skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Week 8, Chapter 22
I think we use Kenneth Burke's dramatism theory all the time without even realizing it. People use it in everyday life. I know I do. I act and over exaggerate to get my point across, to make the situation seem more serious than it is and to use other ways that may fit into what I'm saying (that only words can not say). I think I experience the "act" and "scene" terms the most. I usually or usually hear people talking with dramatic verbs to illustrate and summarize what has been done. I think this helps me understand more of what they are trying to say because sometimes one good word can say it all. The "scene" idea is my favorite. Although books and authors don't necessarily tie in with this idea, their description of the scene is a perfect example of how it should be executed. If people were to talk in that complex, they would be great at the "scene" demonstartion because it is like painting a picture through words. I think these are great ways to better understand the situation and communicate it with others.
2 comments:
I also exaggerate situations when I’m trying to explain something. Especially if I want to make sure that someone feels the same feelings I felt with that particular situation. It’s natural to want others to feel what you are feeling or understands what it is you are thinking but there is a way to go about portraying these things without controlling and it’s important to know how. I think I use act, scene, agent, agency, and purpose in the dramatistic pentad a lot. I like how he explains them and parallels them to substitute terms so that it is clearly understood.
Burke does argue that individuals use the pentad when they respond to their worlds, whether or not they're conscious of their use. For example, when someone says, "If people are homeless, it's their own fault," the person is placing the cause for homelessness on the individual--the agent. Someone else might say, "The reason people are homeless is because the cost of housing is so high and there aren't enough jobs that pay a decent wage." In this case, the scene is the cause of homelessness. Another person might say, "People are homeless because they don't have the skills they need to get a good job and pay for housing." Now the cause has shifted to agency. According to Burke, the element of the pentad an individual privileges over all others reveals that person's worldview.
Post a Comment