As with anything in life everything can be looked at a certain way. While one person's glass if half empty, another's glass is half full. How to view our academics is no different. English and Communication theory are full of differing perspectives about how to view certain things and in this regard I want to talk about looking at a theory objectively (scientist view) as opposed to a theory interpretively. Those who view theories objectively are called objective scholars. They believe that knowledge is gained through scientific inquiry and is quantifiable. Scientists love them some numbers! Interpretive scholars say knowledge is subjective and is qualified by examples. In order to grasp the two differing ways these perspectives work lets take a look at the amazing Mr. Wolfdog and analyze his commercial from both sides.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=awcvhiJ8a4o.
An objective scholar would first want to apply a theory that could possibly fit what works within this commercial. For Mr. Wolfdog lets pick
identification; this is a perceived role relationship that affects self image and attitudes. People forms bonds over identification with celebrities and other likable figures that will make them embrace a sells pitch (Griffin 14). Can a wolf really run a company? No. But is the commercial funny and something that someone would remember when they are in the deodorant aisle at the store? In order to find this out the objective scholar would than try to test to see if the commercial worked. They would use an objective test to see if after this commercial the sales of Old Spice Wild collection spiked.
The interpretive scholar would work to assign linguistic meaning or value to communicative texts (Griffin 15). They would view the commercial as a mini-comedy that goes through symbolic steps to reach its goal. The wolf is sitting at a desk with his name on a plaque, signifying he is important. He than order in guys to place trophies in his office before showing them the trap door. This shows his authority. At the end his puts up his information on a plaque that has him on a luxurious hot air balloon (while also stating that he is successful). This ultimately shows the reader that he is important, has authority in the project (he is a wolf so knows how to lead the Wild collection) and is successful. This is all shown through comedic undertones that are hard not to laugh at and hard to forget. The message says that he is a wolf and he is the person to lead the Old Spice Wild collection. Unlike studies interpretive scholars derive values through socially constructed context and perception. This goes to show that even in Communication theory there are a variety of perspectives and as you learned even when doing the same task (analyzing a video) there are multiple ways to do it. This I believe is what makes the field so unique. Hopefully you not only learned more about Objective vs. Interpretive approach but you also had a laugh. According to Web MD Increased stress is associated with decreased immune system response. Some studies have shown that the ability to use humor may raise the level of infection-fighting antibodies in the body and boost the levels of immune cells, as well. Children laugh more than 300 times a day while adults laugh less than 20 times day, see a connection? That little tidbit was brought to you by Snapple!
Bibliography
Griffin, Morgan. Give your body a boost with laughter. Web M.D., nd. Web. 15 Nov. 2013. Path: http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/give-your-body-boost-with-laughter?page=2.
Griffin, Em. A first look at communication theory. 8thth ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012.
The interpretive scholar would work to assign linguistic meaning or value to communicative texts (Griffin 15). They would view the commercial as a mini-comedy that goes through symbolic steps to reach its goal. The wolf is sitting at a desk with his name on a plaque, signifying he is important. He than order in guys to place trophies in his office before showing them the trap door. This shows his authority. At the end his puts up his information on a plaque that has him on a luxurious hot air balloon (while also stating that he is successful). This ultimately shows the reader that he is important, has authority in the project (he is a wolf so knows how to lead the Wild collection) and is successful. This is all shown through comedic undertones that are hard not to laugh at and hard to forget. The message says that he is a wolf and he is the person to lead the Old Spice Wild collection. Unlike studies interpretive scholars derive values through socially constructed context and perception. This goes to show that even in Communication theory there are a variety of perspectives and as you learned even when doing the same task (analyzing a video) there are multiple ways to do it. This I believe is what makes the field so unique. Hopefully you not only learned more about Objective vs. Interpretive approach but you also had a laugh. According to Web MD Increased stress is associated with decreased immune system response. Some studies have shown that the ability to use humor may raise the level of infection-fighting antibodies in the body and boost the levels of immune cells, as well. Children laugh more than 300 times a day while adults laugh less than 20 times day, see a connection? That little tidbit was brought to you by Snapple!
Bibliography
Griffin, Morgan. Give your body a boost with laughter. Web M.D., nd. Web. 15 Nov. 2013. Path: http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/give-your-body-boost-with-laughter?page=2.
Griffin, Em. A first look at communication theory. 8thth ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012.
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