TOW #28: Documentary Rhetorical Analysis (Part 1)

Reading/watching goals: identify purpose and devices/strategies used bey filmmakers to achieve it

Writing goals: don't spend too much time on the summary; focus on analysis

    "Jiro Dreams of Sushi," a documentary directed by David Gelb, profiles Jiro Ono, an 85-year-old sushi chef who, despite his old age, is considered one of the most talented sushi chefs in the entire world. His restaurant, Sukiyabashi Jiro, has been rated three stars by Michelin Guide, a series of guidebooks published by Michelin annually. This documentary follows the life of Jiro Ono and contemplates the origin of his restaurant's success and popularity. Jiro himself believes that his hard work is the reason for his success: he and his workers claim that practice and repetition brings much improvement. His–and his restaurant's–story is a story of simplicity, discipline, and rigor. In fact, Jiro's two sons, Yoshikazu and Takashi, started working for their father as soon as they finished high school, even though both had hoped to attend college. Apprentices are said to wait many years before they can even touch a food that seems as simple as an egg; one scene of the documentary shows an apprentice recounting a time when he tried making an egg over 250 times until he was told that he finally made a good one. It was a while before Jiro called the man "shokunin," a Japanese word meaning "craftsman" or "artisan." Even though this surely took a lot of the man's time, he was ecstatic when he was praised by his boss. "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" is a film for those who have a dream or goal they want to attain, because it's story reminds them that with lots of hard work and discipline, they can achieve anything.
     Jiro's, his sons', and his apprentices' stories all have one thing in common: they are all about their individual determination to achieve perfection. This documentary's purpose is to illustrate the importance of these traits. The filmmakers did much to recreate the simplicity of Jiro's life: there was no background narration in the film, and whatever music was playing was always very light and fitting for each scene. Overall, the film's tone was very natural and sincere. Pacing and framing also contributed much to the tone: everything was very genuine but also very refined, just like Jiro's lifestyle. These devices help the filmmakers achieve their purpose because they echo the entire message of the film that was delivered by Jiro himself: simplicity and hard work always pay off in the end. Without any narration or music, "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" tells a simple story.
     "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" is told from the point of view of an outsider and is filled with interviews of co-workers, fish sellers, and old friends. This way, the viewer is able to make his or her own observations about Jiro and his work ethic while simultaneously getting stories and opinions from those who know him personally. When one first looks at Jiro, one simply sees an elderly man and may assume that he is retired. However, once the viewer watches the film and hears about Jiro through the eyes of Yoshikazu or Takashi or a renowned food critic, he or she sees him as more than an 85-year-old man: an 85-year-old man who dedicated 75 years of his life doing what he loves to do, hoping to pass it on to others around him.

 "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" is available on Netflix

TOW #27: TOW Reflection

Reading goals: identify what I have improved on and what I need to work on in my previous TOWs

Writing goals: refrain from only answering the questions; elaborate on them

     The first TOW of mine that I chose to take a look at was my very first: "Overpopulation is Not the Problem" by Erle C. Ellis. Upon reading this TOW, I noticed that I mentioned rhetorical concepts (ethos, pathos, and logos) instead of actual rhetorical devices. I also typed everything out as if I were fulfilling each TOW requirement like a checklist. When I looked at my TOW from the second marking period, "The Scream" by Edvard Munch, I was glad to see that I wrote about many rhetorical devices in visual texts, like color scheme and imagery, and I focused on expanding ideas on how those devices helped Munch achieve his purpose. My third and most recent TOW, "Castles in the Air" by Emily Nussbaum, was from The New Yorker, which demonstrates my progression through more challenging pieces. This particular piece was kind of tough because I was not sure about the purpose Nussbaum had in writing it. However, when I thought about the intended audience, the purpose came to me easily. My TOWs have progressed in such a way that I stopped worrying about satisfying the requirements and started worrying about writing a better blog post.
     Looking at my more recent TOWs, I think I have mastered identifying rhetorical devices and connecting them to the author's purpose depending on the particular piece I choose to read. In addition to this, I think I've gotten better at making my posts seem more interesting and involved as opposed to the more formulaic way of writing I had in the beginning of the year. I still think I need to work on keeping them concise, because I think I went well over the desired word count a good number of times, and I could always work more on making my own writing effective and achieving my own purpose. Overall, I think I benefitted from writing TOWs because I was able to practice my writing every single week without having to write a full out timed essay. I think I definitely got better at writing and reading because of the skills that I improved by writing TOWs.

TOW #26: "Hunger Games" by Sophie Brinkman

Reading goals: correctly identify author's purpose

Writing goals: keep everything concise and coherent

     Our society is infatuated with all the latest fads: social networking sites, impossible iPhone games, and chia seeds. Sophie Brickman, editor, reporter for San Francisco Chronicle, and food enthusiast explores our country's obsession with food fads. She opens her article talking about the Cronut–"the croissant-doughnut hybrid, trademarked, to distinguish it from copycat Singaporean 'crodos,' British 'dosants,' and Venezuelan 'Mister Cronuts.'" As she continues her article, she mentions more recent fads, like cupcakes and Greek yogurt. She also mentions David Sax, another food enthusiast and journalist, who argues that successful food trends are a result of social conditions. Brickman's purpose is to explain our society's interest in food trends through involved tone. However, she fails to achieve her purpose as the use of specific examples would have been more effective and appropriate for her piece.
     "Hunger Games," meant for an audience of curious adults, is written with involved diction as Brickman clearly showed interest in her topic. She does not only include Sax's opinions on food trends–she comments on them and adds her own ideas. Sax concludes that America's addiction to cupcakes stems from a "desire for comfort and childhood simplicity after 9/11" and that fondue became popular in the sixties "when people were moving out to the suburbs and wanted something that could make this living room in suburban New Jersey a little more sophisticated than...a Jell-O salad would." Brickman then follows this up by writing, "Of course, Jell-O salads and boxed cake mixes...were all the rage in [Sax's] grandmother's postwar kitchen." Through her involved diction, Brickman portrays her clear interest in food trends, but she does not exactly explain to her audience what kind of social conditions are explaining the sudden public demand for Greek yogurt. If she used specific current examples of food trends, Brickman would have more effectively achieved her purpose of explaining our society's interest in food trends.