We Found Love – Rihanna – Generative Criticism

We Found Love is the first single released off of pop artist Rihanna’s sixth album Talk That Talk.  The song premieredSeptember 22, 2011, and topped many music charts around the world.  It features Calvin Harris, a Scottish producer, that helped create this dance-pop track.

I was very surprised the first time I viewed this video because its graphic nature did not seem to suit the techno tune.  However, upon further analysis, I realized that the music video is successful in portraying Rihanna’s angst that would have otherwise been lost due to the catchy track.  The video begins with a sombre monologue about heartbreak and how addicting love can be, which is important because it relates love to drugs, a key aspect of this artifact. The monologue starts the video off with a serious tone using the grey-washed background and minor piano chords.

Shortly after, the music picks up and the mood lifts due to the upbeat tune.  Rihanna and her “boyfriend” are shown having lots of fun as they are smiling, running, and laughing in ordinary places like skate parks and food joints.  Throughout the montage, they are seen smoking and drinking, but they seem like they are just having a good time.  In the chorus, Rihanna sings, “We found love in a hopeless place,” and it seems like the couple has found something good.  However, later on in the song, the video depicts the couple fighting, displaying the disjoint in the relationship.  It starts with Rihanna throwing a dart angrily, and follows with a quick montage of falling buildings, fire, and car fights.  The music then becomes more intense, with a deeper sound, making the song appear tainted.  This time, when Rihanna sings the chorus, it takes on a new, darker meaning, which is depicted by faster clips of spinning (representing chaos), lights, getting tattoos, and screaming.

Overall, this artifact is very interesting and has many more aspects that can be analyzed (including the similarity of the guy to Chris Brown and how this song could be a representation of their relationship).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg00YEETFzg&ob=av2e

The Hunger Games – Pentadic Criticism

The Hunger Games is a popular teen novel written by Suzanne Collins that has been adapted into a much anticipated film.  The movie premieres March 24, starring Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, Liam Hemsworth as Gale, and Josh Hutcherson as Peeta.

The story takes place in Panem, the author’s version of North America in the future (scene).  It is ruled by the wealthy people in the Capitol, who hold the annual Hunger Games to remind the people of the surrounding twelve districts of their power.  Every year, one boy and one girl from every district is chosen randomly to participate in a broadcasted battle, where only person can survive.  The agents are Katniss Everdeen, a tenacious sixteen year old girl who is determined to win, and Peeta Mellark, a kind-hearted boy from the same district.  The main act is to win the Hunger Games, and this includes, running, shooting, screaming, hiding, lying, and various other survival tactics.  The author uses descriptive language to explain how Katniss and Peeta perform their various acts, and by accomplishing this, the author creates a very engaging story.  There is never a dull moment throughout the book, which should make it an interesting movie.  The dominant term for this artifact is most likely Agency because the accomplishing of the goal (winning the Hunger Games) is the foremost concern.  Each of the character’s actions revolve around the main act.  For instance, Katniss pretends to like Peeta, in order for people in the Capitol to like her and support her by giving her gifts in the battle arena.  In this novel, winning the Hunger Games is very important because losing results in death.  In addition, the tribute that wins will make their family wealthy and provide their district with food.  Overall, this is a very interesting read and I suggest it to everyone.

Rogers Commercial – Ideological Criticism

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75S5HaW5-Bs

This artifact is one of a series of Rogers commercials involving the “average Joe” character that fails, allowing the good-looking man to prevail.  The commercial came out in 2010, during the FIFA World Cup.  It takes place during a soccer match where the average guy tries to answer a $10,000 question, but fails due to his slow internet connection.  Consequently, the handsome guy’s fast connection allows him to win the prize money.

The suggested elements in this commercial cluster around the idea of attractiveness.  Better looking people are normally seen as more successful, therefore the ad creators made the handsome guy win the prize money.  Average or unattractive people are typically seen as less successful and more lazy (“slower”), therefore the ad creators made the “average Joe” character lose.  Another way the commercial made Rogers seem attractive was by making the crowd and the handsome character wear red, which is Rogers’ main colour.  Contrastingly, the other man was wearing all yellow (could possibly represent Fido), which makes him look out of place compared to everyone else, and therefore, less appealing.  The handsome man wins the $10,000 by using Rogers, so this commercial reinforces the idea that Rogers has the fastest wireless network and attracts viewers to the company.  Most of these ideologies are fairly obvious and this is because their main function is to create humour.  The “average Joe” character losing to the handsome man is made funny through the obvious result, built up music, and slow motion “No”.  This humour allows people to associate Rogers with more amicable feelings, and therefore, makes it more likely for them to use Rogers for their wireless internet connection.

Twilight – Fantasy-Theme Criticism

Twilight is the first of four books in The Twilight Saga written by Stephenie Meyer.  It has sold 116 million copies worldwide as of October 2010 and has been adapted into a successful movie that grossed $392 million.  Twilight is about a girl named Bella Swan who moves fromPhoenix to Forks and meets a handsome boy named Edward Cullen.  Edward and his family turn out to be vampires, and despite their physiological differences, Edward and Bella fall in love.  However, Bella’s life becomes endangered when a travelling vampire named James takes an interest in her.  Edward saves Bella from James, making the bond between Edward and Bella grow stronger.

The setting themes for Twilight are Forks, rainy, and lacklustre.  Forks is a small town with hardly any excitement, creating more hype around Edward and Bella’s relationship than usual.  The story takes place in a rainy setting because vampires cannot go out into the sunlight.  Character themes used to code the novel are vampires and humans.  These themes create separation between Edward and Bella, which prohibits their association.  The action themes include the initial hostility between Edward and Bella, which spurs their interest in one another, making them fall in love.

These fantasy themes help create the fantasy types of boy meets girl and forbidden love.  Edward is initially interested in Bella because her blood smelled so fragrant.  He is constantly giving her intense stares and ends up saving her life.  This gets Bella’s attention and as they get to know each other, they start to fall for one another.  However, since Edward is a vampire who is so strongly attracted to Bella’s blood, they should be seeing each other.  This idea of forbidden love draws the audience deeper into the story and causes them to root for Edward and Bella’s relationship.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2T7d8j6I5I

Metaphor Criticism – Drops of Jupiter by Train

Train is an American pop rock band consisting of Patrick Monahan, Jimmy Stafford, and Scott Underwood.  “Drops of Jupiter” was nominated for five Grammy Awards, and won two for “Best Rock Song” and “Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)”.

This song is about a man who wonders if the woman he loves will still have feelings for him after her worldly experiences.  The lyricist uses many metaphors about the cosmos and nature to describe the woman.  A good example of this appears in the first chorus.

“Now that she’s back in the atmosphere
With drops of Jupiter in her hair, hey
She acts like summer and walks like rain
Reminds me that there’s a time to change, hey
Since the return from her stay on the moon
She listens like spring and she talks like June, hey, hey”

This woman’s experiences seem so far and great compare the rhetor’s own life, that he views them as part of another universe.  He uses words like atmosphere, Jupiter, and moon to make her journeys appear distant and wondrous.  This was an effective use of metaphors because the universe is so vast, mysterious, and unexplored.  It diminishes our existence on Earth, which coincides to the man’s feelings towards the woman.  In this verse, the rhetor compares the woman to summer, rain, spring and June.  This is successful at showing that she brightens his life.  These seasons depict happiness and sweetness, but they also indicate change.  Spring signals the start of something new, which indicates that the man feels like his relationship with the woman must start afresh because of all her travels.  The rhetor also uses a metaphor to show that he is scared of seeming insignificant because he asks, “Did you fall for a shooting star?”  A shooting star represents something rare and brilliant, and this makes the man feel ordinary in comparison.  Overall, there are many metaphors within this song, which makes it difficult to analyze all of them in a single blog post.

Rudy (1993) – Narrative Criticism

Rudy is a movie starring Sean Astin as the main character Rudy.  Rudy has wanted to play football at Notre Dame for his entire life, but he doesn’t have the size, grades, or talent.  Fighting through many obstacles, he eventually gets accepted into the college of his dreams.  He turns everyone into believers when he makes the football team and is allowed to dress for one game.  This movie is based around the life of Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger.

The objective of this movie is to inspire the audience to persevere and follow their dreams.  This is done through the narrative features of character and temporal relations.  Rudy is a physically small guy from a working class family that is extremely passionate about football.  Rudy is very hard-working, which is evident through is many failures before his successes.  He could not get into Notre Dame directly because his grades were too low, so he enrolled atHolyCrossJunior College.  He meets a tutor that helps him fight through his reading disability and get him into Notre Dame after applying several times.  In Notre Dame, Rudy tries out for the football team and makes it because of his tenacity.  However, since Rudy is so small, he never gets a chance to play.  He works three times as hard as everyone else, but he does not even get to dress.  After three years, he finally gets to dress because everyone on the team offered to sit out of a game just to let him play.  He is mentally very strong because he faces many obstacles, but never gives up on his goal.  Rudy’s perseverance paid off and he managed to inspire many people along the way.

Rudy’s accomplishment was so impressive because he had set a seemingly impossible goal.  It took at least six years (I can’t recall the exact amount) for him to dress for the Notre Dame football team.  This is a really long time considering most people did it one year or would give up after two years.  The movie went through the events in chronological order to show the sequences of events leading to Rudy’s big moment.  Since Rudy was constantly working, there were many shots of him studying and working out.  However, the movie lingered on the parts that invoked emotion, such as when he failed to get into Notre Dame for the second time.

The narrative was addressed to anyone with a dream.  Therefore, this movie appeals to a broad audience and I would highly recommend it.

Carmencita by Rob Roy – Generic Participation

http://www.lyricsmania.com/carmencita_lyrics_rob_roy.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=immVoOs5NAQ

Rob Roy is a talented rapper fromFloridawhose music has been recognized by many hip-hop moguls such as Kanye West and Chris Brown.  His music transcends the norm, as he fuses a variety of styles, but is classified as hip-hop/rap on iTunes.  He rejected all major labels for Dim Mak Records that gives him more creative leeway.  Carmencita is Rob Roy’s second video and it is about the woman he loves having an affair, and the pain and isolation he feels because of it.

Rap music is characterized by spoken lyrics, obvious display of wealth, and strong beats.  The lyrics usually rhyme, are spoken in long verses (as they are the highlight of the songs) and are sometimes explicit (i.e. Ni**a’s inParisby Kanye West & Jay-Z).  Carmencita’s lyrics rhyme and are spoken like a typical rap song.  However, the majority of the track is instrumental and Rob Roy’s language is quite eloquent, making it appear more like spoken poetry rather than rap.

Most rappers have cars, gold chains, and beautiful girls surrounding them in their music videos.  However, Rob Roy’s video is very simple, as it is set against a plain black background and he is dressed smartly in a suit, rather than the typical baggy clothing (i.e. Candy Shop by 50 Cent).  The girls in rap videos are typically draped over the artist to show power.  However, in this song, the girl has dominance over the man because their relationship is based on her terms.  This is evident in her numerous affairs and how she revolves around the man in the video, daring him to make a move.  This makes Carmencita different from most songs in its genre.

Rap music is typically electronic-based with heavy bass and a definite beat (i.e. T.H.E by will.i.am).  Carmencita’s track is very simple and slow-paced with a guitar and a drum to create the recurring beat.  It does not sound like typical rap music because it does not have a lot going on, but does manage to incorporate some heavy bass in the middle of the song.

Overall, Rob Roy’s Carmencita has some rap elements, but it is very different from other songs of its genre.  However, it is difficult to classify this song, and rap seems to be the best fit.

Fast Car by Tracy Chapman – Cluster Criticism

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Orv_F2HV4gk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4zCOHFrLVY

Fast Car by Tracy Chapman is one of those songs you heard several times before, but never knew its name. This is because it was released in April 1988, and peaked to number 1 inCanada, number 6 in theU.S., and number 4 in theUK.  I started listening to Fast Car when my favourite Youtubers Boyce Avenue and Kina Grannis did a cover of it 2010.  You can watch their wonderful collaboration by clicking on the second link.

This song is about a woman who has been poor for her entire life and hope things will get better.  She leaves town with the man she loves, trying to escape the poverty that plagued her life, but this proves to be difficult as it comes cycling back.  Her mother had left her father because he was an alcoholic, and unfortunately, her husband turns to alcohol as well.  She finally tells him to “leave tonight or live and die this way.”

The key term of this song is “fast car” because it is sung at the beginning of each verse.  In addition, the fast car ties into other smaller key terms, including poverty, love, and hope.  In this song, the fast car represents not only the physical means for the woman to escape her past, but also her hope for a better life.  This is evident in the lyrics “I want a ticket to go anywhere … Maybe together we can get somewhere.”  She continuously says “You got a fast car” because she believes that the key to her happiness is the man she has fallen in love with.  She is constantly hoping and dreaming of doing something productive with her life with this man.  She always believes that her predicament will turn and that she’ll one day be able to live in a nice suburban house.  The word “fast” is especially important because it represents the woman’s excitement in leaving everything from her old life behind.  She wanted to leave her home as fast as possible, and when she does, the feeling is exhilarating (“The speed so fast I felt like I was drunk”).  The woman wants a fast car because she is trying to run away from poverty, but in the end it catches up to her.  She is working in dead-end jobs and her husband has resorted to alcohol like her father.  This shows how hard it is to climb over the poverty line without opportunities.  The woman starts to lose hope and realizes that it is her husband that is dragging her down.  In the end, the lyrics notably change from “We leave tonight or live and die this way” to ” You leave tonight or live and die this way”.  The song ends on a bitter note, depicting the disappointment that many impoverished people feel with their lives.

Overall, despite the sad ending, the song is very powerful, as it gives the listener hope and makes them feel empathetic for those living in poverty.

Coach Carter – Neo-Aristotelian Criticism

Coach Carter (2005) is a movie starring Samuel L. Jackson as Ken Carter, a basketball coach, who teaches his players how to succed not only in basketball, but in life.  When Carter arrives, the team looks like they have no future, but he shapes them up and turns them into a phenomenom.  However, when Carter locks down the team because of their poor academic performance, the school becomes angry and forces him to end the lockdown.  Carter quits his job and when he comes back to visit, he finds the team studying.  This is when one of the players, Cruz (Rick Gonzalez), makes a speech.  As Cruz makes his speech, it is apparent that he has become a new person through his delivery.  Prior to Carter’s arrival, Cruz was the most obnoxious, raucous, and unconfident person on the team.  However, during his speech, he uses correct grammar and is refined and eloquent in his language.  It is plain to see that Cruz has become a more confident person because he stands up  and looks Carter straight in the eyes when he speaks.  The director builds up this moment by juxtaposing it against a funny quip from another teammate, having the other guys turn to Cruz as he speaks, and by adding inspirational music in the background.  The camera does a close-up of Cruz’s face at the end, showing his sincereness as he says,” Thank you. You saved my life.”

Throughout the movie, Carter is continually asking Cruz what is his biggest fear, and Cruz uses this as inspiration.  Before this speech, Cruz is whiny and snivelling, which gives him little credibility with the audience.  However, he demonstrates insightfulness and sincerity when he speaks, improving his credibility.  He uses deductive reasoning to convince the audience that his biggest fear, is one shared by everyone, by using the word “our” instead of “my”.  “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”  He explains that he is scared of being unable to fulfill his potential and concludes that others must feel the same.  Cruz’s transormation generates pride in the audience because they get to see the most unruly player turn into a humble person.

The purpose of Cruz’s speech in the moment is to relay his gratefulness to Carter by showing him what he learned.  The purpose of Cruz’s speech in the overall movie, is to show the difference Carter has made in these young men’s lives, using Cruz’s life as the exemplar.  Overall, in terms of Neo-Aristotelian criticism, Cruz’s speech is a success because it is masterful in the canons of delivery and invention.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_Cvz_Bfue4