Essay 2: Lens Analysis

WR13300 / Spr 2013/ Dietel-McLaughlin

Overview
One of the most crucial skills for academic writing involves the ability to grapple with, explicate, and test theoretical concepts by applying those concepts to other artifacts or contexts. In this essay, you will cultivate this important analytical skill by choosing one or two of the theoretical texts weve read in class to use as a lensthat is, a framework that illuminates something interesting about another artifact youve chosen to analyze. In doing so, your completed essay should help to illustrate, extend, or complicate a key theory of humor, while also helping readers to better understand the artifact under analysis. Remember: The best analysis papers point out something that isnt obvious about the chosen text(s). A good lens essay offers a fresh interpretation of the artifact at hand at the same time that it offers critical reflection on the lens text itself. Ultimately, you should look for ways in which the lens text(s) might help you develop a central claim youre making about the text. You could, for example, use your lens text to explain why something not classified as comedic is consistent with a key theory of humor. Another option might be to use your lens to explain why an attempt at humor failed with its intended audience. A different approach might be to choose an artifact that exposes the limitations of your chosen lens for understanding a particular genre of humor. Here are a few examples of topics that could work for this essay: Use Zivs theory of humor as social corrective to illustrate how the popular sitcom 30 Rock is a comedic text that simultaneously resists and serves the interests of capitalist culture. Use Incongruity Theory to explain the humor underscoring a series of photobomb meme mashups. Use examples from The Darwin Awards to illustrate the relevanceand limitation ofMonros (1951) Types of Humor to contemporary humor. Use McGraws Benign Violation Theory to explain why Gilbert Gottfrieds post-911 humor was not successful with his audience, while The Onions post-911 issue was met with generally positive responses. Argue that the reality television show Jersey Shore can be interpreted as a comedic text best explained by Superiority Theory.

These are just a few examples (not a menu of options from which to choose), so you should be sure to develop a topic that engages your unique interests.

Requirements
Your completed essay should be 5-6 pages long (typed in MLA format) Your essay must meaningfully integrate material from at least 2 of the sources we read in class. Your essay must include an MLA-formatted Works Cited page, with an entry for each source. You must include in-text citations. You must include an introduction that offers basic information about the text being analyzed, the lens being applied to that text, and motivation for your analysis (see right). Your essay should be driven by a clear, debatable thesis that makes a claim about the text being analyzed and/or the chosen lens text(s). That thesis should be supported with clearly defined points of analysis All points should be supported with evidence from the lens text(s) and the artifact being analyzed. Your essay must anticipate and respond to the counterarguments of your readers (which must also be supported with evidence). Your essay should end with a conclusion that underscores the relevance of your analysis to a larger conversation, field, genre, etc.

Motivating Moves*
Some factors that may prompt motivation for your analysis: 1) The truth isnt what one would expect, or what it might appear to be on first reading. 2) The knowledge on the topic has heretofore been limited. 3) Theres a mystery or puzzle or question here that needs answering. 4) Published views of the matter conflict. 5) We can learn about a larger phenomenon by studying this smaller one. 6) This seemingly tangential or insignificant matter is actually important or interesting. 7) Theres an inconsistency, contradiction, or tension here that needs explaining. 8) The standard opinion(s) need challenging or qualifying.

*From Kerry Walks Motivating Moves

DUE: 3/1, 11:55 p.m. (in Sakai)