Instructions for Making a Literary Collage for Marian Girls
*Ingredients:
1) a research/critical question to be explored through the collage
2) various quotes from a diverse set of speakers (opinions should only be homogeneous when appropriate)
3) images: photos (to illustrate instead of to tell), charts/graphs (to explain something in a concise manner)
4) Other modes: dialogue, art, a distinct font for frequent voices (ESPECIALLY the author's)
*Steps:
1) find an exploratory question for the collage, type it in centered alignment at the very top of the first page (in the author's distinct font)
2) find a quote and/or series of quotes that will "hook" the reader, and put them in conversation with one another (imagery can be utilized here as well)
3) scatter the alignment of modes in a fragmented way, but keep related ideas aligned in a way that "responds" to the previous quotes
4) when you feel as if a certain conversation has run its course, transition with either a fitting quote (addresses both the previous conversation and the coming one) or with a similar mode; or, ask a question as the author (in the proper font) that transitions appropriately
5) these conversations from which you transition should be increasingly important to your "So what?'
6) If a quote, image, or personal idea of yours seems central to the collage, center it in the middle of an otherwise blank page (negative space).
7) quotes can start to genuinely agree with one another as you reach your conclusion; you can also, as the author, start to draw conclusions from this elaborate discussion with a less inquisitive and more certain tone
8) arrive at your own conclusion; this should not directly solve all of the complications posed by your critical question and everything in between, but rather, make a statement or two utilizing everything that was brought to the table in the collage
9) citations can be in-text, footnoted, or, if each source speaks in a distinct enough font and/or color, use that as a sort of footnote for the works cited page
Part 1: Analyzing Your Model Text (I did this first, but it's long, so I'm putting the recipe first.)
1) modes: text, format (spacing and alignment), font size, font color, images, quotes, song lyrics (not sure if those are under the "quotes" umbrella), poetry (though very informal and choppy)
2) Audience
a) Who? Young women, mainstream feminists, pop culture followers, Beyonce fans (I am in this audience, although I might perceive this differently if I were a more heavy-duty Beyonce fan; I would understand the song lyrics better)
b) Pronouns:
-"we": author only uses this pronoun when asking questions to the audience (herself included); these questions are central to important transitions in the collage (these challenge the audience to consider the personal and societal implications of claims)
-"she": author uses this only when talking ironically about Beyonce and considering opposing feminist criticisms of Beyonce; utilizes a variety of boldface, italics, and plain font together here (these paint a picture of Beyonce in each light for the audience)
c) Author's construction of relationship with audience:
-The author asks significant questions without exhausting the audience, and also makes herself relatable to the audience through both serious and sarcastic comments about the ideas entertained by both sides of the argument (a way of actively considering different views).
d) Words/phrases that stand out (imagining the audience):
-calls Beyonce "Bey" and "Queen Bey"
-"Not all haters, right?" (uses lyrics to make a point, audience understands reference)
3) Authorial Identity:
a) How author constructs reader relationship using her identity:
-is open to different interpretations of sexuality (lets the reader know that she isn't judgmental)
-calls Beyonce by nicknames (author evidently follows Beyonce)
-casually prompts and entertains feminist ideas (reader knows author is a feminist, but no deeper set of those beliefs)
b) Author's use of "I" or "me":
-doesn't use either, but compensates with casual, personable, and often funny interjections
4) Purpose:
a) The author's purpose in writing is to engage the audience in a discussion about powerful females in pop culture, their use of sexuality, and how this relates to the flexibility of feminist tenets. The author hopes to achieve a view of Beyonce as a powerful woman who owns her sexuality, which feminists should not judge but rather embrace. She wants people to think critically yet be open minded about female sexuality, in a feminist backdrop.
b) Sentence(s) first indicating author's argument:
JUST STOP BEY; YOU
JUST DON’T LOOK THE RIGHT WAY.
-This sentence falls on page four (out of nine). Here, the author is sarcastic and implicitly lets the audience know that she isn't a fan of telling any woman how they should look and dress. The sentence is an interjection into a page of quotes/arguments criticizing Beyonce's use of her attractiveness and sexuality in music videos, etc.c) Sentence in which author most clearly states her purpose/argument:
women own their
bodies
This isn't so much a sentence as an unprecedented, informal response to a feminist critique of Beyonce's "flashes of side boob.) This response falls on page five, in the middle of some of the harshest criticisms of Beyonce's use of her own sexuality. 5) Outside research/secondary sources:
The collage is packed with various quotes by celebrities, ordinary women, and mainstream feminist scholars. The quotes are put in conversation with one another.
6) Organization:
a) text organization/transition from one idea to the next:
-alignment varies with each quote
-puts the most important statements and quotes in centered alignment
-allows quotes to compete with/feed off of one another for about a page (with a few casual interjections), then uses discussion produced by quotes to question the audience and/or make a bold statement in order to transition from one idea to the next
b) language/words used by author to connect ideas:
-uses choppy interjections between quotes to connect them to her own views; usually sarcastically entertaining the ideas offered by the quotes
7) Genre:
a) This genre is called a literary collage, where the author utilizes various modes (most importantly, diverse quotes) in order to create a sort of discussion about a topic (which the author states in the form of a question at the very beginning of the collage) in an exploratory fashion.
b) conventions:
-author uses her own inquisitive voice to interpret and/or entertain the ideas offered by the other modes
-author's voice is incorporated into the collage, but not too often (let the modes do most of the talking)
-author starts out as completely objective and then, as more knowledge is contributed by the other modes, grows more outspoken (whether implicitly or explicitly)
-question to be explored in the collage is centered at the top of the very beginning of the text
-author's voice is distinct to the reader, often through a specific font, font size, font color, and/or alignment
-other modes (typically but not limited to) speech, dialogue, poetry, and various images are scattered across the page with no particular spacing and alignment patterns (fragmented)
-modes and author's voice are at times distributed within a page of otherwise negative space for emphasis
8) Images:
a) how author uses images in the text:
-utilizes photos of Beyonce in various lights and settings (even a meme); these aren't overused
-author sometimes juxtaposes seemingly divergent photos of Beyonce to emphasize her ideas
b) author lets photos speak for themselves; they emphasize and complicate her argument without her having to explicitly say so; images are only of Beyonce
-since her purpose is to view Beyonce as a powerful woman in pop culture who owns her sexuality, the collage concludes with a royalty-looking photo of Beyonce (red and gold colors in the image pop out to the reader; red = sexual and gold = powerful?)
c) All images are photos of Beyonce.
d) The author might have done this in order to keep herself and the various aspects of the collage on track to her larger point (structure).
e) Photos of Beyonce looking fierce are surrounded by quotes about Beyonce as empowered (same goes for quotes about Beyonce being too promiscuous)
9) reverse outline
conclusion (Beyonce is powerful, owns her body and sexuality) --> quotes focus solely on why it's wrong to criticize Beyonce in a judgmental feminist light --> "feminisms begin to chatter" about Beyonce as submissive to her husband --> Beyonce is shown to care about societal aesthetic pressures on girls --> Beyonce doesn't care (nor does she need to) about her feminist identification --> Beyonce on feminism --> definition of feminism --> initial question: "What happens when Beyonce says she's a feminist?"
-author uses the growing sense of contempt for Beyonce within the quotes as an invitation to step in, defend Beyonce's sexuality, and make her point without seeming too assertive throughout the collage; makes it seem as if she was provoked to do so
10) Document Design and Layout:
a) author uses Cambria font, sizes 10-12 (but predominantly 12)
b) Some quotes are boldfaced or italicized to distinguish the speaker, but when it's the author's voice, italics and boldface are used for emphasis. Here, the author's use of italics and especially boldface increases as the collage moves closer to the conclusion.
c) Text is fragmented on the pages, with various alignments. Most quotes are short, but a few of the longer ones are centered, often on their own page (negative space).
d) Only colors come from the photos and the author's words, which are in blue (all other text is black). I'm not sure about the significance of the color blue, but the contrast let's the reader know when the author is speaking.
e) Aside from the fragmented array of
modes, the author sometimes makes
a quote look like this.
(this is only when the author is speaking)
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