Intertexuality in "That 70's Show"

“That 70’s Show” uses intertexuality in almost every episode. In this particular episode they reference the Last Supper. The setting is the cafeteria, a long table with everyone facing one direction. Eric, Dona, and Fez are sitting at the table and Hide and Kelso come and join them. When they sit down they ask Eric if he is going to partake in their streaking shenanigan. Eric says that he is going to do it and then he states a warning: “Look, we must keep this quiet, if my father finds out he will nail me to the wall.” Mystical music and lights then appear and everyone strikes a pose and the show goes to a commercial break. Eric refers to Red and “my father” just how Jesus would refer to God as his Father. Also Eric says that if he streaks he will get in trouble for it and he will be “nailed to the wall.” Jesus Father nailed to the cross because he was accused of blasphemy (really to save us from our sins). However, Eric will not really be crucified by Red like Jesus was.

Leonardo da Vinci's painting of the Last Supper->

<--That 70's Show's "painting" of the Last Supper

My Discourse Communities

Porter’s definition of a discourse community states, “a group of individuals bound by a common interest who communicate through approved channels and whose discourse is regulated.” He gives an example of “company board meeting, family dinner table, and the monthly meeting of the Indiana chapter of the Izaak Walton League.” I don’t attend board meetings and I have never been to a meeting of the Izaak Walton league (nor do I know what that is). However, I do belong to a couple of discourse groups. These groups include; my family, my Publix family back at home(my job), my small group of friends here at school, my SI study group for chemistry, and the facebook group UCF Class of 2015.

Core 2 Reflection

I feel like I have a very strong introduction for my core II essay. I also thought that I had a strong thesis statement, however my peer reviewer gave me a five out of ten saying that my thesis was present but ambiguous. I need to work on making my thesis more direct and state whether Martha’s Weddings was effective in helping the “budgeting bride achieve her ideal summer ceremony while remaining cost conscious. I thought that I was taking a anecdotal approach when writing my paper, however my peer reviewer said that I am taking a journalistic approach. I am missing constraints and the rhetor which are coming later when I add more to the “article” section of my paper. I received a six for my showing and telling. I need to add more details because it is difficult to picture my magazine. I am just telling about my magazine and not showing the reader what I see when I look at the magazine and the pictures inside. I need to narrow down the tone of my essay because I described it in many different ways. For my conclusion I need to reword it and stop repeating what I already stated in my essay.

MARTHA STEWART weddings (notes and conclusion)

• Short little side notes
• Prices included for the objects featured in the article
• Price is reasonable
• Step by step procedure style(for some articles)
• Others are in paragraph form
• The writers speak to the readers by writing in a way that anyone can understand
• They all have to do with things that a bride would like to read about
• Invitations
• Cakes
• Gift registry
• Wedding favors
• Honeymoons
• Ceremonies
• Parties

All of the articles in this magazine attempts to connect with the magazine’s target audience in a very blunt way. Their audience is brides planning a wedding, and every article in her is about some portion of a wedding. This appeals to the bride because it gives them ideas for the upcoming nuptials.

The aspirations of the audience are to plan a spectacular wedding while watching their budget. Even though there are ads in the magazine that are for expensive designers that a bride on a budget might not be interested in, all of the articles are made for a DIY bride. The reason that these designers put their ads in this magazine is because they are showing their lavish dresses and trying to persuade the reader into buying their product. The articles are meant to show a bride how to accomplish some of the more expensive aspects of a wedding and make it look like one of the professionals in the advertisements did it; however they accomplished the same look for less.

MARTHA STEWART weddings (article analysis)

The article that I decided to examine is called “Perfect Palette; Peaches and Cream.” This guide on picking a color scheme for a wedding goes on for 5 pages. Each page signifies a different part of the wedding process, the editor strategically placed ads on the back of the page that correspond to the “guide” on the front. For example, there is a page dedicated to wedding dresses and bridesmaid dresses, on the back and the following pages are ads for Rina diMontella and Jasmine Couture. 
 
The writer’s voice for this magazine is convincing and motivating, the voice is very evident in this particular article. They are trying to push brides to have a “peaches and cream” wedding because this is apparently the “new trend for summer.” The writer uses personal words like “custom” and “posy” to make the wedding seem more special and intimate.

The tone of this piece is very peppy and upbeat. The reason for this is because it was the writer’s job to convince a bride on choosing peaches and cream as their color scheme. The opening sentence on the first page of the article is “sweet but sophisticated, the color peach is now ripe for the picking. Pair it with classic cream for a combination that’s fresh, modern, and gloriously memorable.”  Once the audience read this they were hooked onto reading more because of the imagery that the writer used. A bride can image her wedding and she this color scheme coming to life on her big day. Another sentence that is an example of imagery in this article is when talking about the bouquet and the ring pillow. The writer says, “Start the day on a soft note by filling your processional with watercolor hues. Wrap your hands around a dreamy bouquet, and have your most precious cargo carried on a pillow made from small slices of subtly tinted fabric.”

These two sentences are also an example of the sentence structure in this piece. There is no confusing or short, choppy sentences. The sentence structure is normal and straight forward. This is a big help when reading this article because it is a step by step guide to planning your wedding. The writer didn’t want to write in a confusing fashion because their goal is to get a bride to use peaches and cream as their wedding color scheme.

The attitude and the tone of the articles and the advertisements complement each other. The whole feel of the magazine is very romantic and soft. There is an apparent elegance in the ads and the articles that would appeal to a bride.

MARTHA STEWART weddings (table of contents, writing style analysis)

·         “Martha Stewart Weddings, Summer 2011; IN THIS ISSUE” (pg. 15&20)
            o   Very plain specific title

·         The descriptions of what is featured in this magazine are vague but intriguing

o   Examples

§  “Learn how to transform a store-bought cake into a stunning focal point.” (pg.15)

§  “Two movie aficionados infuse their San Francisco wedding with the glitz and glamour of the big screen.”(pg.15)

§  “Topic Wonder: Floral designer Oscar Mora’s spin on summer blooms.” (pg.20)

·         The table of contents also includes a small portion called “In Every Issue”(pg.20)

o   Features:

§  “On the Web”

§  “A Note from Darcy”

§  “Ask Martha”

§  “The Guide”

§  “A Look Back”

·         (pg.20)

o   All of these titles are broad but you know what they are talking about. the reader is intrigued what is featured in these sections of the magazines this month because of exciting information found there every month.

·         The captions and descriptions for the table of contents are mainly generic but they catch the readers eye with their use of graphic words.

MARTHA STEWART weddings (table of contents, visual analysis)

The table of contents is located seven pages in on the right hand side, it is then continued three pages later, however this time it is on the left side of the magazine. Both pages have a very similar layout, except they are mirror images. There isn’t very much going on, it is very sleek and simple. The background is white and the entire font is black Arial or some other plain font.The colors are very soft feminine colors that correspond with the cover of the book (pinks, yellows, and oranges.) The reason for the bright fun colors is because this is their summer issue, if this was a fall or winter issue the color scheme would be darker and warmer.

Towards the top on the right (or left, depending on what page you are looking at) are the words “in this issue” written in large capital letters. Directly about that is “Martha Stewart Weddings Summer 2011”, this is written in smaller font. Below these words are four pictures, three out of the four are small and the same size. However, there is one focal picture of a woman in a wedding dress holding a hot pink fan that is much larger compared to the other three. The pictures have page numbers in the lower right corner because they are wedding ideas featured in the magazine. The pictures correspond with titles and descriptions at the bottom of the page.

 

Everything displayed in the table of contents is appealing to a reader who is trying to spice up their wedding while being cost conscious. For example; its say, “with the help of handmade paper blossoms, a four-tier dessert goes from basic to beautiful.” Having a cake made with decorations, such as sugar flowers, can be very costly. The paper flowers still give the same affect that the bride was going for however anyone on any budget can do it. The whole goal of this magazine is to give women alternative ideas for expensive aspects of their wedding.

 

A well known person who is featured in this magazine is Dylan Lauren, the owner of Dylan’s Candy Bar in New York City. This article is towards the middle of the book and it is about her wedding shower. It is entitled, “A Sweet Soiree”. The description is vague but the title makes you want to turn to page 252 and read more about the sweet shower.

MARTHA STEWART weddings (advertisement analysis)

In Martha Stewart Weddings a majority of the pages are dedicated to advertisement. The predominant products advertised are wedding dresses. The designers that are featured in this DIY issue of Weddings were surprising to me. When I first read the title and saw that it was the “annual DIY issue” I wasn’t expecting to see designers like Amsale, Vera Wang, and Lazaro. “Doing it yourself” makes me think of a bride that is budgeting every aspect of their wedding, including the dress. Purchasing a dress from one of the luxurious designers is not budget friendly. The reason I think these designers chose to advertise in this issue is because they figured that if a bride was going to splurge on any part of their wedding it would be the dress. They are confident that their beautiful designs could sway a bride into buying one of their dresses. However, advertisements for stores and products like Maybelline, Joanne’s, Michaels, and David’s Bridal appeal to the budgeting bride.  The ads that are featured in this magazine are contradictory however they make sense. The more lavish ads are in here to sway the cost conscious bride into buying something out of their price range, while the more humble ads are here to promote the reader to buy their more reasonable product.

One ad that I found interesting was an ad for Beadalon beads. The background is a light lavender color. This color make the focal point of the ad, the “handmade” white pearl, jewelry stand out. The whole atmosphere of this ad is very elegant and “wedding like.” The pearl necklace consists of many strands and is clamped together as a necklace should be. It is lying down and in the center lays a pair of hanging pearl earrings and a pearl bracelet. Below the finished jewelry is what was used to create it; a pair of jewelry plyers, wire, and the pearl beads. To the left of the materials is this saying, “Making your own jewelry is fun, easy, and very gratifying. Save time, money, and express your style by creating your own earring, bracelets and necklaces. Perfect for bridesmaids’’ gifts too!” This is promoting readers to buy the alternative (Beadalon products) instead of purchasing the expensive, already made jewelry. The very first words that you read on this ad are trying to convince the reader to buy Beadalon products. The slogan says, “ walk down the aisle with personalized style.” This is written at the top of the ad in white, lower case letters. However, “personalized” is written in a darker purple and is italicized. This is trying to convince the reader to buy their product by saying that it is better to make your own jewelry instead of buying it because it will add a more personal touch to your wedding.  

MARTHA STEWART weddings (cover analysis)

The magazine I chose for my core II essay is Martha Stewart Weddings. This was the first one that I saw when I went into the bookstore. I was drawn to it because of the colors on the cover. The soft background of sea foam green/ turquoise makes the contrasting colors of pink, yellow, and orange pop. At the top of the magazine is the title, Martha Stewart is small but written prominently in all caps, bold, and black, sitting in the left corner. Across the whole top of the magazine is “weddings” written in all lower case letters. You can tell this is an important part of the magazine not only because it takes up the whole top, but because it is written in a brighter, more noticeable color; hot pink. In the right corner is the words “our annual DIY issue.” This is also written is all caps and black but is not bolded. This part of the magazine is important, however not as important as the magazine’s founder Martha.

The main focal point of the cover is the four tiered white cake with yellow, pink, and orange flowers placed elegantly on the side of the cake. There is an arrow pointing to the cake say “make a basic cake beautiful with paper blossoms.” This is one of the many clues that tells us that this magazine is supposed to be attracting the brides with a budget. Other pieces of the magazine (besides the obvious DIY at the top) that tells us that this is for a cost conscious bride is the side panel. It says, in all caps, “design your big day!” Underneath is something very unique, it not only lists what’s featured in the magazine, but it uses the color scheme to attract the readers eyes to the part of the cover. For example, the first set of words on the list reads, creative cakes; “creative” is written in all caps and in hot pink, while cakes is written in black and white

Magazines!

The first magazine that I chose was Martha Stewart Weddings. This magazine practically jumped off the shelf and landed in my hands. The sea foam green/light turquoise background made the white cake with pink, orange, and yellow flowers stand out so fantastically that my eyes were admittedly drawn to it. This was Martha’s annual “do it yourself” issue so there were a lot of creative ways to plan a wedding on a moderate budget. There were ideas for everything starting with invitations and ending with party favors. The one article that I found very helpful was called “how to conceal anything”. It was telling woman what cover up and foundation to use on their wedding day to not only to cover blemishes on their face but also tattoos anywhere on their body.  As I flipped through the magazine there was no shortage of advertisements. Designers such as Vera Wang, Lazaro, Melissa Sweet and Lord and Taylor all took out ads in Martha’s magazine. I found myself lost in my own world, gazing at the luxurious dresses.  Also in the magazine were coupons for craft stores and online wedding favors distributions. You can really tell that this book was appealing to brides on a budget but the articles that they wrote. However, the expensive designers through me off; I suppose that if a woman was going to splurge on anything for a wedding it would be the dress, so that was a smart move by the designers.

The second magazine that I chose was VOGUE. The woman on the cover was Michelle Williams dressed as Marilyn Monroe. The reason that I picked up this magazine was because at a first glance I thought it was Monroe and I was intrigued. As I started to read the cover I found that it was Williams dressed like her because she played Monroe in a movie. Williams also discusses motherhood and other life topics in her article. Also on the cover was a list of actors, actresses, and movies featured in the magazine, the list included the very handsome, Ryan Gosling and the fantastic movie, X-men. I always like reading what the readers have to say so when I came to the section “letters from readers” I stopped flipping to read. There was one in particular like I liked, it was called Beauty and the Beast. I didn’t like this because it was about the beloved Disney classic, I liked it because of what the reader had to say about a picture Tina Brown. They describe how they like the picture because it portrays what an inspiring woman she is. The reader says that photographer was able to show what a strong woman she is because she lives such a demanding life of being a wife and a mother. The reader “applauds VOGUE for including such an admirable woman in their magazine and is thrilled to say that Brown is one of her role models.” Also in the magazine were a plethora of advertisements. However they were very different from the ones found in Martha’s Wedding. The advertisements were targeting a higher class of woman showcasing clothes and shoes by Banana Republic, Loft, UGG, DSW Shoes, Jimmy Choo, Louis Vuitton, and Guess. They also were advertizing makeup from Lancome, Laura Mercier, and Clinque. The one advertisement that would seem out of place but made sense to me was for cologne by Giorgio Armani. The reason that this ad fit in this magazine is because women see it and they smell the sample and they go and buy it for their husband or boyfriend. You never really see men buying themselves cologne except from the grocery store. Men wouldn’t want to spend $100+ just to smell good, woman however would buy that for their man because it is all about “the brand.”

The third and final magazine that I chose was O Magazine, Operas magazine! On the cover was not only Opera but also Rosie O’Donnell. The dark color scheme of fall was warm and welcoming so I picked the magazine up. In big bold letters on the cover was “9 ways to change old patterns and spark new breakthroughs” also “Opera’s big AHA moments yet—and how it could lead to yours” this attracted a reader looking to better their life. The articles in this magazine were very different from the other two that I flipped through. For example, there was an article on how to cover an ottoman and another one called what’s your diet IQ. There was also one very inspirational article called In Search of Sisterhood, a story about mother Teresa. The advertisements were also targeting a different audience than the previous two magazines. There were ads for Intel, hair dye, Truvia, Kohls, Scrubbing Bubble, Lipton tea, and Glade air fresheners. This magazine is targeting an older more mature audience than the other two. These ads appeal to mothers and older “stay at home woman” who are looking to do home improvement and find new products for when they go grocery shopping.

 

Part II: Lifestyle

In 10-15 years I see myself working in a dental office doing my two years of orthodontic training. I plan on doing this at my orthodontist office because he is a family friend. My goal is to eventually take over his business. My hope is to be married or engaged by then because I plan on having children.

I plan to dress professionally with dress slack, a jacket, and moderate high heel shoes. I love the classy professional look; it lets everyone know that women can be powerful, not just men. I also will have on a white lab coat or something of the sort because I will be working in a dentist office.

Because I will be just starting my career, I plan on driving the same car that I do now, my little, red, Volvo S40. I plan on driving this car until it doesn’t run anymore. It was my first car and I love, it’s going to be a sad day when I have to get rid of it. I plan on sticking with Volvos for my future cars. They are super safe and everyone in the dealer are so nice and easy to work with. I will most likely be living in an apartment back at home. I don’t want to stay in Orlando because the driving it too hectic. I’m familiar with the Tampa area and that is where all my family is. I don’t want to move back in with my mother because she will never let me leave. In order to start my own life and family I need to be independent. Living close to home but not at home will give me that independence to start my own life.

After I am married and settled we will move into a home of our home and a few years down the road my husband and I will attempt to have children. My hope is to have twin boys and one little girl. I want boys to be sporty and do everything together because I think that would be so cute to have little boys that look the same on a soccer or flag football team. For my little girl; she can dance, cheerlead, or play sports, as long as I’m not the only girl in a house of boys, and I need a shopping buddy.

When it is just me I plan on having a puppy! I want a shar pei or a pug. They are so adorable! I just want to sit and hug them all day long! I would also like to own a huge fish tank that takes up a whole wall in my house. It would be home to a million clown fish. When I move into my real home I want to take the fish take with me. Also in my apartment I would have the basics like a TV, couch, and appliances. I love to watch television show and movies so I will have a moderate to large flat screen that includes a DVR. For my couch I want big, leather, comfy sectional, one that you can just sink into after a long day at the office. I’m not a very good cook so I would most likely just get Chinese and pizza a lot; I am still going to need a microwave to heat up my leftovers and a refrigerator to keep my food and drinks in. However I do like to bake, so the mixer and the oven will definitely be used.

I think that I will have the same values that I have now. I don’t ever go out to party or anything; I’m definitely the party pooper in my group of friends. I have different priorities and I have too much riding on being at college that I don’t want to throw it away by getting in the party scene. I am also so busy with school work that I don’t have time to go out. I don’t think this is going to change when I am done with school and working. I like to spend time with my friends and my family. I don’t like always being busy and always having to go somewhere. I’m ok with just sitting around the house and being lazy. Also I don’t spend that much money. Because I have to work for my own money now I don’t like to spend it. I buy the essentials but I do not buy things that are unnecessary. I will not go to the mall and splurge ever; when I need a shirt I will go to the sale rack. I never just buy to buy and I think that will stay the same 10-15 years from now.

When I am living by myself I think that I would have magazines like Star, People, or Cosmopolitan on my coffee table, I love reading about celebrity gossip. There would probably be advertisements for makeup or clothing companies. These magazines give advice on what makeup and clothes to wear to look like a celebrity. Also they give dating advice and other “womanly” advice. As the years progress, the magazines on my table will most likely change. As I am planning my wedding there will be magazines such as Modern Bride and BRIDAL. These magazines will have mostly pictures but also give advice on wedding planning. The advertisements would be for designers like Amsale, Pnina Tornai, and Lazaro. Once I am married and I have a family of my own there will be a variety of magazines on my coffee table. There will probably be sports magazines with advertisements for Nike, Adidas, and Under Armor. These magazines would have articles about the next breakthrough athlete or how to work out like Ben Roethlisberger. Also there would be magazines like Martha Stewart or Food Network to help me out with the necessary cooking that I am going to have to learn how to do. There will be articles and recipes so I can make an edible meal for my family. The last magazines that will be on my coffee table would be kiddy magazines like Highlights, or Nick Jr. magazine. These would be for my children and they would have a lot of pictures and games in them to keep children occupied. However, the advertisements in these magazines would be for mom, that is, things for mom to buy for child. All magazines target different audiences. The audience determines which advertisements will be in the magazines.