Maeve's Blog

I am a girl and I am a golfer. From experience, if “girl” in the previous sentence is replaced with “boy”, there is generally a very different response to each sentence. In biological terms the only difference between the two nouns is that he has a Y chromosome whereas she has an X. However, in sociological terms it means that I am going to be treated very differently based on whether I am a boy or girl. I grew up in Ireland and I played High Performance Golf until I was seventeen. Throughout my time playing golf, I noticed that my fellow female panelists and I was treated very differently to those on the boys panel. They got more funding, better sponsors and more time with expert coaches. For example, our gear was sponsored by Abacus whereas Under Armour sponsored the boys. As this is something that I grew up around, I did not fight it because I did not want it to be used against me for future opportunities. I never considered making a career out of golf because of the way that women are treated and how women’s golf is perceived in the public eye. Apart from the fact that I did not want to make my hobby my career, the main reason that I did not want to become a Professional Golfer was the amount of compensation that LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) tour players receive. It had always annoyed and frustrated me that men got paid so much more although the women seemed to be performing very similar tasks to the men. It made me question the system that was in place and how it came to be that way.

There has and will continue to be discussion of gender equality in the media and recently in sport. The news of the US Women’s Soccer Team’s gender discrimination lawsuit against the United States Soccer Federation for unequal pay prompted me to think about the discrepancies that exist between the way that women and men are treated in golf. My experience of playing golf in Ireland reflects the difficulties that women in sport and in Professional Golf are faced with everyday and I will be focusing on these difficulties throughout my paper. I propose that some of these issues stem from the way that women in golf have been treated in the past. Golf is not one of the big three sports (football, basketball and baseball) that are generally talked about in the media and I think that it is necessary to take a closer look at the world of golf for men and women to establish the problems and to suggest possible solutions. Golf was considered a gentleman’s game for a very long time and some aspects of this mentality still exist today as some golf clubs do not let women become full members for the simple fact that they are women. I will show how these historical biases have manifested themselves in society’s view of women in sport and in golf and how these stereotypes make it more difficult for women to overcome the negativity that surrounds their sporting careers. While the gender pay gap is an issue that many women golfers struggle with, their presentation in the media does not help the inequality that already exist.

I believe that the differences between the way that men and women are treated in the world of golf can be related to the historical context of women in the game. Hudson discusses how golf courses were places that many British suffragettes would protests as golf courses were considered to be places where the powerful men would gather (115). This set a historical pretext for the exclusion and unequal treatment of women in golf. Augusta National is one of the most prestigious golf clubs in the US and it is the home to one of the majors of the PGA Tour, The Masters. Augusta had a reputation of only having male members but in 2012 they allowed two women to become members. This success can be attributed to Burk’s challenge of the policies at Augusta (Hudson 119). Burk, chairwoman of the National Council of Women’s Organizations, fought for Augusta National to open its doors to women. Her efforts exponentially sped up the timeline for this to happen. While this was a huge step against the battle of discrimination of women in golf, it is still despicable that it took until 2012 for women to be granted admission to the club. Furthermore, this is not an isolated event as it was only in 2014 that the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews in Scotland allowed women to be members. It is interesting to note that the golf clubs that are slowest to change their policies are the ones that are rooted in history. This exemplifies the fact that the tradition of golf belongs to men and not to women. It is clear from these two high profile golf clubs that it takes a long time for the world of golf to move with the times.

“We’re going to take a trip to play Portmarnock if you would like to join us?” With a heavy heart and a hint of resentment I decline the offer. I have always wanted to play the beautiful golf course that is situated on the north Dublin peninsula. However, my brain will not let my heart experience such a wonderful course because of the golf club’s policies. Portmarnock Golf Club has no female members. I have denied myself the opportunity to play the course to stand in solidarity with the women who wish to be a part of the club but have been refused admission because they are women. It angers me that blatant acts of discrimination can still occur in Ireland where there has been so much other social advancement. Traditionally, Ireland has been a very Catholic and conservative country but in the last five years Ireland has legalized gay marriage and abortion yet Portmarnock has no female members of its golf club in 2019. They have been encouraged by high profile stars in the golf world such as Rory McIlroy to change their membership policies but the club are standing firm in their views. It greatly upsets and worries me that there are people in powerful managerial positions that can be so discriminatory.

The gender discrimination of women in sport today can be seen clearly in the amount of TV coverage that they receive and the way that this coverage is presented. While the participation of women in sport has increased, the coverage of women’s sport has not followed the same trend (Cooky 205). More worryingly is that the coverage is more sexualized than the coverage of men’s sport and focuses more on the scandals that are associated with the sport as opposed to the actual skills demonstrated by the female athletes (Cooky 205). Interestingly, the authors state that although the amount of disrespectful coverage of women has decreased this could be as a result of the almost non existence of women’s sport on TV. That being said there were many instances of sexualized gags stories, fights, scandals and depictions of women as girlfriends or mothers (217). However, sexualized and disrespectful stories were not limited to women. In fact there were also instances of men being ridiculed such as David Beckham whose sporting prowess was considered a thing of the past and that he is not recognized as a good soccer player but as a sex symbol. While both men and women are sexualized by the media at times, the way that these segments are integrated into the program that is very different and makes a big difference. The stories that surround these segments about men were respectful and celebration of male athletes whereas the women’s stories were usually the only story about women in a section of the broadcast which re-enforces the lack of respect that the media has for women. Also the word woman is regularly included in the name of a tournament that also has a male equivalent such as the national championship of basketball for the men is referred to as “The National Championship Game” but as “The Women’s National Championship Game” for the women (Weiller 3). I would not consider this discrimination but it highlights the fact that it is the women’s version of a men’s sport. It enforces the hierarchy associated with Professional sports.

With relation to golf it was interesting to note that it is not one of the three main sports (football, basketball and baseball) that are covered(Cooky need page number). In addition football doesn’t have a well established female equivalent and it is responsible for the most coverage of sports. While men’s golf is responsible for only 7% of coverage, womens golf along with soccer, tennis and softball combined had less than 1% of total coverage (212). Weiller shows how the production process changes based on whether it is women or men’s golf coverage. Visual effects such as the virtual leaderboard and club selection were shown approximately three times as much for the men’s coverage than the women’s. Weiller deduces that this could result from the belief that the audience who watch men’s golf are more knowledgeable about golf than the women’s’ golf respective audience (4). Weiller shows how the commentators in golf reveal their implicit biases against women golfers by the strength of the words that they use to describe the women. The raw number of these strength descriptors over three times as much. When strength descriptors were used in the women’s coverage there was some ambivalence presence such as “She’s a delightful lady who can sure launch it into the air.” (5). This ambivalence is lacking in the men’s coverage and the commentators are more willing to make excuses for the bad shots that the men make which could be related to social construct that men are not supposed to fail. Going off the idea in the previous paragraph that the way women are spoken about in the sports coverage in general is present in golf also. Firstly, the use of nicknames and first names are used in men’s golf and very seldom present in women’s coverage. This promotes a sense of recognisability that is associated with the men’s game especially as first names are usually given to the young male players and nicknames for the greats of the men’s game such like Jack Nicklaus presented as “The Golden Bear” (6). It re-enforces the gap that exists between the status of men’s and women’s golf.

A number of issues about gender discrimination lead back to the gender pay gap. However this is a very difficult issue to resolve because it is hard to know what criteria must be applied in order to test if discrimination is present. One model that is often used is “equal pay for equal work.” I find that this is a very adequate measure especially when we are examining professions in which productivity can be reasonably obtained. It is not quite so easy to apply to the world of sports in particular those in which men and women do not compete directly against each other. For sports, equal pay for equal skill seems to be a reasonable framework to use but it  becomes difficult to establish the criteria that discern whether one sex is more skillful than another. This is the question that Shmanske wishes to answer in his paper. He concludes that there is not discrimination against the pay that women receive. Shmanske bases his conclusions off of the statistical data that he gathered from the PGA and LPGA. While the majority of his methods are good, I have a problem with the way that he chose sample. He chose the top 130 men and women golfers respectively. While this seems fair initially, I believe that the amount of women and men that play on their respective tours should be considered. There are 245 men and 135 women that have earned money on their tours in 2019. As there is such a large difference in the numbers that actively play on the tour I think that the sample for the research should be a percentage of this group for example the top 25% of players. This would make the results more comparable. There are also external factors that need to be considered when interpreting the results that Shmanske has computed. Firstly, one of the significant statistics related to earnings was driving distance (how far the first stroke on a hole would travel). Men hit the golf ball further than women as biologically they are stronger than women. Women biologically are not designed to be stronger than men and I do not think that the statistics should go against them because of this.

I am a girl and I am a golfer. From experience, if “girl” in the previous sentence is replaced with “boy”, there is generally a very different response to each sentence. In biological terms the only difference between the two nouns is that he has a Y chromosome whereas she has an X. However, in sociological terms it means that I am going to be treated very differently depending on whether I am a male or female. I grew up in Ireland and I played High Performance Golf until I was seventeen. Throughout my time playing golf, I noticed that I was treated very differently to the boys panel. They got more funding, better sponsors and more time with expert coaches. Take for example, our gear was sponsored by Abacus whereas Under Armour sponsored the boys. As this is something that I grew up around, I did not fight it because I did not want it to affect future opportunities. I never considered making a career out of golf because of the way that women are treated and how women’s golf is perceived in the public eye. The news of the US Women’s Soccer Team’s gender discrimination lawsuit against the United States Soccer Federation for unequal pay prompted me to think about the discrepancies that exist between the way that women and men are treated in golf.

My experience of playing golf in Ireland reflects the difficulties that women in Professional Golf are faced with everyday and I will be focusing on these difficulties throughout my paper. I propose that some of these issues stem from the way that women in golf have been treated in the past. Golf is not one of the big three sports (football, basketball and baseball) that are generally talked about in the media and I think that it is necessary to take a closer look at the world of golf for men and women to establish the problems and to suggest possible solutions. Golf was considered a gentleman’s game for a very long time and some aspects of this mentality still exist today as some golf clubs do not let women become full members for the simple fact that they are women. I will show how these historical biases have manifested themselves in society’s view of women in sport and in golf and how these stereotypes make it more difficult for women to overcome the negativity that surrounds their sporting careers. While the gender pay gap is an issue that many women golfers struggle with, their presentation in the media does not help the inequality that already exist.

I believe that the differences between the way that men and women are treated in the world of golf can be related to the historical context of women in the game. Hudson discusses how golf courses were places that many British suffragettes would protests as golf courses were considered to be places where the powerful men would gather (115). This set a historical pretext for the exclusion and unequal treatment of women in golf. Augusta National is one of the most prestigious country clubs in the US and it is the home to one of the majors of the PGA Tour, The Masters. Augusta had a reputation of only having male members but in 2012 they allowed two women to become members. This success can be attributed to Burk’s challenge of the policies at Augusta (Hudson 119). Burk, chairwoman of the National Council of Women’s Organizations, fought for Augusta National to open its doors to women. Her efforts exponentially sped up the timeline for this to happen. While this was a huge step against the battle of discrimination of women in golf, it is still despicable that it took until 2012 for women to be granted admission to the club. This is not an isolated event as it was only in 2014 that the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews in Scotland allowed women to be members. It is interesting to note that the golf clubs that are slowest to change their policies are the ones that are rooted in history. This exemplifies the fact that the tradition of golf belongs to men and not to women. It is clear from these two high profile golf clubs that it takes a long time for the world of golf to move with the times.

“We’re going to take a trip to play Portmarnock if you would like to join us?” With a heavy heart and a hint of resentment I decline the offer. I have always wanted to play the beautiful golf course that is situated on the north Dublin peninsula. However, my brain will not let my body experience such a wonderful course because of the golf club’s policies. Portmarnock Golf Club has no female members. I have denied myself the opportunity to play the course to stand in solidarity with the women who wish to be a part of the club but have been refused admission because they are women. It angers me that blatant acts of discrimination can still occur in Ireland where there has been so much other social advancement. Traditionally, Ireland has been a very Catholic and conservative country but in the last five years Ireland has legalized gay marriage and abortion yet Portmarnock has no female members of its golf club in 2019. They have been encouraged by high profile stars in the golf world such as Rory McIlroy to change their membership policies but the club are standing firm in their views. It greatly upsets and worries me that there are people in powerful managerial positions that can be so prejudiced.

The gender discrimination of women in golf today can be seen clearly in the amount of TV coverage that they receive and the way that this coverage is presented. While the participation of women in sport has increased, the coverage of women’s sport has not followed the same trend (Cooky 205). More worryingly is that the coverage is more sexualized than the coverage of men’s sport and focuses more on the scandals that are associated with the sport as opposed to the actual skills demonstrated by the female athletes (Cooky 205). Weiller shows how the commentators in golf reveal their implicit biases against women golfers by the words that they use to describe the women. While it is not discrimination, the word woman is regularly included in the name of a tournament that also has a male equivalent such as the national championship of basketball for the men is referred to as “The National Championship Game” but as “The Women’s National Championship Game” for the women (Weiller 3).

The author of “Signing Their Lives Away” displays many ethical attributes of storytelling in her writing. Firstly, in the introductory anecdote, the student keeps the names of the young men that were involved in the incident hidden which shows respect for the individuals that were involved. In addition, the student told these stories not for their own sake but to advance her argument based on personal experience. There was also not judgment present in the student’s recollection of these events. This allows us to trust her as we can assume that she is giving us an unbiased anecdote of the two incidents and gives authenticity to her work. The author of “The Cross We Have To Bear” also showed aspects of ethical storytelling. It is clear what the author’s feeling were towards Fr. Fugee but she did not let this dislike of him change the way that she told the story. The author also wrote with a sense of compassion for the victims and she was very respectful of what they must have gone through

Drug overdose has to be one of the most sensitive subjects that this student could have chosen. It is a very complex and difficult subject to talk about but the student makes the topic manageable by focusing on heroin and opioid overdoses in the suburbs of Philadelphia. This research topic is good because the student deals with specific drugs in an appropriate sized region. I think that this student captures the attention of the Writing Fresh audience because it manages to intertwine the emotional sensitive stories with statistics and analysis of a problem that many people are aware of even if they had not been impacted by the Opioid Crisis themselves. The student who wrote the second paper took the very broad and difficult subject of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church as her research topic but narrowed her lens to make it into a researchable topic. Instead of dealing with the issue as a whole the author focuses on abuse that has taken place at Notre Dame. She took statistics and trends from the overarching topic but scaled them down to relate it to Notre Dame. The author captures the interest of her audience by choosing a topic that has been reported in the media for quite a substantial time and relates it to a place that the students who are reading her piece can relate to – Notre Dame.

Both authors seamlessly transitions between first and third person in their papers. I think that some of the first author’s success can be put down to the fact that the student’s voice is still present in the third person narrative. The paper is also very well organized as each anecdote either leads into or follows one of the main points that the student is discussing. The second paper contained more first person perspectives than the previous paper. The majority of the paper is told in the first person or at least based on first person experience and opinions. The author branches into third person when she needs to discuss statistics, reports and quotes to back up the points that she is making. Just as with the previous paper, the author’s voice is still very present in the third person analysis of her topic which helps the gap between the first and the third person viewpoints to blend together well.

The Unspoken Relationships

Just as humans enjoy time to ourselves, ultimately we are social creatures who rely on interpersonal relationships. These relationships span a wide array of categories from familial relationships to friendships to romantic relationships. Relationships are seen throughout Notre Dame’s campus whether it be friends joking with each other about a funny incident from class, a student discussing research ideas with a professor and young love blossoming on the cold windy walk to DeBart. While this is what we see and think of when relationships come to mind, this is only a surface view. There can be a more sinister side to these relationships that’s not publicly advertised.

Notre Dame’s student-led production of Show Some Skin: Drop the Wall provides an excellent platform for the discussion of the events that unfold behind closed doors and high walls. The annual production which first graced Notre Dame’s campus in 2012 gives a voice to the voiceless and is a catalyst for lesser spoken topics to be discussed on campus. The themes explored in this year’s performance were as wide as they were deep which included disability, gender, race, religion and politics. However, there is an overarching theme of relationships that is explored in the majority of monologues. Many of these monologues highlight the tragedy associated unhealthy relationships and the emotional scars that are left for the victim. That being said, the monologues are not simply an expression of what occurred but instead they are an expression of strength and healing that serves to empower those who have gone through a similar situation to the authors of the monologues. In addition, they affect the audience members indirectly by inviting them to reflect and question the health on the relationships in their lives and those around them.

Show Some Skin functions as a rhetorical branch of theatre. In this analysis, rhetoric will be considered as George Kennedy eloquently describes as “The energy inherent in emotion and thought, transmitted through a system of signs, including language, to others to influence their decisions or actions” (Herrick 5). While Kennedy does not explicitly refer to theatre in this definition, it encompasses all forms of rhetoric. This definition is very applicable to Show Some Skin because the goal of each monologue and the production as a whole is to use emotional and thought provoking appeals to impact the thought processes of the audience. Rhetoric in theatre is used in a different way than other mediums of rhetoric because there are so many external influences such as staging and lighting that add to the rhetoric of the performance.

For Show Some Skin to be a success and to appropriately display the theme of unhealthy relationships at Notre Dame, the production must operate with honesty, respect and integrity. This is especially true because the show is constructed from anonymously submitted monologues that often reveal difficult or traumatizing topics. The monologues are a form of rhetorical theatre according to Campbell. He states that rhetoric of theatre can exist in the script itself, staging and interpretation of the script. The first two of these forms exist in Show Some Skin, however, the third is absent as it is not in the ethos of the production to alter the rhetorical purpose of the monologues in a way that was not intended by the author. The absence of Campbell’s third form of the rhetoric of theatre and the ethos of the show cultivates trust amongst members of the Notre Dame community which makes them feel safe enough to share their stories with the community. Resulting from the raw vulnerability that is shown on the part of the author, it promotes a greater influence on the audience as there is no attempt to hold back details that could be difficult to mention. The impact of this strategy lasts long after the light go up. Humans crave credibility and the truth which is exactly what they get at the performance. The respect for the production promotes the discussion on campus not just about how well the show was put together but how the stories impacted the audience members. It encourages the audience members to reflect on what they have just seen and how it relates to themselves and their peers.

The use of props was very cleverly executed to portray the health of relationships. A stool was a common prop that was used in multiple monologues although it had a different rhetorical purpose in each case. “Carpet Hair” and “Bigger and Butcher” both used the stool to convey the state of mind that they were in. In “Bigger and Butcher”, the actor uses the stool as a time of reflection and to portray conversational ideas with herself. It allows both the actor and the audience member a time to step back from the story and to get the actor’s commentary about how she was feeling about her sexuality. However, the actor in “Carpet Hair” uses the stool to  show her frustration at her boyfriend’s lack of respect for her traditional Sudanese haircut. She slams the stool on the stage as a symbol of her outrage about her boyfriend’s mindless and piercing comments. That being said, both monologues use the stool to invite the audience to understand their feelings and reactions. The stool helps the audience to recognize when the actor is changing perspectives which brings the audience member on the emotional journey with the actors.

Just as humans enjoy time to ourselves, we are social creatures that rely on relationships with each other. These relationships span a wide array of categories from familial relationships to friendships to romantic relationships. Relationships and specifically the health of these relationships was a major topic in the Notre Dame student-led production of Show Some Skin: Drop the Wall. The performance incorporated monologues that were composed and submitted to the show anonymously by members of the Notre Dame community. As a production, Show Some Skin has remarkable power to start discussion among students, faculty, staff and alumni alike about topics that are not usually spoken about on campus. Various stories involving relationships were presented and many highlighted the tragedy associated with them when they become unhealthy. However, the monologues revealed the healing of the individual from their struggle although the emotional scars still remain.  

Thesis Statement: The production of Show Some Skin: Drop the Wall presents many different experiences of relationships. The production relies on the honesty and openness of the monologue authors and audience members alike. The use of emotional appeals, lighting and props encourages the audience to think about the health of their relationships and of those around them.

• They used props to set the scene, portray emotion or analysis.
• Production can be effective because of a good use of ethos which allows authors to feel safe in being vulnerable and sharing their story.
• Actors and scripts invite audience members to change their opinions.
• Lighting kept audience engaged and allowed them to move forward with the story.

The most memorable thing about the show was the vast array of topics that were brought up. All of the monologues were written by members of the Notre Dame family which made it hit even closer to home. As I am so far away from home, Notre Dame has truly become my family. I feel closer to my friends here than I did to my friends that I had known for years at home. I think that this deep connection that I have with the community makes it more difficult to hear the difficulties that many have gone through. Walking around campus everyday I would not have imagined that some of these stories are what some people have behind their walls.

I really liked the use of the screen for some of the monologues. It was subtle and seamless and did not take away from the monologue in any way. In fact, I think that it added an extra dimension that may not have been included in the script but supported the story very well. I particularly thought the use of the screen for the Job Hunting was extremely powerful. Putting a face to the custodian that had died in the library parking lot made the story a lot more real for me. In addition, it made me feel very bad about myself and sick to my stomach because I had not heard about this incident. This was my favorite monologue because it served to express what it is like to be the child of blue collar workers at Notre Dame and as a tribute to the work of the custodian whose death was not acknowledged as much as it deserved to be.

The performances had a very interesting relationship to Campbell’s three rhetorics of theatre essay. The first category relates to the script of the monologue. This was clearly visible in each of the pieces but the style that the monologues were written in was different for some of the pieces. Some were simply short one liners while others took the form of a letter to or from a particular person, reflections and a dating advertisement. The performances also related to his second element of rhetoric – the rhetoric of performance. This is visible in the way that the stage was set up and how the actors chose to interpret the monologues. Some used props such as a stool or a cell phone while others made use of the screens, lights, sound effects as well as other actors.

I think that there was also a strong relationship between Show Some Skin and Kaplan’s article. While they had very different end goals their concept was quite similar. As mentioned by Kaplan, the performance used the technique of distance to enhance the overall experience of the piece. The actors that were performing did not necessarily write the pieces that they were performing. This created a productive distance as the actor could take a step back and assess how to interpret the monologue that they were given to tell the story in the best way possible. The distance between the actor and the piece gave them the space to  see the script as a whole and to not get caught up in the memories that would be there if it had been a piece that they had written themselves.

It resonated with me how many stories of gender roles that I could relate to. Sometimes I feel like I am the only person who experiences the effects of gender roles but today it showed me that I am most definitely not alone. It was also interesting to hear stories from the boys’ perspective. I not really used to hearing what they feel with relation to gender roles. My friends that are guys would never talk about a topic like this and that can also be said for my dad and brother. It was good to hear them being honest about their experiences as society does not generally consider it “manly” for them to be vulnerable and to talk about their feelings.It challenged me to think about the writers attitudes and whether I also possess them.

With relation to the Kaplan article, there was a distance created as each person read a story that was not theirs and it was the readers job to interpret the text and figure out how to express the author’s intentions. The distance that was created was productive distance as it was not to close to the performer for it to make them uncomfortable. At the same time, the distance was not too great for “entrenchment” to occur. As we discussed in class, there was a chance that too much distance would be created if the boys were reading girls’ pieces and vice versa. It would not be productive distance as it may be too difficult for a girl to relate to a boys story (or a boy to read a girl’s story) and this would lead to a less convincing performance which is not fair to the author.

The experience reflected quite a lot of what was reflected in Campbell’s article The Rhetoric of Theatre. Campbell’s ‘rhetoric of the text” is related to the story that the author created. The text itself is most definitely rhetorical as it presents a personal experience about gender roles that strives to evoke a particular response from the audience with relation to the issue. Campbell’s second form, the rhetoric of production, also existed in the activity. It was the performer’s task to choose how to present the piece and to use various dramatic techniques such as inflection and strength of their voice to convey the message of the text in the best way possible. However, the final form of Campbell’s article, the rhetoric of opposition, was not present in our activity. There is a possibility that someone could have incorporated this element into the activity but it would not have productive. Since the piece could have been written by one of our classmates, we had to be aware as the pieces were very personal and it would be cruel to alter the intended purpose of their piece.

Show Some Skin definitely functions as a rhetorical text. Firstly, the scripts are very rhetorical which correspond with Campbell’s “rhetoric of the text”. The monologues themselves focus on various, necessary and lesser discussed topics such as racism and diversity. The goal of the scripts is to change the audience’s view on what these topics mean and represent. The aim of Show Some Skin as a whole is to “give a voice to unspoken stories”. It is done through anonymous student monologue submissions.

The production itself is also considered rhetorical as it follows Campbell’s second rhetoric of theatre, “the rhetoric of production”. This element deals with the piece of theatre as it appears on stage. The one key thing to note about this specific element of rhetoric is that theatre presents an example of an issue but not an overarching argument about it. Theatre is specific, not generic. In relation to Show Some Skin, they are not presenting the issue of racism as a whole. Instead, they are portraying an individual student’s experience of the topic. All of the implicit nuances (such as stage directions) are now explicit on the stage as the actor makes the script come to life for the audience. According to Campbell, the reason that this particular element is so powerful is that “examples furnish the basis for identification”. In other words, it is easier to relate to a topic when we witness a first hand presentation of an individual that a topic has affected. It makes Show Some Skin a very important production as it gives the audience a different perspective on the stories that are “shared anonymously with the hope of being heard”.

While this is a very simple example, I believe that the poster released by Legends to promote Karaoke Night is rhetorical.

It may look very plain at first sight, but there are a number of characteristics of rhetoric at play in this poster. Firstly, it is an advertisement. It is attempting to persuade its audience to attend Karaoke Night at Legends tomorrow night. However, it is not presented as a usual advertisement and it not full of persuasive language. It is structured like an announcement that also serves as an advertisement.

The aspects that make it a rhetorical advertisement is that it makes use of appeals and aesthetics while targeting these aspects for a specific audience. Herrick discusses the aspects of appeals and aesthetics under the subheading of persuasion. I think that the author of the Legends poster uses appeals through their use of a rhetorical question to immediately catch and engage the audience. It also contains media that lets the audience know the topic of the poster without reading the text. According to Herrick, the purpose of the aspects of rhetoric is that they are “adapted to a particular audience” and are “responsive to a set of circumstances”. In this poster I think that it is achieved because the creator of the poster knows that its audience is ND, SMC and HCC students.  

The social function of this piece is not as serious or as a heavy topic such as Malcolm X’s speech about revolutions that is referenced in the article. Instead, I think that the poster has the simple motive as an advertisement to encourage Notre Dame, St. Mary’s and Holy Cross students to attend Karaoke Night as all they need are their IDs. It is easier to trust this type of poster as it does not look like they are twisting facts and the clear simple layout helps with this. In addition I think the social function with relation to the article of the piece is to build community. All of these students live in very close proximity to each other and if they choose to go to the Karaoke night they will meet up with other students who will also have an interest in music. As mentioned by Herrick, a community is a group of people who “value, know or believe” something in common. The culmination of students with similar interests results in the building of community as defined by Herrick.

The design of my essay will be quite simple and I am choosing the way that I present the pictures based on how they flow and fit the screen best. From Bartlett’s “Compiling an engaging photo essay”, I am keeping the overall narrative that I want to tell at the forefront of my mind. I am making sure that the photos that I am choosing all work in a cohesive manner and that the order that I am choosing to display them makes sense for the narrative.

I’m also planning on having a limited amount of text in my essay. I think that it will take away from the photos and the story as a whole if there is too much text to accompany the photos. Instead, I will take the advise from Bartlett’s article and have snippets of text that will help to keep the narrative moving and to create a concrete link between the photos. In order to create compelling captions, I will use the information provided by Smock’s “Writing Photo Captions.” In his article, he suggests writing captions that are in the present tense to convey a sense of immediacy. In addition I will also have the time, date and place of each photo referenced in my essay as this will help to give each picture a sense of place. As this photo essay is intended for audience of “The Observer”, it will also create a solid link between the photos and the audience as they will most likely be familiar with the region where the photo was captured.

I think that the approach that I am planning for my photo essay reflects the ideas and strategies that we have been discussing in class because I am aware of the audience that I am composing my photo essay for and I am compiling my photo essay in a structured manner so that no decision that I make is random. Based on this approach, my essay should feel relevant and organized.