Characterisation of Coriolanus

In the first act of the play Coriolanus, Shakespeare establishes and foreshadows the key conflict between Coriolanus and the common people, and with Aufidius, mainly through the characterisation of the main protagonist, Coriolanus. In battle, he is portrayed as a brave and strong war hero, however in the city and the capitol building his flaws come to shine, as he is portrayed as a stubborn and arrogant patrician. 

The play begins with the plebeians rioting in the streets of Rome as they have a shortage of grain. Coriolanus is mainly blamed for this as he is viewed as the “chief enemy to the people” (1.1.6) by the citizens of rome. In Scene 1 of Act 1, Coriolanus is portrayed as an arrogant and stubborn patrician due to his lack of respect for the plebeians, the lower class of Roman Society, which thus justifies their hatred towards Coriolanus. “What’s the matter, you dissentious rogues,/That, rubbing the poor itch of your opinion,/Make yourselves scabs?” (1.1.164-167). His arrogance is seen clearly in this quote as he addresses the plebeians as dissentious rogues, as well as calling their opinion a “poor itch”, meaning that their opinion doesn't matter and is worthless. This foreshadows Coriolanus’s eventual downfall as well as conflicts with the plebeians further on in the play, when he is in the need of the plebeians’s votes in order to achieve the rank of consul.

In contrast with his flawed traits which eventually will cause his downfall, he is portrayed as a brave and fearless war hero on the battlefield. In order to convey this, Shakespeare uses specific events which showcase Coriolanus’s heroism, such as when he recklessly attacks a group of enemy soldiers by himself. Unlike his arrogance which is seen in the city of rome, Coriolanus is portrayed as a humble man in battle. Instead of boasting about his victory after the war, he shows modesty when praised, asking Titus Lartius to “praise [him] not” (1.5.590). Even though a great change in the character of Coriolanus is seen between the first scene and later scenes in act one, his arrogance seems to prevail as he once again belittles the soldiers under his command, calling them the “shames of Rome” (1.4.524). This foreshadows Coriolanus’s downfall due to his inability to effectively communicate with others.

Shakespeare depicts Coriolanus as a very complex character, who displays heroism in battle, and arrogance towards others. Even though in battle he is portrayed as a very different character when compared to himself in the city, his flaws tends to prevail, as seen by the way he addresses his soldiers whilst fighting by their side. This foreshadows future conflicts which will arise from him talking to others in such a arrogant and stubborn way, which will then ultimately cause his downfall.

Generation Like

Do you believe that today’s youtube stars are being exploited or empowered?

I believe that YouTube stars are both empowered and exploited at the same time. Many Youtube stars have a large number of followers, such as Pewdiepie, who has over 40 million subscribers. With a fanbase as big as this, one person can have a very big impact by just uploading a video onto Youtube, which will then be seen by millions of people. This large audience empowers Youtube stars as they are able to voice their opinion to the public by uploading a video. Furthermore, users are also being empowered by their fanbase which look up to them and want to be just like them. As they have such a large fanbase, advertising product and making money can also be done very easily, which can sometimes feel empowering, but mostly is the exploitation of Youtube stars from big companies. Big companies often pay Youtube stars who have a large following a lot of money so that they endorse their product in a video, making it extremely profitable for companies at the expense of Youtube stars being exploited. In addition to this, the company Youtube, who is empowering Youtube stars by giving them a voice, also exploits them by placing ads on their page as well as making partnerships with the Youtube stars, so that for the exchange of much money, Youtube can place ads into the actual video, making it guaranteed that large amounts of viewers will see the Video. In conclusion, there are negatives and positives about being a Youtube star such as being empowered or exploited. 

Stereotypes

Do you think that advertisers have a moral duty to avoid stereotyping people?

In todays society, advertisements usually have some type of stereotype about people from one race, culture or country. I believe that advertisers have a moral duty to avoid stereotyping people due to several reasons, however I also understand why it is done by advertisers. First of all, when advertisers stereotype people, they generalise a whole culture or race and depict them to society as all the same people, ignoring their differences. This can be very offensive to some, especially when one’s cultural or race stereotype is used in order to make the advertisement funny. Furthermore, advertisers should also avoid stereotyping people as it imposes standards on society, which are most predominantly seen in the fashion and modelling industry. Advertisers choose to include stereotypes of people in ads due to various reasons. Using stereotypes of people saves valuable time in the explanation that is necessary to set the scene in the advertisement as the audience will most likely have prior knowledge of stereotypes.  Furthermore, stereotypes can easily create an association with the viewer and the ad itself, as well as make the ad in some cases more funny. Additionally, decorative and active portrayals of men and women in advertisements can often say a lot about the intentions of an ad in terms of appeals, which is also liked to the affect transfer concept. In conclusion, I believe that advertisers should avoid stereotyping people, however I do understand why it is done and its effectiveness. 

Print Ad Analysis

Audience and Purpose:

This type of text is a print advertisement targeted towards young women. It is targeted towards young women due to the female in the picture wearing a wedding dress, as well as due to the watches both on her wrist and in the bottom right corner which look like watches for females. The purpose of this print advertisement is to make the viewer want to buy watches from Hour Choice. It aims to do this by persuading the audience with the slogan “Never Follow”, meaning to be out of the ordinary and not mainstream.  

Content and Theme

In this print advertisement, watches by Hour Choice are advertised as seen by the somewhat transparent title at the top, and the several watches in the foreground of the ad at the bottom right. In the centre we see a young woman wearing a white wedding dress, sneakers and a watch. This is done to draw the viewers attention to this section of the advertisement as it clearly contrasts with the dark background. The sneakers and watch which the woman is wearing also contribute to the companies slogan in white text, which also stands out from the darker background, “Never Follow” as it implies that you should be different than the rest. Both the slogan and the female both build upon another to bring across the theme of being different.

Tone and Mood

The tone of the print advertisement is encouraging as the slogan “Never Follow” encourages change and being different from the rest. The atmosphere created is relaxed and daring because the female in the ad is willing to be different while wearing casual sneakers and a watch which create a relaxed and daring atmosphere. 

Style and Structure

This print advertisement encourages people to be different by using the slogan “Never Follow”. The text in this advertisement does not use any pronouns, however it does use direct speech as the slogan is addressed directly to the viewer. The text at the bottom of the advertisement show all of the different brands which Hour Choice offer. This is however made in a small text font in order to not draw away much attention to the main text, the slogan. The slogan itself effectively hooks and engages the reader as direct speech is used. The structure of this print advertisement is done in this way in order to focus most of the viewers attention to the centre of this ad as well as the watches in the bottom right of the ad.