MillerB+1RA

Miller, Ben 1RA First Draft

2/29: Thesis I think these photos by Loengard tell us that some celebrities have more to them than their fame. Some may want to reconnect with their roots, or others might just be too shy to really want to be bathed in the spotlight. I think the photos are a metaphor, showing each side of the story. Each photo shows a celebrity hidden or obscured in some way, possibly alluding to their internal conflicts at being thrust into the public eye.

2/13: Rhetorical Triangle -Photo 1: The rhetor is the photographer John Loengard. He is a famous photographer for LIFE magazine and has taken pictures of many celebrities. The text here is a black and white photograph of Bill Cosby smoking a cigar. He appears to be in shadow while the wall behind him is lit. The original audience is the viewership of LIFE magazine in the late 60's or early 70's. This would be around the time that Cosby's career was hitting its stride and people were very interested in him. I don't quite know what the relationship between the viewer and the viewed would be. I think it's strange that he is in shadow.

-Photo 2: The rhetor is the same as above. The text here is a photo of Allen Ginsberg smoking. Allen Ginsberg is a famous poet who was active in the 1950's-1960's. He spoke out quite a bit against the military and sexual repression. In the photo his face is masked by smoke and the photo itself is quite dark. You can only really see his left eye. The veiwership is essentially the same as above.

-Photo 3: The rhetor is the same as above. The text here is a picture of the band The Beatles swimming in a pool. I think we're all aware of who The Beatles are. The picture seems to be during the summer and the lighting is very bright.

Feb 17th: Metaphor, ethos, and pathos: Photo 1: It's hard for me to think of any really good metaphors for this picture. Obviously Cosby is covered in darkness, but that could represent his race, or how he may feel somehow removed from society. He is smoking a cigar, and he seems fairly comfortable in his surroundings, even though it's very dark. This may represent that he feels most comfortable being a "shadow," instead of possibly being the center of attention. I don't know how pathos really plays into this. I know when I look at the picture I think of how cool he looks, and that evokes emotion in me. Ethos is the same. I can't see how the ethics of the photo motivate me to do anything, it doesn't seem like the photographer is really trying to sell me any ideas. Of course Bill Cosby was very famous at this time, and he lends a lot of credibility to the photo.

Photo 2: In this picture Ginsberg is disguised behind smoke that it seems he blew into the air. I think this is the strongest metaphor in the photo. He is very much hidden, and it looks like he is watching the audience. Almost as though he is spying on someone. This could be a metaphor for how he feels like he might need to hide himself. He was very vocal during the anti-war movement and it may be that he worries that someone might be out to get him. The ethos and pathos for this picture are similar the the first one. He looks very calm, cool, and collected and that makes me want to be like that. And again, his celebrity status validates the message for the audience, although I don't really know what the message was.

Photo 3: The Beatles are the main focus of this photograph. They are swimming in a pool. This makes them seem very carefree. If you removed them from the picture, and the only thing there was the pool and the yard it becomes a very laid-back picture. I think that could be a metaphor for their personalities. The pathos here seems to be just the good vibes they're giving off. It makes me want to jump in a pool and just hang out with my friends. I think The Beatles lend a lot of credibility to this picture, they were really hitting it big when this picture was taken. The fact that the season is spring/summer could be a metaphor for their career. It could be peaking, or about to peak, representing their golden years.

I still don't know what three pictures I'm going to use yet, or how I'm going to use them, but so far I really like these three as a set.


 * __John Loengard: Bill Cosby__**


 * __John Loengard: Allen Ginsberg__**


 * __John Loengard: The Beatles__**