A. is A.

is all out of bubblegum

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My favorite theorist and my favorite wrestler: together at last. fallingdownonpurpose: The Intellectual Savior: Damien Sandow and heteroglossia Damien Sandow is not like you. Nope, he’s better than you. Or that’s what he’d like you to think, anyways. Every time he speaks, he’s saying this - explicitly or implicitly. In fact, what Sandow is saying is not nearly as important as how he’s saying it.  The idea of establishing character through language is not a new one. It was introduced formally by the linguist Mikhail Bakhtin in the 1930s under the term heteroglossia. In particular, heteroglossia refers to the capability of language to hold an infinite amount of distinct dialects, each with its own set of characteristics and connotations so that each variety really begins to form its own language. Bakhtin used the term to describe the ability of the language of a single novel to hold different characters, each asserting power through their distinct forms of dialogue, with the author using the interactions between those characters to convey his or her own message. But the same is true for professional wrestling. As performers, wrestlers have several ways of conveying their character - presentation, action, and speech are the most obvious. And at the route of a character’s speech is Bakhtin’s concept of heteroglossia. Which, he claims, allows the author to utilize and express each character’s point of view through the form of language rather than merely the content: All languages of heteroglossia, whatever the principle underlying them and making each unique, are specific points of view on the world, forms for conceptualizing the world in words, specific world view, each characterized by its own objects, meanings, and values.  So, what does that have to do with Sandow? Well, it means that how he speaks is just as important for his character as how he dresses and how he wrestles. And perhaps his speech is even more important because it’s able to express his worldview in a way that holding the mic like a brandy snifter can only hint at. Essentially, his speech contains all of his other methods of characterization, including the robe and the Elbow of Disdain. Which allows him to use language as a means of self-identification, perhaps more so than any other wrestler on the current roster. At least more noticeably so.  This is all because, as Bakhtin says,  “there are no neutral words - language has been completely taken over, shot through with intention and accents.” And each of those intentions and accents is unique to a culture, subculture within that culture, and individual within that subculture. When Sandow says “serial” instead of “television show” and when he refers to John Cena as “the ultimate false idol,” he’s using language to establish a character, an intellectual. But it goes beyond that. He’s not just a smart guy because he can use multisyllabic words and outdated terms, he’s the kind of smart guy who uses those terms in a wrestling promo in front of thousands of wrestling fans. And what kind of character would do that? One that’s not just smart, but one that wants you to know he’s smart. Specifically, smarter than you. He’s setting himself apart from every other character through language alone. And that’s why he’s our intellectual savior.

My favorite theorist and my favorite wrestler: together at last.

fallingdownonpurpose:

The Intellectual Savior: Damien Sandow and heteroglossia

Damien Sandow is not like you. Nope, he’s better than you. Or that’s what he’d like you to think, anyways. Every time he speaks, he’s saying this - explicitly or implicitly. In fact, what Sandow is saying is not nearly as important as how he’s saying it. 

The idea of establishing character through language is not a new one. It was introduced formally by the linguist Mikhail Bakhtin in the 1930s under the term heteroglossia. In particular, heteroglossia refers to the capability of language to hold an infinite amount of distinct dialects, each with its own set of characteristics and connotations so that each variety really begins to form its own language.

Bakhtin used the term to describe the ability of the language of a single novel to hold different characters, each asserting power through their distinct forms of dialogue, with the author using the interactions between those characters to convey his or her own message. But the same is true for professional wrestling. As performers, wrestlers have several ways of conveying their character - presentation, action, and speech are the most obvious. And at the route of a character’s speech is Bakhtin’s concept of heteroglossia. Which, he claims, allows the author to utilize and express each character’s point of view through the form of language rather than merely the content:

All languages of heteroglossia, whatever the principle underlying them and making each unique, are specific points of view on the world, forms for conceptualizing the world in words, specific world view, each characterized by its own objects, meanings, and values. 

So, what does that have to do with Sandow? Well, it means that how he speaks is just as important for his character as how he dresses and how he wrestles. And perhaps his speech is even more important because it’s able to express his worldview in a way that holding the mic like a brandy snifter can only hint at. Essentially, his speech contains all of his other methods of characterization, including the robe and the Elbow of Disdain. Which allows him to use language as a means of self-identification, perhaps more so than any other wrestler on the current roster. At least more noticeably so. 

This is all because, as Bakhtin says,  “there are no neutral words - language has been completely taken over, shot through with intention and accents.” And each of those intentions and accents is unique to a culture, subculture within that culture, and individual within that subculture. When Sandow says “serial” instead of “television show” and when he refers to John Cena as “the ultimate false idol,” he’s using language to establish a character, an intellectual.

But it goes beyond that. He’s not just a smart guy because he can use multisyllabic words and outdated terms, he’s the kind of smart guy who uses those terms in a wrestling promo in front of thousands of wrestling fans. And what kind of character would do that? One that’s not just smart, but one that wants you to know he’s smart. Specifically, smarter than you. He’s setting himself apart from every other character through language alone.

And that’s why he’s our intellectual savior.

Filed under lit theory

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I re-watched the first season of Venture Bros with my boyfriend recently, and I was astounded to find that the first season aired back in 2004. I remember watching the series late in night in my teenage suburban basement years, but I still hadn’t put it together that I’ve been following this series for nearly a decade. Anyway, I’m excited that the fifth season will be all up in my eyeballs soon. Eventually I need to include something in my author bio like, “A. grew up in the suburbs, where she was raised by cartoons.” jamesurbaniak: Drive containing the first 9 completed episodes of Venture Brothers season five. given to me last night by Jackson Publick. I had a look and to quote Tim Roth in Pulp Fiction, “It’s beautiful.” June 2nd at midnight, people.

I re-watched the first season of Venture Bros with my boyfriend recently, and I was astounded to find that the first season aired back in 2004. I remember watching the series late in night in my teenage suburban basement years, but I still hadn’t put it together that I’ve been following this series for nearly a decade.

Anyway, I’m excited that the fifth season will be all up in my eyeballs soon.

Eventually I need to include something in my author bio like, “A. grew up in the suburbs, where she was raised by cartoons.”

jamesurbaniak:

Drive containing the first 9 completed episodes of Venture Brothers season five. given to me last night by Jackson Publick. I had a look and to quote Tim Roth in Pulp Fiction, “It’s beautiful.” June 2nd at midnight, people.

Filed under teevee animation