Reading
through Ridolfo and Rife's "Rhetorical Velocity," reminded me of the
concept of "remixes" and what exactly happens once we remix a piece
of literature, movie, art, etc. The main terms and concepts examined fall under
rhetorical velocity, delivery, appropriation and recomposition. Ridolfo and
Rife use the student Maggie Ryan's case to exemplify the surprising distance
that possible strategies for delivery can travel. "SEJ and MEXA activists'
primary strategic objective for the protest was to obtain broadcast coverage
and to continue their strategy of maintaining a consistent presence in the
local news"(224).The rhetorical velocity of the delivery of the footprints
broadcast is what gained the attention of president Lou Anna K. Simon.
Rhetorical
velocity is, "the strategic concept of delivery in which a rhetor
theorizes the possibilities for the recomposition of a text based on how s/he
anticipates how the text might later be used" (R&R 229).
Re-composition is when, "the rhetorician also considers how the release
may be recomposed in ways advantageous or disadvantageous to the rhetor's goals
and objectives" (R&R 229). Delivery relates to the way a theory is
presented to an audience. Whereas, "appropriation then needs unpacking,
and by relying on Flessas' (2008) use of the Lockean concept of
labour-mixing" (238).
Ridolfo
and Ryan unpack the legal, ethical and conceptual issues relating to Maggie's
case. They examine the idea of the appropriation of images and bodies. They
state: "the image of Maggie and human bones are in some respects
symmetrical: both are bodies over which allegations of appropriation and claims
to ownership have arisen. In turn, these allegations of appropriation also
invoke issues of free speech and privacy" (231). The Orphans Works Act
then states, "the idea that artifacts like Maggie's picture are orphans,
and how such an idea might intersect with our rhetorical theories of production
and appropriation, is something worthy of further research and examination in composition
and rhetoric" (233).
When
examining the Orphans Works Act and putting it into perspective to appropriation
of the image and the body, this intrigued me. I want to put this into a
realistic perspective and use the example of the "hot" movie 50
Shades of Grey. Yes, I know there's many of us who have seen the movie and
thought it was terrible (I did) and there's others who simply did not see the
movie. But, I feel that this might be a fitting example of the idea of body, image
and appropriation. The 50 Shades of Grey trailer was released and from the trailer
people have changed the characters and ultimately made a remix just how
Maggie's photo's appropriation was remixed. The link below is a remix called '50
Shades of Wayne'. The video keeps the idea present but changes the male
character to fit what the creator of the trailer thought would be more fitting.
Again, similar to how Michigan University took Maggie's image and placed it
into a setting they thought fit better. Watch:
Now,
if we were to look at this video under Miller's scope of genre we would have a
slightly different outlook. Ridolfo and Rife's theories regarding
"Rhetorical Velocity and Copyright" matches Miller's definition of genre
slightly. The two terms closely related to Miller's outlook of genre are-rhetorical
velocity and delivery. Miller looks at genre as a social action. She states,
"in sum, what I am proposing so far is that in rhetoric the term 'genre'
be limited to a particular type of discourse classification, a classification
based in rhetorical practice and consequently open rather than closed and
organized around situated actions" (155). If Miller were to look at the
remixed version of 50 Shades of Wayne, she would notice a situated action
interpreted pragmatically. She further states, "Classifications and
distinctions based on form and substance have told us much about
sentimentalism, women's liberation, and doctrinal movements, for example"
(155). This quote directly corresponds to Ridolfo and Rife's concept of
rhetorical velocity and delivery. I think that Miller could agree that the
delivery of the remixed trailer played a role in interpreting the original
genre of the movie. The rhetorical velocity that Ridolfo and Rife talk about
contributes to Miller's genre. Miller would look at rhetorical velocity as the theoretical
map to genre. Without rhetorical velocity, a genre would not have a meaning. Rhetorical
velocity allows an open interpretation to take place for the viewer. This
correlates to Miller's perception of genre.
-Anjelica MacGregor-
Hi Anjelica,
ReplyDeleteI liked how you used a modern day example of remix in relation to that of Maggie's case. It is obvious that the point of the remixed trailer was to further demonstrate the genre of this particular movie, but through a lens that was different from that of the original trailer in order to be more successful. The argument here is intended to exemplify something that the original trailer does not about the genre of this movie. Through these changed actors, the movie itself may have been considered better by its viewers. This works with the rhetorical process in that brings something new into perspective in order to show a type of rhetoric that is not as obvious in the original setting. The delivery method isn't necessarily changed, but what is delivered to viewers to be interpreted has changed. The altered characters here can certainly relate to that of Maggie's photo, which was altered to suit that of the intended purpose of promoting campus life and happiness it brings to students. However, the purpose of the trailer is to ultimately further emphasize the genre of this movie and demonstrate how it would be improved with these characters in this film, while the purpose of Maggie's photo is completely different than that of its original meaning. While she was actually protesting when the photo was taken, she was then changed to appear as having fun in a winter setting by the university. In this case, genre was also changed. Protesting and winter fun are two completely different subjects, but in the movie trailer, the idea was not completely changed. This is something to consider when comparing the two.
You seem to highlight the term rhetorical velocity quite a few times throughout your post, which I also find to be the most crucial term to the rhetorical process. It seems to be the backbone through which delivery and appropriation can even come into play. Through rhetorical velocity, a rhetor works to find the appropriate method through which delivery will be most effective. As you state, Miller would see rhetorical velocity as a theoretical map to genre, which I agree with. It’s essentially the foundation through which genre can be interpreted by its viewers, and I think this is a strong connection that can certainly be seen between the two authors. Good job!
-Vanessa Coppola
50 Shades of Wayne is a great example to relate to Miller's concept of genre. It's much like Maggie Ryan's case, where another rhetor takes an image/video out of its original context and puts it into their another to serve their own purposes. But an important distinction in this case is that most of the people that saw Maggie Ryan's image on MSU's website wouldn't have known what she was doing originally. MSU completely warped the intention of what was happening in the scene. But in 50 Shades of Wayne, anyone who watches the video is aware of the context of the video: it's making fun of a well known movie.
ReplyDeleteWhile "rhetorical velocity" is and important concept that relates to genre, I feel you leave out the importance of "recomposition". "Recomposition" is the actual act of placing something in a new context, and in essence creating a new genre. "Rhetorical velocity" is more of a method for considering new genres, or a general acceptance that most anything can be taken out of its original context and place into another one.