Growing up with the media

1. The text belongs to the publicistic style with the several varieties, one of which is essay. There are traditions of oratory and debate.

The main aim of this type of communication is to suggest some problem for discussion, todwell on it, presenting various points of view. End finally express the author?s opinion and attitude to the problem.

2. The most characteristic features of an essay are conversational and personal tone of the narration and informal language, paradoxical conclusions, flexible structure. The word essay was coined by Montaigne who?s essays were informal and intimate discussions.

3. The theme raised in this essay is the role of mass media in people?s live. That?s why:

1) Impact of mass media is very strong whether we realize it or not;

2) People can?t avoid it;

3) The material for mass media is carefully designed to produce the desired effect;

4) The owners of mass media are commercial-military-governmental complex.

5) There is no such a thing as free press and journalism.

The author claims that we are all as ?puppets on strings?. The simile vividly shows his protest against the effect of the media, behind which there is always somebody?s commercial interest.

4. As a sub-type of publicistic style essays are characterised by persuasive techniques used in them. Personal appeal to the reader is achieved through personal pronounce (you, us, we) and various types of questions, which are supposed to involve the reader into the thinking process.

Rhitorical: ?Do you sometimes find a moment??

Special: ?Which are you??

Alternative: ?Is this good or bad??

The text is notable for a highly emotional tone of presenting information. The abandoned use of homogeneous members contributes to it.

?newspapers, magazines, books, pamphlets, catalogues, circulars, brochures,...?;

?radio, television, films?;

5. The leading stylistic device on which the whole text is based is antithesis achieved through the use of antonyms: negative aspects- positive aspects: good- bad, the word mass suggests that people are either ill-informed or well-informed; passive or active; dull-witted or sophisticated; credulous or thoughtful. Brainwashing as a result of addiction to television can be friendly or vicious, altruistic or self- serving.

Among other stylistic devices we can observe metaphor:

?...media output is placed in slots? ;

?You pick them up through your pores?;

The metaphors show the author?s ironical attitude to media and people addicted to them. The effect of irony can also be observed in the oxymoron ?global village?. The fact that media have universal character is stressed by the capitalization and the use of italics: the MAJORITY, ?material is chosen or designed to produce a predetermined response? ;

Repetition, which is typical of publicistic style, is presented in this text by catch repetition:

?other people?s interests, interests, which may be commercial...?;

morphological repetition:

?staged, photographed, printed, programmed? ;

and lexical repetition of thematic words:

mass, media, interest, response.

6. As to the author?s attitude, it is not quite definite. On the one hand mass media give us information; on the other they are harmful as they are in the hands of people who pursue their own interest.

Date: 2016-06-12; view: 1321