WK4 Homework - Understanding key terms

 UNDERSTANDING KEY TERMS 

Form is the discursive progression of an idea to the satisfaction of audience expectations; these expectations are the product of rules of language use and of the conventional wisdom of society. According to Burke, there are four general varieties of form: progressive form, repetitive form, conventional and minor form. How you construct the text is what gets the readers. Another important part of rhetorical structure is genre. They speak about different but typical life situations and always have a deeper meaning. You get to know the genre by analyzing the traits of it. Speaking of rhetorical, the word can be used to describe a speech or writing that is supposed to influence you in any way or is very important, especially for media.

The crucial part in every rhetorical structure is Doxa. It was part of Plato's Analogy of the Line. Doxa can be considered common-sense understanding of reality but I think in sociology it would have a different meaning, of society's "unquestioned truths". Anyway, it's supposed to educate and challenge everything which is necessary in today's world of media.

In Marxist theory, Interpellation is an important concept regarding the notion of ideology. Without ideology, there's no action. And the action today comes from the media using othering which is an effect that influences how people perceive and treat those who are viewed as being part of the in-group versus those who are seen as being part of the out-group. This is exactly why we have problems with stereotypes and people thinking that it's okay to react against someone or something just because it's different and has a different influence on the society. 

The umber of ideologies people create in their minds is unstoppable, but we hear more and more now in the news. Ideologies colliding and creating groups of people who are ready to fight for a certain idea. One of them is the American Dream, The American Dream is the belief that anyone, regardless of where they were born or what class they were born into, can attain their own version of success in a society where upward mobility is possible for everyone. Of course, there are positive and negative sides of this belief. Maybe the American Dream was conceived by con artists to sell people consumerism and enslave them in debt, but thanks to the media, works just fine today, since 1950s. It definitely transforms people into something the society shouldn't be, but gives money for the precious time, that you're probably going to  spend on more things you don't actually need. What's true is that it's real and attainable. Every person's "American Dream" is different. The "Dream" should be the goal one sets to for him/herself. In many nations of the world those dreams can never be cultivated or realized. In America, if you want it, you work for it, save for it, sacrifice, plan for it and you can have it.