POMO: How To Use Supplementary Texts (1 Viewer)

[littlebinzy]

Hi,

I'm having a bit of trouble deciding on how to use supplementary texts. I have quite a few video clips, movies, novels, etc. that I recognise as postmodern, however, I am unsure of how to link them back to the idea of paradigms etc. I can clearly see postmodern techniques, but somehow I think I need to be able to write more indepth essays than simply pointing out "the director uses intertexuality here" or "the song writer breaks conventions here".

So I thought we could have some discussion of how we all use our texts...

 

[nath87]

Somebody help the boy!!!

 

[miss cherry]

hi littlebinzy. basically what my teacher is telling us to do is start with the text and then work through to the theory. the linking phrases you've got there are good, you can start off with the technique/s within the text and the explain how it relates to a critical theory, using a quote or something to back it up. For example, say you're doing the French Lieutenant's Woman and your talking about how Fowles breaks narrative convention by turning himself into a character, you can then go on and prove/disprove say, Barthes 'Death of the Author'. You could probably say something like...

"Fowles subverts the traditional conventions of the Victorian novel by becoming a character within the text...blah blah blah ...how it relates to subversion of genre/metanarratives....however, in trying to impress upon the reader his existance as an author, Fowles supports Barthes notion of the author essentially dying and being replaced by the interpretation of the reader [insert quote or something]. In beoming a character, Fowles contibutes to his own dissociation by being as real as, say, Charles.."

Ok, thats just how i was suggested to structure it. i hope it helps.

 

[littlebinzy]

Cheers to your miss cherry... that's quite a help.

 

[miss cherry]

no probs, glad to help out

 

[Sarah_Lou]

i integrate my supp. texts into my essay according to PM techniques. each para is about a certain PM technique.

 

[Born Dancer]

theres always two ways to approach an essay. with postmodernism, you can answer a question using the text by text approach and simply analyse your supplementary texts after your prescribed texts and whatnot.
however the problem with this is you often end up repeating yourself with techniques, as a lot of texts use the same methods to be postmodern.

as Sarah Lou said, a good way to introduce your supplementary texts is to answer the question using an integrated response. find some techniques which are common to all of your texts and have a separate techniqu per paragraph. this is great for linking your texts and saves you doubling up on any techniques or theory.

Ultimately though, it comes down to what works best for you. if you can write a good text by text response, then by all means go ahead. generally, an integrated response makes for a more sophisticated response, but it is harder to do.