticed this movie being constantly quoted. This movie has remained popular through time. It also touches on race, and disabilities. Forrest Gump has many angles of humor and seriousness that appeal to many publics and one doesn't need to be a history buff to enjoy the movie, but the movie does include some historical references that are interesting. I think Forresst Gump just has so many appealing components to it that can reach it's subpublic and the mass public that I think it is the best choice out of the presentations to show an utterance that fits into various publics.
ReplyDeleteI believe Lady Gaga did this the most effectively. This is a bit biased considering that was what a wrote my paper on. However, that is exactly why I chose her and her album, Born This Way, as my topic for the research paper. Everyone at least knows who she is, even if they haven't heard her music before. While her music is directed towards a certain group of people, the mass public listens to it as well. Lady Gaga stands out and gets attention, whether it is good or bad, from the public. She will go down in music history and be remembered, which is her goal.
ReplyDeleteI personally enjoyed the Lady Gaga presentation. Before this presentation, I thought I knew what Lady Gaga was all about. Boy was I wrong. I saw that apart from being a talented artist/bizarre dresser, she was a great human being. Although most people know her, after this presentation they will learn that she is also a great person. The presentation also appealed to the sub-public of human rights (mostly gays/lesbians etc), because it explains how Lady Gaga supports these groups.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Forest Gump is probably the most effective. Obviously, the movie is very popular through generations. It appeals to viewers in so many ways, from humor, sorrow and happiness. The movie really speaks to a much more broad audience. I believe that if the movie can speak to multiple generations and be popular amongst all then I would say that is the one that's most effective. I don't feel that lady gaga does this as much as the others. However, the Patrick Henry speech is a very old, and famous text I don't believe it appeals to as many. It's one of patriotism but I don't think that people today relate as much to it, so I don't find it as effective as Forest Gump.
ReplyDeleteThough Forest Gump is fantastic, I'm going to have to throw my hat in with Team Gaga in terms what, or who, has reached their subpublic and mass public most effectively. Literally everyone I know from school friends to my grandmother know, or at least have heard of, Lady Gaga. Her brand, because I feel like there is a worth while discussion about Lady Gaga and the construction of fame and artists as focal points for giant brand name empires, has become so huge that she's a household name. The ways in which she is talked about differ from person to person, obviously, a self proclaimed Little Monster is going to speak of her differently than someone that thinks her music gets too much air play on the radio, but that also illustrates how well she has integrated herself into mass pop culture that more than just her fans talk about her.
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