Argues that the filmwork of Alfred Hitchcock shows his manipulation of melodramatic silence in that his films demonstrate a link between silence and truth. Concludes that in the simultaneous longing for and denial of the power of film silence lies the modernist complexity of Hitchcock's films that suggests the uses of melodramatic language in a…

Muses on the difference between film in the theater and on home video, using "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" as an example. Chronicles the complete viewing experience of this particular film at home. States that although home video supplies an excellent tool for "how-to" analysis, its interactivity cannot supply a valid theory of…

Invites rhetorical critics to reappraise the way they study discreet social movements and pay isolated tribute to woman's rights figures. Examines how Mary Wollstonecraft, Margaret Fuller, and Angelina Grimke each co-opted the ideational and stylistic rhetorical characteristics of pre-existing social movements (the enlightenment,…

Critique focuses on the discourse of leadership as a vehicle for representing organizational practice. Identifies a series of conceptual inadequacies, such as difficulties in distinguishing leadership from management. Embedded in each criticism is a claim that, if leadership is to retain its conceptual and practical utility, then it has to be…

Explores Paulo Freire's work from a rhetorical point of view suggesting that kairos is an important component of critical consciousness. Discusses three basic modes of disclosure: moods; understanding; and dialogic discourse. Notes that "being" is made known through these basic modes. Argues that kairos is a qualitative moment of…

Rejoinder to Rose and Gallup's defense of 2001 Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll's results concerning the public attitude toward educational vouchers. (PKP)

Studies verbal pretexts, social subtexts, and interpretive contexts of works by Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Notes that cultural repression is propagated (and dispelled) in part through the power of language. Notes that these texts are relevant for teaching textual power in hopes of affecting social change. (RS)

Examines the relationship of concrete poetry to "abstract" poetry (so labeled because its circular semantic play interferes with the image-forming aspect of representation). Analyzes the interrelations of these two types of poetry in the context of a poetic tradition centered in France. Asserts that both types aim to eradicate differences between…

Argues that the creative procedures of writing, performing, and interpreting poetry are subtly interrelated. Illustrates this argument with examples from the author's own poetry. (MM)

Discusses four works of criticism written since 1983 on the subject of Shakespeare's histories. Describes the approaches of works by Graham Holderness, C. W. R .D. Moseley, and Alexander Leggatt. Argues that Leggatt, whose writing reflects love for Shakespeare's histories, has produced the most nourishing work of its kind in years. (SG)

Examines A. A. Milne's "Winnie the Pooh" as a treatise on gender roles in middle-class English society. Explains how each of the animal characters becomes an archetype to describe the effects of the patriarchy on the individual. (MM)

Examines Vitagraph's explicit intertextual claims for "quality" films (films connected to canonized literary texts, historical figures, and biblical characters and texts). Describes a theoretical model for using intertextuality to situate readers and texts in the broader culture. Suggests how non-industry intertextual evidence…

Investigates the relationship between argumentation advanced by attorneys in four Supreme Court cases and the reasoning proffered by the Court in its decisions in those cases. Finds attorney argumentation sometimes irrelevant to the Court's reasoning and sometimes adopted by the Court. Offers a perspective on argumentation and decision making to…

Presents preliminary data about audience perceptions to colorized movies. Finds that colorized films were seen as more contemporary and were evaluated slightly more favorably. (RS)

Outlines two flaws in G. Thomas Goodnight's theory of the public sphere. Argues that Goodnight's distinction between the technical and public spheres is untenable and that modification of his position to recognize the technical nature of public argument strengthens the formulation. Suggests other more applicable terms to describe Goodnight's…