Asserting the Ineffable: Rhetorical Appropriation of ‘Poetic’ and the Contemporary Poetry Text

CounterText ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 144-161
Author(s):  
Ming-Qian Ma
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Contemporary Poetry ◽  
Constitutive Rhetoric ◽  
Rhetorical Situation ◽  
Poetry And Poetics ◽  
Information Transformation ◽  
And Function ◽  
Identity Formations

An elusive, trace-like entity, ‘poetic’ presents itself in the form of an intangible and yet indispensable relation, or relatedness, in the overall dynamics of information transformation. Paradoxical in nature and function, its ineffability forms the very condition of expressivity in poetry and poetics. ‘Poetic’, as such, also gains popularity and practicality in popular culture at large where and when it becomes articulated, tailored pragmatically to the specificities of any given activity. As an epochal phenomenon, this pragmatic rendition of ‘poetic’ takes the more pronounced form of rhetoric, which appropriates ‘poetic’, and which is resorted to by the contending smaller narratives in the postmodern world as their means for their respective identity formations and legitimations. In the context of the contemporary poetry scene, this rhetorical appropriation of ‘poetic’ manifests itself eloquently in the three areas of rhetorical situation, constitutive rhetoric, and rhetorical styles, which reveal the mechanisms of a soft interpellation that grants the contemporary poets their identity and legitimacy through their own performative confirmation.

The Art of Love Poetry

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Gray
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Cultural History ◽  
Literary Tradition ◽  
Love Poetry ◽  
Erotic Love ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Function ◽  
Meaning And Function ◽  
Comprehensive History

Love begets poetry; poetry begets love. These two propositions have seemed evident to thinkers and poets across the Western literary tradition. Plato writes that “anyone that love touches instantly becomes a poet.” And even today, when poetry has largely disappeared from the mainstream of popular culture, it retains its romantic associations. But why should this be so—what are the connections between poetry and erotic love that lead us to associate them so strongly with one another? An examination of different theories of both love and poetry across the centuries reveals that the connection between them is not merely an accident of cultural history—the result of our having grown up hearing, or hearing about, love poetry—but something more intrinsic. Even as definitions of them have changed, the two phenomena have consistently been described in parallel terms. Love is characterized by paradox. Above all, it is both necessarily public, because interpersonal, and intensely private; hence it both requires expression and resists it. In poetry, especially lyric poetry, which features its own characteristic paradoxes and silences, love finds a natural outlet. This study considers both the theories and the love poems themselves, bringing together a wide range of examples from different eras in order to examine the major structures that love and poetry share. It does not aim to be a comprehensive history of Western love poetry, but an investigation into the meaning and function of recurrent tropes, forms, and images employed by poets to express and describe erotic love.

scholarly journals The Banana Leaf Approach: An Appreciation of Utilitarian Handcrafted Artifacts in the American Context

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael Ángel-Bravo
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Natural Environment ◽  
Cultural Significance ◽  
Direct Experience ◽  
Everyday Objects ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Crucial Component ◽  
And Function ◽  
Banana Leaf

There is a whole wide diversity regarding how people adapt to the natural environment conditions and how they value or relate to their everyday objects and products; outside aesthetics or functionality, users appreciate utilitarian artifacts according to assorted perspectives and factors, including traditional, emotional, and cultural approaches. This paper is envisioned to propose a reflection regarding the value and significance of utilitarian handcrafted objects as a fundamental element of popular culture, associated with tradition, heritage, and folkloric preservation. Based on direct experience, photographic record, and assorted theoretical approaches, it was viable to generate a conceptual review and reflection considering the consumers’ appreciation of traditional handcrafted artifacts, understanding these implements’ value and significance beyond their form and function, as the cultural significance of handcrafted utilitarian, decorative and traditional products, as a crucial component of tangible and intangible heritages and identities in the American context.

scholarly journals Libertarianism in Pop Culture:

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcella Lins
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Pop Culture ◽  
Ethical Theories ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Buffy The Vampire Slayer ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
And Function ◽  
Tv Show ◽  
Made In

Television drama is an important tool to present hypothetical scenarios and imagine various ways to deal with them, while testing the viability of ethical theories that could guide moral judgements and practical decisions made in real life. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003) left an important legacy in Popular Culture captivating viewers worldwide and still being relevant 20 years later. The aim of this article is to revisit Buffy’s Season 4 and analyze it through a libertarian perspective. Over this season, a great number of relevant subjects are discussed, such as the form and function of the state, its relationship with society, the subversion of public authorities and the morality of law and punishment. It is expected that the successful adoption of libertarian ethics and principles to understand this TV show might bring out Libertarianism as a valuable philosophical alternative to be taken into account when looking for solutions to current issues.

scholarly journals Identity, curated branding, and the star cosplayer's pursuit of Instagram fame

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona Katie Haborak
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Popular Culture ◽  
Social Identity ◽  
Aesthetic Value ◽  
Creative Project ◽  
The Aesthetic ◽  
And Function ◽  
Digital Landscape

In response to the digital landscape, the nature of cosplay, in which the cosplayer constructs an identity complementary to the character via costuming, has changed from a performative expression of fandom appreciation to a desire to achieve viral fame. As a signifier of popular culture, such so-called star cosplayers commodify their bodies to market a social identity through the curatorial process of displaying work on Instagram. A creative project, ".//wired: TRENDING," promotes the aesthetic value and function of cosplay while utilizing social media to create an identity brand for endorsement.

scholarly journals Rethinking the Cultural Icon: Its Use and Function in Popular Culture

2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Truman
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
First Century ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Cultural Icon ◽  
American Popular Culture ◽  
Academic Scholarship ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
And Function

Background  The role of cultural icons in twenty-first century North American popular culture has been under-theorized in communication scholarship. This is a significant gap in knowledge, given the importance of the icon as a public text through which collective cultural values are symbolized.Analysis  Using the novel approach of the scoping review, this article illuminates the current landscape of iconic studies by identifying wide-ranging examples of the cultural icon from academic scholarship, recognizing organizational categories, and synthesizing existing definitions to highlight the limits of current conceptualizations.Conclusions and Implications  Informed by the collected data, this article suggests a redefinition of the cultural icon that considers its current novel role in revealing tensions between different articulations of collective cultural values.Contexte  Le rôle des icônes culturels dans la culture populaire nord-américaine de ce siècle n’a pas encore reçu une attention théorique soutenue en communication. Cette lacune est sérieuse, vu l’importance de l’icône en tant que texte public par lequel nous représentons nos valeurs culturelles collectives.Analyse  Au moyen de l’approche novatrice qu’est l’examen de la portée, cet article illumine le terrain contemporain des études iconiques en identifiant divers exemples de l’icône culturel dans la recherche académique, en recensant des catégories organisationnelles pour celui-ci, et en faisant la synthèse de définitions courantes afin de souligner les limites des conceptualisations actuelles.Conclusion et implications  Cet article s’inspire des données recueillies pour proposer une redéfinition de l’icône culturel qui rend compte de son rôle novateur de souligner les tensions sous-tendant diverses articulations de valeurs culturelles collectives.

scholarly journals History and Aesthetics of Progress Indicators

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 57-67
Author(s):  
Felix Raczkowski ◽  
Mary Shnayien
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Media History ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Function ◽  
Digital Cultures

Progress indicators are continuously changing and modulating their originally fairly limited functions of signifying the progress of human or machinic labor in industrial or computational contexts, to the point where they appear as an aesthetic convention of measurement in popular culture and self-management. This development raises questions regarding the shifting status of digital media aesthetics in digital cultures, which this paper will address by outlining a brief media history of progress indicators, exploring some of the various functions fulfilled by them, and by discussing the implications of the shift in place, form and function of progress indicators.

scholarly journals "Indian's Bygone Past:" The Banff Indian Days, 1902-1945

2008 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurie Meijer Drees
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Theoretical Concepts ◽  
Culture History ◽  
The World ◽  
Wild West ◽  
And Function ◽  
Historical Methods ◽  
Source Of Information

Between 1902 and 1945, the Banff Indian Days and annual Indian Exhibition promoted by local Banff entrepreneur Norman Luxton, were a success both locally and internationally. Tourists came from around the world to attend the week-long festivities. The Banff Indian Days could be considered the Canadian equivalent of Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. These Banff Indian Days form not only an undescribed part of Canada's popular culture history, but are also an important source of information on the nature of Indian-White relations in the province of Alberta between 1902 and 1945 - a period and region relatively little investigated by historians interested in Native history. In this paper the structure and function of the Banff Indian Days are investigated using traditional historical methods as well as theoretical concepts borrowed from the discipline of Anthropology. The article concludes that the Banff Indian Days constituted a form of public ritual through which participating Indians were able to invent, assert, and have sanctioned, their separate and unique identities.

Contemporary Poetry and Capitalism

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 860-869
Author(s):  
Walt Hunter
Keyword(s):  
Contemporary Poetry ◽  
Political Regimes ◽  
Close Attention ◽  
Poetry And Poetics ◽  
Historical Capitalism

Abstract The field of poetry and poetics has been revitalized by a decade and a half of close attention to many of its enduring premises and assumptions. Three new books by Jasper Bernes, Margaret Ronda, and Heather Milne show how US poetry from 1945 to the present responds to the changing conditions of historical capitalism. Departing from older periodizing narratives anchored in the shift from modernism to postmodernism, these books uncover the poetic histories that emerge in tandem with changes in economic structures and political regimes.

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