Exploratory Writing (Box 4)

At this point, you have conducted two interviews and written your first draft of an essay synthesizing the information you learned from those primary sources. You may have decided to explore the topic that has emerged from your interviews, or you may want to embark on an entirely new inquiry. Whatever choice you have made, start writing about where you want to go next. Use the questions on page 62 of your textbook to prompt your writing activity: Just get some ideas down and post them here.

Establishing Rapport (Box 21)

My dad claimed he had no stories, but I really wasn't expecting him to tell me stories, just supply a few clues here and there about what life was like in his family and our neighborhood during the '30s, '40s, and '50s. It was kind of funny at times because I'd ask him a question, and he'd look at me like I was crazy and say something like, "We didn't have things like that back then!" or "That place wasn't even built yet!" and I had to keep reminding him that I wasn't around in those days.

My dad has a tendency to be suspicious of school assignments, especially when he's being interrogated about himself. He's not a big conversationalist, either. I did my best to reassure him by clearly explaining what I was doing. Another thing I noticed was that he seemed reluctant to answer some questions with my mom sitting right there: in particular, when I asked about his high school years and whether he had a girlfriend. It suddenly hit me that I probably should have found a time to talk to him when nobody else was around.

My aunt, on the other hand, was completely open about talking to me, and we spent more than three hours talking and reminiscing. We both like to talk, so we didn't have any lulls in the conversation. Each question seemed to trigger multiple memories that she was eager to share. A few times my aunt did get frustrated with herself because she couldn't remember certain names or facts. She said there were things she always meant to write down and figured she would get around to it, but didn't realize how much she would forget. Some of her recollections differed from what my dad told me, but that didn't surprise me because my dad admits that he wasn't always paying attention.

After my interviews with my dad and aunt, I realized there were questions I had meant to ask and forgot, questions I didn't think to ask until later, and information I needed to clarify. Still, I also learned a few things I never would have thought to ask about, just through the course of our conversations.

A verbal portrait (Box 25)

Below is a verbal portrait I wrote on February 18, 2007:

When Feedback is a Bad Thing: Verbal Portrait of a 12-year-old Halo 2 Informant

            I took advantage of a snow day to interview my son about video games. I’m taking a class in ethnography, which is the study of groups, and I’m studying a group I don’t belong to: Halo 2 players.

            At first, Daniel was an eager informant, but he became resistant when he saw there were sixty-five questions on my list. I bribed him with a cheeseburger and a mug of hot chocolate, but that wasn’t enough to keep him from fidgeting.

“Come on, Mom, it’s a snow day. I was in the middle of game.” 

I resorted to parental authority. He continued to exhibit symptoms of withdrawal, his excessive thumb twitching evidence of my contention that his gaming is obsessive.

            The interview provided useful background information for someone who has little knowledge of and even less interest in video games. The very first question provided insight: “Why do you like video games?”

“’Cause they’re fun! Interactive!”

He actually said the word “interactive.” Ah, so this is not a passive medium, and it even has the potential to improve vocabulary.

Daniel’s favorite game is Halo 2. It takes a lot of practice to get good at the game, and yet Daniel insists that age and skill don’t matter so much among Halo 2 players.

 “What matters is how you act. How you treat people. That you’re a good sport.” An ethical code of conduct among group members!

Daniel gets angry at “modders,” people who modify the game to take unfair advantage of other players. Modders can be reported by providing “feedback” online to the “Bungee people” who represent the manufacturer.

“Another player gave feedback on me ‘cause I beat him.”

My poor, innocent—wait a second. I remember seeing a copy of Halo 2 Hacks in Daniel’s book bag. Ambiguity here.

Daniel has X-Box Live, which provides audio so players can talk to each other.

“Is there is anything people say that makes you laugh?”

“Yeah, people acting like they’re constipated.” So potty humor is accepted and appreciated by group members.

            I asked about team etiquette on Halo 2.

“Huh?”

I rephrased my question: “Is there any particular behavior that is not tolerated among teammates?”

“What?”

I rephrased again: “What makes people think you’re a jerk?”

Instant recognition.

 “Running over your teammates with the wart-hog,” he said. Apparently a

wart-hog is a type of transport vehicle.

My husband, Brad, sometimes plays, but Daniel said he’d rather play with other kids: “Dad’s not that good at Halo.”

 Daniel said that once when they were playing Halo 2 together on X-Box Live, Brad could hear their teammates saying that he “sucked.” So Brad blew up the teammates and logged off. Apparently Dad’s not a very good sport.

           

           

           

Listening for Words: Creating a Glossary (Box 27)

Sunstein and Chiseri-Strater argue that, "Special words, jargon, slang, and the unique uses of everyday language are important clues to understanding a culture or subculture. Knowing what terms insiders use will help you step away from your outsider status, and analyzing the words--and their uses--will assist you in seeing what's important to insiders" (279).  If you are already an insider, you need to try to imagine what aspects of the group's language you take for granted that others might not understand. For example, I used to work in advertising. In my dissertation proposal for a study about the evolution of advertising agency rhetoric, I had to consider that my committee members have not worked in advertising and may not be familiar with certain terms or define them the same way that I do.

Definition of Terms

Advertisement: A persuasive message created with text and/or images and used to sell products and services.

Advertiser: This term is used interchangeably to refer both to companies that produce products and services and the advertising agencies that create and place advertisements for those companies.

Advertising Agency: A business organization, working on behalf of itself or another organization, that both creates persuasive advertising and purchases media space in which those advertisements appear.

Advertising Publications: Refers to Advertising Publications archive housed in the Emergence of Advertising in America Online Database. These publications cover a variety of topics, including why manufacturers should advertise, how to advertise, descriptions of publications in which advertising was sold, and rates and data for newspapers and magazines around the nation.

Advertising Space: Space purchased within a print medium for the placement of advertisements.

Consumer: Although, technically, the JWT House Ads are directed to “consumers” of advertising services, they were placed in publications considered to be trade, rather than consumer. Consumer, in the sense that I use it, refers to the end-user of products and services purchased for personal use.

House Ads: For the purposes of this study, the J. Walter Thompson House Advertisements archive in the Emergence of Advertising in America Online Database. These advertisements appeared primarily in the trade publication Printer’s Ink, and were used to promote the advertising agency services of J. Walter Thompson.

Media: The plural form of what refers to any medium, primarily print, during the era discussed, that supports editorial and/or advertisements in text, and/or images.

Work Cited

Sunstein, Bonnie Stone, and Elizabeth Chiseri-Strater. FieldWorking: Reading and Writing Research, 4th. ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2012. Print.

Silent-film Stunt Man

I've asked all of you to come up with a family story, so I'll share one of my own. You can post your stories as a response to this post.

Today I found a photo of my great-grandfather's burial site at www.findagrave.com, which I located after a short Google search.  I knew he died as a young man, but I wasn't sure of the exact years of his birth and death.

Alonzo Winfield Allen was a stunt man in the silent movies. He died in 1918 at age 29 or 30, when my grandmother, Luella Allen Lindquist, was about five years old. The only thing she knew about his passing was that he had died of kidney failure. That was the story I heard as a kid, and, of course, I felt sad for my grandma that she didn't have her father around when she was growing up.

It wasn't until somewhat recently that my mom learned that the kidney failure was the result of an accident that occurred during one of his stunts. The injury he received, although not fatal at the time it happened, damaged his kidneys. I don't know how the accident happened.

My mom learned this only because a relative on the Allen side of the family was doing genealogical research and had contacted my mom. Apparently, the marriage between my great-grandmother, Katherine Matilda Coorough, and my great-grandfather was a scandal, and it's possible they may have eloped. "Tillie" and Alonzo were married in 1911, and it is possible that Tillie's family was scandalized because Alonzo was in show business. At that time, people in show business were considered to be low class. In fact, a very brief Google search on stunt work in silent films led me to an article called "Stunt Man," where I learned that many stunts at that time were done by people who were desperate for work. 

The film industry provided little to no safety precautions. Many stuntmen--and women--died doing stunts. Now I'm more curious about the history of silent films, which might help me understand more about Alonzo in an indirect way. Since stuntmen rarely got credit for their work, chances are I could watch a silent film featuring Alonzo Allen, but I would have no way to prove it. I have never seen a photo of him.