CMNS301 The Mad- Hatter s Tea Party Script

Transcription

1 CMNS301 The Mad- Hatter s Tea Party Script Characters: The Mad Hatter Kenneth - Dormouse Cheris Alice in Wonderland Sandra The White Rabbit Context: The theorists specified below, having assumed the appearance of characters from Alice in Wonderland as specified above, are seated around a round table and discussing matters relating to rhetoric old and new. Character Stage Direction Text Is the only character standing at the beginning of the scenario; speaks with grand gestures [arms in the air] as the other characters sit at the table sipping tea Welcome to my tea party, young and old. Although I hope you rhetoricians have the opportunity to relax and amuse yourselves here, I also hope to discuss some more serious subjects as well. We all share some common ground, as we are all rhetoricians [emphasis]! Still sitting; smiling That s a strong statement, what exactly would you mean by that? Just want to make sure that your ancient and my modernist contexts match up... Still standing Why of course, Kenneth excellent point indeed. As rhetoricians, we are all concerned with how language and communication are used to persuade but we are each concerned with this in our own unique way. Suddenly looks up, eyes wide open; looks around the table during these lines as indicated Still standing, gestures to the participants at the table and winks at during these lines as indicated Great point, it is clear why you are regarded as the founder of the discipline of rhetoric. Truth be told, us rhetoricians can be divided into those subscribing to old rhetoric and those subscribing to new rhetoric; [she looks around slowly at the other attendees] I see that you, represent old rhetoric and the rest of us are affiliated with new rhetoric. Excellent categorization, Cheris! Would you be so kind as to explain the concepts of old rhetoric and new rhetoric to the group [gestures to those at the table]... [winks at and states] this could be very important to Mr. Kenneth over there [gestures to Kenneth, either with his hand or eyebrows]... Smiles Why certainly. For the most part, old rhetoric is concerned with the interplay of logos, or logic; pathos, or emotion, and ethos, identification with the speaker. While concepts of new rhetoric do not reject these precepts, new rhetoric is mostly based on how

2 the audience of a message relates to the speaker. Sits down Excellent explanation, Cheris! Considering that we espouse different schools of thought and come from very different generations, why don t we take a moment to introduce ourselves? Although we have different ideas, I am sure that we have certain things in common as well. Lest we forget what Plato said, Every heart sings a song, incomplete, until another heart whispers back. [after this quotation is said, would like a thought bubble to appear above s head with a smiley face],,,, Stands up and looks at other attendees Nod their heads and smile Stands up and looks at other attendees Nod their heads and smile Greetings to you all, fellow rhetoricians, old and new! I am Kenneth, a new rhetorician, and my rhetorical conceptualizations have to do largely with symbols and elements. My crowning theoretical achievement is the dramatistic pentad, or dramatism more on that a little later [winks and sits]. Fantastic,! Thanks so much [looks at ]. Thank you for the invitation, I admire your work. I am Cheris, also a new rhetorician. My focus within the context of rhetoric has largely been related to muted group theory a concept which posits that certain groups within society do not have a public voice. Groups can be muted for a variety of reasons social, economic and cultural, among others. While the rest of you tend to look at groups and individuals that have a voice and why, I tend to look at the groups and individuals who are overlooked and unheard within society... tricky, tricky! [smiles and sits] Thanks muchly, Cheris. Stands up and Hello, I am Sandra... I am not only a proponent of new looks at other rhetoric, but I am also a feminist, which is deeply reflected in my attendees work. My own crowning achievement on a theoretical level is standpoint theory. In broad terms, my standpoint theory posits that a person s perspective inclusive of background, prior experiences, socio-economic status, among other factors will influence one s subjective account of the world [smiles and sits]. Smiles [emphatically] Truly amazing, Sandra! Would you say then that objectivity is impossible? Shakes her head, chuckling First looks at and then Well, not impossible,... and maybe as a species we will never get there... but it doesn t mean that we shouldn t try to expose ourselves to other perspectives to gather different perspectives on an issue in an attempt to balance out our bias perhaps an exercise in futility, but one worth engaging in nevertheless [looking at the other attendees at the table] I am not sure how my standpoint theory relates to the perspectives of the others [shrugs shoulders]. Well, Sandra, how I see it is that rhetoricians agree on some of the same concepts and differ significantly in other respects. I

3 turns to would say that due to our similarities, we all identify with each other to some extent. Don t you agree, Cheris? Looks at group and then turns her attention back to I do indeed one commonality that I can easily identify is that we all acknowledge that there has to be some identification between a sender of a message and a receiver of the same in order for it to be transmitted effectively. Doesn t identification play a large part of your own theories,? Looking at Why, I am pleased that you have read my work. Yes, as a proponent of new rhetoric, I believe that in order for an audience to be persuaded by a speaker, the audience must first identify with the speaker. Most new rhetoricians are acutely aware of need for a speaker to appeal to an audience. Take for example the Sienna Swagger Wagon commercial, which appeals to parents of a certain generation those who grew up on hip hop, who don t want to be uncool now that they re parents, and most importantly, who swore they would never be soccer parents... the Swagger Wagon gives them a whole new cachet. [link can appear in another thought bubble or as a news ticket at the bottom of the screen] Addressing the group Interesting. I have developed a theory called muted group theory, which posits that language is a man-made construction, therefore represents firstly and foremostly the thoughts, feelings and agendas of men. Therefore, women seldom achieve adequate or effective representation within society. The world looks quite different from a woman s perspective than it does from a man s just take a look at GQ or FHM or Maxim, or images presented in current hip-hop videos clearly only one vision of the world is being presented, largely to serve commercial interests. [looks directly at ] Don t you think, Sandra? Looks at first and then addresses group I agree with you here, Cheris. As a proponent of standpoint theory, I argue that the characteristics and inequalities of society form distinct perspectives, or standpoints, through which society is experienced and viewed. When members of each end of the power spectrum explain their perspectives, a more objective interpretation of situations and circumstances can be created - attempts to resolve power imbalance can be made. Looking at Very interesting still doesn t seem concrete to me, though. Can you offer an example? Looking at Absolutely attempts to resolve power imbalances can be made through open and honest discussion and the sharing of ideas and perspectives. Because our standpoints are living, changing elements of our lives, they can be altered by new information and open minds. Public consultation and public meetings and forums hosted by groups such as the Canadian Council on Social Development can act as strong agents of change within this context; as such non-profits tend to bring together members of socially disparate groups, such as poor people and the organizations that serve them. [link can appear in another thought bubble or as a news ticket at the bottom of the screen]

4 Seems surprised, taken aback Excitedly and nodding his head Nods head enthusiastically Wow, your modern world seems complicated! My concepts are based largely on the basic of logos logic, ethos ethics - and pathos emotion. I guess that modern persuasive messages all embody one or many of these characteristics and that they have wider implications such as standpoints, muted group relevancy as well as identification cues, I just never thought of it this way [hand on forehead]... Hey, I recently saw a televised car commercial for a new four-wheel drive truck. Have any of you seen it? You know- the one with the mountain range and the country music? [thought bubble with stick drawing of these elements appears] I have seen that one... it features a group of men in cowboy hats around a campfire? [thought bubble appears, same drawing as above with these elements added] Yes! Precisely. I know this is a little predictable, but I couldn t help but think of my dramatistic pentad concept when I saw it. I saw the act, or the desired response of the audience, to be identification with the cowboys and their chosen product; the scene, or the circumstances as the act of watching the commercial itself; the agent, or the entity performing the act, as the actors in the advertisement and/or the car company itself; the agency, or the method of communication, as the advertisement and the purpose, or the goal of the communication, to be the purchase of the truck. Smiling Of course! Now I see it... but where do the rest of us fit in? Good question... well, for the message to even be communicated effectively in the first place, the audience has to identify with the actors and images presented it would be unlikely that the commercial would appeal to a young woman, for example. [smugly] Not to brag, but the possibilities for the application of my theories are truly limitless, particularly in a society characterized by commercialism and communication. Taken aback [haughtily] Of course this commercial wouldn t appeal to a young woman not only are the images geared towards men, but women are not even represented. I have seen this commercial as well and I have concerns with the language used simple and forceful statements such as Built like a mountain and Withstand, withstood are excluding women from the communication process women are not represented therein, nor are their ways of communicating. Mumbles Yeah, but they re not exactly going to buy a truck either... Angrily This exclusion could lead a woman to be excluded from a significant transaction buying a family truck. Muted group theory is at work here. Arguably, this exclusion perpetuates the myth that women know nothing about cars and only manly men should make decisions about vehicle purchases. In effect, the advertisement mutes the opinions, presence and contributions of women and prioritizes those of men, don t you think, Sandra? Nodding her head You raise some important points here, Cheris. Clearly, the

5 in agreement interests and needs of men are being targeted by the advertisement in question and this is the case with far too many media products. Thus is the nature of contemporary advertising and target marketing everyone is a segment. Arguably, the narrative presented in the commercial is one based on stereotypes that propagate social myths. Perplexed I am not sure what you mean here, Sandra... As a woman watching the advertisement, the bias of its content is glaring I am not sure that this would be the case if you presented the same advertisement to a member of the target market - a member of the target might not see anything wrong with it at all. Likely, the further away you get from the target market, the more evident the bias and omissions will be. Do you think that all women would have the same reaction to the images and ideas presented, Sandra? Absolutely not, Cheris. Women and marginalized women do not form homogenous groups the standpoints of groups and perspectives are created by a variety of factors such as socioeconomic status, education, experiences, etc. As such, the reaction or the standpoint of any one observer is informed by their own situated knowledge, or their individual experiences and backgrounds. Excitedly Fascinating! What a discussion. When I saw the commercial I identified logos in order to drive up the side of the mountain depicted, one would need quite a sturdy and dependable vehicle; pathos the twangy acoustic song in the background was enough to rouse some feelings and ethos those cowboys look like they know a thing or two about trucks and mountains and well, ruggedness! I thank you for bringing more socially complex notions to my attention. Composure regained Who knew our ideas could be so complementary and yet so different? What a pleasant surprise! [in a separate thought bubble as if he were mumbling] it s always kind of stressful to organize this sort of event... Why no,, we should be thanking you! Coming all the way from ancient Greek times just to chat here today remarkable... you are truly an inspiration to us all. Authoritatively So just to recap, we can all agree that old rhetoric was based on audience psychology and the art of persuasion old rhetoricians, such as myself, concentrated largely on the delivery of a message and how it would be received. New rhetoric focuses on the appeal of the message to the audience and how a message can be analyzed after it has been transmitted. Excitedly Indeed! Communication can be complex and analysis is essential to an effective communication process. We all want our realities to be accepted as real, right? They re real to us! Swagger wagon or not! Business voice Well stated,. I agree on that point the acceptance of a reality can be made more difficult if the powerful people in society have muted your voice because it does not conform to their own

6 needs and machinations. Reconciliatory True, true... And of course, your interpretation or analysis of a certain message will be greatly influenced by your situational knowledge, which forms your standpoint. Excellent points, colleagues thank you for the plentiful discussion. Now on to lighter matters, coffee or something stronger?