This 750 is all mudpit, all the time. This is the last mudpit for this essay, so feel free to go beyond 750 words. We’ll talk and write about “Ken Sent Me” in class, so you’ll want to make sure you still read and annotate that awesomely.
Mudpit
What does your text or artifact say about what we value (and don’t value)? What does it say about how we see things?
How is this text or artifact representative of us? What truths does it tell—or—what myths does it perpetuate?
Look at it through the lens of race, class, age, gender, or sexuality (e.g. In Superman I and II, Lois Lane is an ambitious reporter, nervy enough to get herself into enough trouble, but not strong enough to get out without the help of a (super)man. The movie, filmed during the conservative backlash of Reagan’s 1980’s, serves as a rebuke to feminism.)
WWKS?*
*What would Klosterman say?
Messages & Meanings: As you would in a book report or poetry analysis, offer your “reading” of the visual text. Don’t just give a re-telling of what the image looks like (this would be like stopping at plot summary if you were analyzing a novel). The following questions will help you continue with your analysis and interpretation.
Who is the audience? Identifying the target audience is an important part of your analysis. Speculate about different variables in the audience: region, race, age, ethnicity, gender, income, religion.
How do you know? What evidence can you offer to support your claim?
What is evoked? Pay attention to your emotional response to the text, then try to figure out what’s inspiring that response.
What emotions are evoked by the text?
What’s creating that response?
What’s the relationship between that feeling and the use of the text?
Does color symbolism come into play at all?
Has the text been exaggerated or modified in such a way to heighten a mood or feeling? Why?
What makes this text appealing to its audience?
How does this text create excitement or anticipation in its target audience?