Say What You Need to Say

I am actually very excited about this essay. First of all, I absolutely love John Mayer and I get to analyze one of his songs. Second of all, I love analyzing things; it is one of my better talents, or at least something I really enjoy. I chose to analyze John Mayer's song "Say." This song is used in his original music video and in the movie "The Bucket List". In the original music video, John is standing alone in some type of dark warehouse. Strictly listening to the lyrics would make you think that John has just written some type of "anthem" to encourage everyone to "say what they need to say," which would be a logical observation because he repeats that statement numerous times throughout the song. I think differently after watching his music video. In my essay I want to elaborate on what the setting of the music video, his facial expressions, the transitions of the camera, and a few other details express to me. I'm sure everyone has seen the heart-warming, tear-jerking, hilarious movie "The Bucket List." The song "Say" is used in the trailer of that movie. The way the song and the plot of this movie work together changes the interpretation of the song. The movie is about two men who meet in a hospital on their death beds. They are both given a certain amount of days that they have left to live. They create a list of things to do before they "kick the bucket"-the bucket list. The song gives the idea in the movie of "do everything you can while you are still alive," which is perfect for this movie.

The Great Gatsby

"The Great Gatsby" soundtrack consisted of a variety of jazzy music with hip-hop twists. "The Great Gatsby" is one of my absolute favorite movies. I strongly think a reason I adore this movie so much is because of the interesting music the producers added to the scenes. The hip-hop aspect appeals immensely to a large number of society today; my generation especially, and I believe that was the audience they were shooting for, anyway. The songs included in a movie affect the viewers' mood during each part of the movie. The producers can control the way they want you to interpret each part of the movie by changing up the music. I think the producers did an amazing job in this movie with that. Some of the songs, for example: "Young and Beautiful", contribute to the depressing, intense, and almost creepy parts of the movie. The song is so slow that it gives the viewer time to think about what is happening in the scene, and stresses the importance and intense feeling the scene is attempting to get across. The hip-hop sound to it makes it a lot more interesting to viewers my age. The jazz sound to it also adds so much to the mood of the movie. Since the movie is actually set in the 1920s, the hip-hop music added to the jazz music succeeds in accomplishing everything you would want to in a viewing; it suggests the time period of the story, suggests the time period of the current viewers, and controls the mood of each scene. The party scenes all have extremely upbeat and fun music to suggest the exciting mood of the party; but, they have a subtle, creepy suggestion of heartache. You can see with your eyes how exciting and amusing the parties are, but the certain creepy parts of the song propose a hidden sadness, and everyone who has seen the movie knows the grief behind Gatsby's thoughts, so the songs the producers utilized were perfect.

My writing process for my essay began with choosing a commercial that I could relate to so that I knew more about the subject it may be trying to get across. I chose a commercial on dentistry because my grandfather was a dentist and my mother is a dental hygienist. Needless to say, I hear plenty about the subject at home. I chose specifically a commercial on Crest toothpaste because that is the toothpaste I use today. It was interesting comparing the toothpaste advertisements back then, and now. As I pointed out in one of my earlier blogs, the hardest part of writing for me is getting started. It was a lot easier for me to begin because of the mandatory blogs and drafts. I also pointed out in my older blog that once I begin writing, I somehow enjoy it and do not stop until I finish. That is definitely what happened with this paper. I watched the commercial multiple times so that I knew it backwards and forwards. I took notes on it every time to make sure I noticed every detail. This could count as using heuristics, which is a method I never would have thought of using before I was taught about it in this class. It helped so much because with every idea I wrote down about the commercial, I could think about the implications that existed in those ideas. That helped so much when I was trying to find things to elaborate on in my paper. I never thought about actually applying the “paraphrase X3” method. I think I subconsciously used it, though. I would write a paragraph, then completely rewrite it using different words that strengthened it. I also cannot stress enough how helpful the workshops were. Reading other students’ work helped me to think what could be helped in my own paper. Also, the notes I received criticizing and praising my paper were so helpful and I will use every suggestion in completing my final draft. I can honestly say I am already enjoying this class more than any high school English class I have ever taken!

Crossfire

This was my first time watching “Crossfire”. I found it very interesting being that this time I was actually analyzing how they expressed their arguments to each other. A few things I noticed about the so-called “debate” was that Jon Stewart was able to use his comedic personality to get the audience on his side. I also saw that the hosts of the show had the advantage to list on screen three of the questions Jon used in his interview, which makes their argument seem much stronger.  Jon later on shoots an immature, but useful, comment about one of the host’s bowtie to make him seem younger and more ignorant. Towards the end of the argument, the hosts criticize the way Jon is speaking to them currently, which makes it appear that Jon is winning the argument and they feel threatened.

            Using “The Method” to point out a few repetitions and contrasts during the debate was very difficult for me. I did notice a few words that were repeated multiple times; such as: argue, bad, comedy, and funny. I am having trouble finding a meaning behind these words. The reason for repeating argue may be just emphasizing the fact that they have completely different opinions on these matters they are discussing. They repeatedly say bad, which is also a little humorous because it is obviously not a very intense word, but they use it to describe each other’s shows. Comedy is common because they are using comedy in this debate to make it more interesting, and funny falls under that category also. Argue and bad could be a strand and comedy and funny could be a strand as well. I am still learning how to use The Method, but that is what I understand from it right now!

My Type of Writing

I can honestly say that writing has not always been one of my favorite activities. My mathematically inclined mind constantly makes me dread writing. Writing assignments in high school were always my last priority, but I always completed them. Probably the hardest part about writing, for me, is getting started. Maybe the reason I hate the thought of writing is because I know how hard writing makes me think. Once I get started on a writing assignment I begin to enjoy it more than I expected. My mind wanders to the millions of topics I can cover and how to cover them. It really does not matter to me whether I write it down on paper or if I type it on my computer. Either way, once I begin writing I continue until I finish. I am not the type of person to erase or go back on what I have written; I would rather just rewrite the whole article once I complete it if I do not like it. Everything I am writing at this moment is popping into my head as I continue to type on. Sometimes my thoughts come out in a jumble, but once I see them on paper I can put them all together in a way that makes sense to everyone else.

 In addition, I enjoy hearing noise while I work. It does not matter what type of noise. It may be students comparing answers in the student center, or it may be my music playing inside of my dorm room. Any type of soothing noise calms me; unlike silence, which only intimidates me. I work better in an open environment where there are interactions going on. Somehow this keeps me interested in what I am working on. One thing I can say is I am definitely excited about my Composition 1 class this year. This new environment and new ideas on how to teach composition is intriguing to me.