Rhetoric in Popular Culture Review

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(More customer reviews)Barry Brummett's "Rhetoric in Popular Culture" seeks to bring the traditions of rhetorical criticism and critical studies together. Brummett applies the growing and cutting-edge methods of critical studies to the study of rhetoric, because he sees critical studies AS rhetorical criticism. This is a premise with which I whole-heartedly agree, which is not surprising given my interest in rhetoric and social theory. Part I consists of four chapters dealing with theoretical and methodological concerns. The extended case study is on the film version of "The Wizard of Oz," in which Brummett looks at how five critical methods (Marxist, feminist/psychoanalytic, dramatistic/narrative, media-centered, and culture-centered) would render different interpretations of Dorothy's trip over the rainbow. Part II provides three critical studies: "Paradoxes of Personalization: Race Relations in Milwaukee," "Twin Peeks: Using Theory in Two Analyses of Visual Pleasures" (by Brummett and Margaret Carlisle Duncan) and "Afrocentrism and 'DO THE RIGHT THING'" (by Detine L. Bowers).
Fortunately in this Postmodern world history is dead and most students are not aware of the rhetorical tradition that would disdain critical studies, not to mention popular culture. Consequently, Brummett does not have to convince students of the rightness of his cause, they are simply going to want to understand what he is talking about. Part I of this book is the stronger section, because Brummett's strength is in laying out his approach. Chapter 3, in which he looks at the key notion of "text," is the best one in the book. How you feel about Part II will come down to how relevant the specific case studies are to your students. Certainly "Do the Right Thing," despite its cultural importance once upon a time, would be considered "dated" by most students, although we might think it has again become relevant because of recent events. But Part I is basically two-thirds of the book, so I do not really think that this becomes a major consideration in deciding whether or not to use this book in class. Ultimately, the key consideration is going to be the sort of assignments you have the cherubs do off of the theories laid out in Part I. Brummet's point is that students should be empowered to "find the rhetoric in rap music, the motivations in heavy metal, and the arguments in argyle socks." That pretty much covers it all.

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Rhetoric in Popular Culture, Third Edition provides students with a solid background in the central issues in interpreting pop culture. Author Barry Brummett helps readers use techniques of rhetorical criticism to analyze texts from popular culture including print ads, music videos, TV advertisements, Internet user groups, movies, and television shows. Part I covers rhetoric as a concept, the history of rhetoric, and a method for doing rhetorical criticism. Part II includes critical essays and case studies that show students how the critical methods discussed in Part I can be used to study the rhetoric of extended texts.

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