Analysis 3: Phenomenology, Reader-Response Theory, or Psychoanalysis

Sir Sigmund Freud-Wexler III

Phenomenology, Reader-Response Theory, or Psychoanalysis

This was the topic of our group presentation. I had a lot of fun creating visually creative presentation from PowerPoint. Each from the group took one or two topics from the list of subjects and made it their own. Each was assigned to create what they believe to be a fun and interactive experience for the class to enjoy. There were many subjects to cover and we thought this to be the best way to cover each of them thoroughly. The presentation date was coming quickly and none of us were able to get together at one time. I attempted to take the reins and reel everyone in so that we could have a cohesive demonstration. This was a very difficult task. Many were difficult to reach through e-mail, and others sent their portions last minute. Some were quick to respond.

I think perhaps there were too many people in one group, and too many topics to cover for one presentation to remain effective, fun, and interesting. I would have preferred to have the group split in half. One to cover Freud, and Lacan. The other to cover Phenomenology, Reader-Response Theory. Groups of three are much easier to manage and perhaps we could have acted more like one group instead of one in a group. To have only three in the group would have allowed me to help them create one single PowerPoint that flowed smoothly. We could have easily coordinated a meeting time to work on our performance. I was glad we were able to pull together in the end, but at times it felt like I was pulling teeth.

I created a PowerPoint presentation that covered Freud's interpretation of dreams, and the story of Oedipus Rex. The class responded very positively to my work and I think they were very impressed with the visual effects, storyline, and interactive experience with the picture puzzle. I would have spent more time with the interactive portions of my presentation, but in the interest of time, and knowing that I was the first of six, I needed to speed up a bit. They seemed to have fun and responded quickly with the answer to the picture puzzle. The quick response tells me that the class was paying attention, and appeared very alert to my questioning. There were also outbursts of laughter which fueled my performance and let me know that I was doing a good job. I had a lot of fun telling the story of Oedipus Rex as well. The changing images kept the student's eyes up front and excited with each changing image. I used pop culture icons to convey the story, and portray the characters of Oedipus Rex.

I finished with an interactive segment and asked the class to interpret a dream image. First by looking at the image as a composition, and then to look at it again but this time as a picture puzzle. I then explained that by looking at both the manifest dream-content and the dream-thoughts we can disentangle the meaning of the dream.

Answer: A Hero’s Welcome

Reflection 7: Marx the spot

Reflection 6: Phenomenology and Reader-Response Theory

Reflection 5: Freud

Reflection 4: Saussure, Signifiers, and Sauce

Ferdinand De Saussure was a very complex thinker and "gave birth to structuralism by means of a book he never wrote" (845). After Saussure's death in 1913 his colleagues discovered Saussure's class notes and compiled them into what is now known as "The Course in General Linguistics" (845).

From the readings an attempt is made to find the truest meaning for language.

"Language is a storehouse of sound-images, and writing is the tangible form of those images" (850).

"Language is a system of signs that express ideas"(851).

"The words of our language" are thought of like "sound-images"(853). These sound images are linked to a "concept". "The two elements are intimately united, and each recalls the other" (853). A good example of this is the word "pencil". When one reads the word "pencil" their mind should have created an image of a pencil. Some may have pictured a mechanical pencil (and if you hadn’t you just did) or perhaps a wooden pencil. More sound images can be aligned with its related concept to create very detailed imagery to the point of being almost identical. The same is to go the opposite way. If someone held up a pencil in front of you and told you to write down what you see in their hand, you would write the word "pencil". In a room of thirty English as a first language people asked the same question they would most likely write the word "pencil" as well.

We were given different articles from a magazine in class this day, and were told to write down what you see. Professor Wexler then went around the class and held up articles to see if there is a common description of the message that the ads were attempting to portray. The class had a lot of fun interpretation the message of the ads. We could have done this for an entire class. My ad was a boy holing a jar that once held tomato sauce, but now held a grass hopper. His eyes were very excited about his discovery of this new creature as he held it up for the picture. Parents sometimes have difficulty feeding their kids nutritious things, but the ad suggests just the opposite will happen if this sauce is on their plates.

Works Cited

Ferdinand De Saussure. "Course in General Linguistics". ed. Leitch, Vincent B. The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. 2nd ed. New York: W. W. Norton &, 2010. Print.

Relection 3: From Longinus, to Kant, please enlighten me.

First group presentation was very interesting and demonstrated a number of videos that each in the group had chosen as their example of what sublime meant to them.

The dictionary’s definition of sublime is:

Sublime – 1. Of high spiritual, moral, or intellectual worth 2. Inspiring awe; impressive

What may seem sublime to one may be subliminal to another for to be truly sublime it must create universal emotional reaction of absolute inspiration. The differences in the videos selected suggest that none from the group were able to pinpoint such a rarity as this. This difference also suggests that one’s perception of the sublime is based on personal preferences and opinion. A few of the video’s shown did have the same subject matter that covered a sports event. Also all from the group were male. All three sports videos were chosen by young men in their early twenties. Two others from the group chose something pertaining to battle. The last in the group was male, but he was much older than the others in the group. He chose an inspirational speech by “James Farmer” as his best offering for what is sublime. He really seemed to look at this speech as a point that perfectly embodies the meaning of the sublime. I found a hint of the sublime not so much from the speech, but more so by observing him watching the speech. His eyes were filled with powerful emotion. He would look out to the class searching for one that shared his emotional connection so deeply moved by the power of what was unfolding upon the screen before us. I don’t believe his scanning eyes found a match. This perhaps made this moment lean a bit further towards a sublime example not because of what was being presented on the screen, but instead by what was going on with the class and the student searching for one that understands and shares that feeling in the moment. Perhaps we will never agree to what is truly sublime but we can agree there are levels in between.

“Sublimity, on the other hand , produced at the right moment, tears everything up like a whirlwind, and exhibits the orators’ whole power at a single blow” (137).
“Greatness, the argument runs, is a natural product, and does not come by teaching” (137).
These two quotes develop a clearer picture in my mind that help me to recognize that chasing after something truly sublime may never be captured.

Works Cited

Longinus. "On Sublimity". ed. Leitch, Vincent B. The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. 2nd ed. New York: W. W. Norton &, 2010. Print.

Analysis 2: Word Picture: Divide, Categorize, and Conquer

This painting is called “The Raft of the Medusa” by the artist Theodore Gericault. It does not portray a lighthearted moment in history as my brief narrative depicts. This painting is of the image of a shipwreck of a “navel frigate” called “Meduse”. It “ran aground” and the people on board quickly constructed a raft from parts of the broken hull of the ship. More than one hundred people died. Some died slower than others. These were the ones that drifted about the sea for weeks, with no food or water to sustain them. Madness set in as well as cannibalism of the dead.
To analyze this painting through the view of structuralism a common thread can be used to stitch a clear story. Almost anyone in the world can recognize from this painting that something has gone horribly wrong. By viewing this painting through the eyes of structuralism one can recognize and categorize the “underlying basic plot” of what is occurring in the painting. A structuralism view can also characterize each individual on the raft by studying their expressions and body language. It can also observe the portrayal of nature depicted in the painting and recognize the ruff sea that steals away all control from the helpless adrift on the fragmented vessel.
By using structuralism one can also begin to understand the artists thought process. Gericault must have been inspired to create such a masterpiece. He did not simply walk out of “a cave” somewhere, pick up a brush and paint this image from fathomless thought. There is a list of steps that can be created through structuralism to explain what brought about such an insightful deep clear vision that is now captured in the brushstrokes of genius.
A shortlist would perhaps look like this:

Knowing Gericault’s history:

Brief account of his life story may explain his career and interests
Why he chose this subject to paint:

Perhaps he thought this was a big story that could help his career (wiki)

The lengths he took to understand the story to depict it in a factual manner:

Interviews survivors (wiki)

The models he used for the painting:

His friends and fellow artists modeled for the painting (wiki)

Creating such lists by narrowing down basic plots, creating categories, and recognizing patterns helps one to understand. Structuralism is a powerful source to utilize when engaging the complex.

Divide, Categorize, and Conquer

Works Cited
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Raft_of_the_Medusa

Reflection 3: Greed Good, Morally Challenged Bad

Reflection 3
Today we had a guest speaker named Professor O’Neil. He is a very interesting personality, and he is a great example in himself with the subject matter for which he pertains. He spoke to us about the Greeks, and their pursuit of perfect persuasion. He told us that most Athenians could read and write and this helped to enhance their power of speech in the public arena. He told us that the Acropolis broke the bank in this land that was 95% agriculture. This was a polis or “city state” and they lived in an urban environment surrounded by farmland. The Greeks were very competitive and they thought very highly of themselves. They prided themselves and judged people by their physical and mental capabilities.
The professor then talked about rhetoric and to be good rhetoric it had to be memorable and appealing. To better themselves they would hire a sophist to teach them the art of rhetoric and speech. He said that there are basically two types of argument. These are the epagoge and dialectic arguments.
Epagoge (induction)
Example: If every time a student drank an energy drink they fall over. Then they should not drink it!
Dialectic (syllogism) Declarative sentence, subject predicate, true or false
Example: All men are mortal. Socrates is a man. Therefore Socrates is mortal.
After the lecture we reassembled at the classroom. Professor Wexler showed us a clip from the movie “Wallstreet” and Michael Douglas’ character explains how greed is good. The class was asked to try to create a dialectic argument to prove that greed is good. I thought about this for some time that night. I thought about it on the long drive home. I came up with the following:
The characteristic of greed has been demonized by many as a shameful way to behave in society. They have no gratitude for the advancements it has helped to achieve and they blame it for all that have fallen in the race. All creatures possess the greed gene for without it they would fall. If a lion ignores its inner greed the lion is last to the kill and therefore receives only scraps. The scraps may sustain the lion but it will grow weaker as others grow stronger. The stronger lions have cubs that utilize their greed to get as much of the kill as possible and the lion that ignores his greed gets even less scraps then before. Soon there are no scraps left for the lion that has ignored his greed. The lion has failed to support his existence and starves.
Every advancement in human society has greed to thank for it.
Greed is just another word for motivation.
Society cannot advance without motivation.
Advancements in society are good, therefore greed is good.
When greed is utilized by those with no moral compass many blame greed for the outcome. Perhaps greed should not take the blame but instead the blame should be focused on those that lack a moral compass.