Department of Communication (CIS), General

Permanent URI for this community

https://ir.ua.edu/handle/123456789/38

Browse

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5

"by the way i'm gay": a rhetorical analysis of celebrity coming out
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2015) Sharples, Adam J.; Black, Jason Edward; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Coming out, and the metaphor of the closet, is the principle organizing mechanism in the construction of LGBTQ public identity, as well as a rite of passage for LGBTQ identified individuals. With the host of recent celebrities going public with their sexuality, while simultaneously disavowing the significance of this statement, these new coming out narratives represent a fascinating shift between celebrity discourse and LGBTQ identity. The ‘coming out’ of celebrity raises both questions as to how the media constructs LGBTQ and subjectivity identity, and broader concerns related to the composition of power, hegemony, and ideology through mass-mediated popular culture. This project questions how coming out functions in the context of LGBTQ public discourse, and aims to better understand how patterns of communication in celebrity rhetoric shape what it means to be LGBTQ. Using a variety of critical rhetorical lenses – including media hegemony, critical rhetoric, narrative paradigm, queer theory, performativity hegemonic masculinity, and celebrity studies- this project analyze the coming out discourse of celebrity personae in conversation with subsequent media coverage through case studies of celebrities in both sport and media. The athlete coming out narrative is assessed through rhetorical analysis of Michael Sam, a football player for the University of Missouri in February 2014. The media figure narrative is examined through Anderson Cooper’s discourse in July 2012. Data sample for analysis is cultivated using a search in the PROQUEST Newspaper Database or newspaper articles in the month that follows each celebrity’s announcement. As a result this project argues mediated coming out narratives function as hegemonic texts that absorb and reframe the challenge of queer visibility. By erasing the political significance of queer visibility, and overcompensating masculine performance, this project offers implications for confessional rhetoric, passing, and the tokenized politics of visibility.
Cowboys, fathers, and everyone else: examining race in the walking dead through the myths of white masculinity
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2017) Pressnell, Levi Addison; Bennett, Beth Susan; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
This study offers an analysis of three different series within The Walking Dead franchise: the comics, the AMC television series, and Telltale’s video games. The critical and commercial popularity of all three make them particularly worthy of study, and the franchise’s focus on characters invites a rhetorical study based on mythic figures across these three different media forms. While critical comparisons have been made either between the comics and the television series or between the comics and Telltale’s video game series, a comprehensive look at the series across all three media has so far escaped critical attention. The study explores characters in The Walking Dead media primarily through two dominant myths of White masculinity: the cowboy with his rugged individualism and the good patriarch with his care for his family. These mythic figures shift across different media, finding incarnations in many different characters and often revealing opposing perspectives that cannot find representation within the myths themselves. Critical analysis reveals the emergence of a general trend among the three series, one of increasing critique and eventual rejection of these myths of White masculinity. Alongside this trend, in character development, analysis across the three media forms suggests that increased interactivity, as seen in the video game franchise, encourages consumers to respond more directly to the myths on display. This factor was especially evident in confronting the racism that was directed at the protagonist of the first game, Lee Everett. Suggestions for future studies include how to adapt other pop culture franchises across different media, the expansion of interactivity with television viewing and second-screen services, and the continued evolution of zombie media.
Invisible bodies, invisible labor: a rhetorical analysis of Ramiro Gomez’s cut-outs
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2017) Morales, Fernando; Brooks, Adam Sharples; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Latino/a communities have used art, like the mural, as a way to showcase life in the United States. Similarly, Ramiro Gomez, a first-generation Mexican-American artist, crafted a series of cardboard Cut-Outs around Los Angeles to humanize undocumented bodies and labor. Gomez’s work forces both, Latino/a and non-Latino/a audiences, to confront their perceptions towards these invisible people and their labor. Rhetorical critics have looked at the power of the visual as a form to communicate meaning. By establishing a series of theoretical frameworks connecting vernacular discourses, critical rhetoric and visual rhetoric this study engages the artwork of Ramiro Gomez. This study looks into the ways Gomez’s Cut-Outs render undocumented bodies and labor into subjectivity in American spaces. Through examining a collection of his Cut-Outs from his biographical book Domestic Scenes: The Artwork of Ramiro Gomez, this study looks at how these art pieces created, placed and disposed of in American spaces. Second, this study analyzes the rhetoric surrounding Latino/a communication studies, critical rhetoric, vernacular discourses and visual rhetoric. Additionally, it will provide context of the United States current relationship with immigration. As a result, by analyzing Gomez’s artwork, this study will explore what his images contribute to communication studies regarding undocumented bodies and Latino/a communication studies.
Rhetoric of commonality: an Afrocentric analysis of Jesse Jackson's discourse and performance at the 1984 and 1988 Democratic National conventions
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2013) Fox, Kyle R.; Black, Jason Edward; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Despite the vast research by rhetorical scholars on political communication, scant attention has been paid to contemporary black political speech, which is becoming increasingly present. The present study provides an analysis of Jesse Jackson's 1984 and 1988 Democratic National Convention (DNC) discourse to discover how his rhetoric conforms to an Afrocentric rhetorical ideology. This study also examines how Jackson's performance of gender and race identity functions in the dominant American political sphere, employing three representative identities of black masculinity, the race man, the new black aesthetic, and the nigga. The significance of this study is punctuated by the idea Jackson used a culture-centered rhetorical approach to capture diverse audiences, when delivering speeches of major importance, while embracing his identity. Through examining his most popular pieces of discourse from 1984 and 1988, this study first attempts to analyze Jackson's rhetoric using the method of rhetorical criticism, specifically, Afrocentricity to examine his speech text. Second, this study examines Jackson's rhetorical performance of his black masculine identity. As a result, Jackson's discourse and rhetorical performance of his identity offers implications concerning Afrocentricity and black masculinity.
"We the women of Juárez are strong": a rhetorical analysis of Diana, the huntress of bus drivers
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2016) Roberts, Matthew Austin; Butler, William Sim; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
In August 2013, a woman boarded a bus in Juárez, Mexico. As she left the bus, she shot the bus driver in the head, fatally wounding him. The next morning, she boarded another bus, killing a second driver. In the days following the attack, a person, claiming to be responsible for these crimes, sent a note to local media, calling herself Diana, the Huntress of Bus Drivers. In the city of Juárez, bus drivers often sexually assault women when they take public transportation home from work. Claiming to be a victim of sexual violence herself, Diana hoped to be a voice for other survivors by challenging legal structures and gender expectations in her city. In this thesis, I explore through Burkean methods, narrative analysis, and gender criticism how Diana seeks to break these boundaries by studying the media coverage of these events. Finally, I offer conclusions for future research.

Browse

Browsing Department of Communication (CIS), General by Author "Austin, Gregory P."

Results Per Page

Sort Options