Journal 3

The key term I have selected for project one is “audience”. The artifacts I have chosen to use for this project are the film Annie Hall, German propaganda from WWII, and a Facebook post.  I wanted to explore different mediums in which audience plays a significant role in the writer’s/rhetor’s approach to their rhetoric.

 The main reason I chose the film Annie Hall is because the director of the film (Woody Allen) uses a unique approach. In this film, Allen uses a technique known as “breaking the fourth wall” and speaks directly to his audience. This artistic technique has become increasingly more popular and I want to see how this affects an audience. This creates a more intimate relationship between the audience and the director, and I would like to explore the rhetorical impact it has on the film’s audience.

The next artifact I chose to discuss is German propaganda. The news that was coming out in Germany during WWII had a massive impact on its audience. It was able to change the perspective of German citizens and holds historical significance. The power this propaganda had to shift the perceptions of millions of people displays the importance of audience in rhetoric.

The third artifact I would like to discuss is a FB post from a video game developer, asking fans directly what features they would like them to add to their new game. Facebook has millions of users and is something that almost everyone uses in today’s society. It offers a unique medium, where people are able to interact with others from all over the world. This particular artifact shows an instance where a rhetor is reaching out to their audience directly, and how the audience is able to respond to them. The impact social media has had on rhetoric is important, and I chose an artifact that shows the impact it has on an audience.

From Edbauer’s article, we can conclude that rhetoric is an ongoing circulation of texts between different audiences, writers, etc. Society is constantly evolving and rhetoric is changing with it. People are constantly building off of other people’s ideas. The circulation of texts occurs through time and is a constant occurrence.