1.1 Charlie Brooker: “Too much talk for one planet: Why I’m reducing my word emissions”

Question 1

Genre

Answer 1

Satire & Opinion

Question 2

Mode

Answer 2

Article

Question 3

Audience

Answer 3

Older and more mature, fans of Brooker’s work

Question 4

Purpose

Answer 4

Awareness of opinion

Question 5

Context

Answer 5

Charlie Brooker:
- writer and co show runner of Black Mirror
- worked on comic book in the 80s, sold vastly due to his dark humour
- taken too far in 1998, he said kids should take on violent tendencies on animals and not humans

Question 6

“roughly two people noticed it’s absence”

Answer 6

irony, litoties
- self deprecating humour
- makes the reader feel comfortable
- number “2”: mathematical lexis

Question 7

“(not true)” “(also not true)” “(not entirely true)”

Answer 7

parenthesis
- breaking the 4th wall

Question 8

“intense flurry of activity”

Answer 8

metaphor and hyperbole
- taking the mick that everyone was panicking

Question 9

“for reasons i’ll explain in a moment”

Answer 9

• interrupts himself
• conversational
• speaking to the audience

Question 10

“to whine in the most pompous manner”

Answer 10

• mocking people who complain about him

Question 11

“olympic level navel gazing”

Answer 11

• sardonic imagery
• being deliberately narcissistic

Question 12

“cheerfully siegheils on BBC Breakfast”

Answer 12

anecdote
- reference to Nazi salute: disturbing imagery
- makes reader feel uncomfortable
- “BBC Breakfast”: familiar collocation

Question 13

“factory mindlessly pumping carbon dioxide into a toxic sky”

Answer 13

metaphor
- comparing writing to pollution; ironic and satirical
- downplaying climate change
- pejorative tone

Question 14

“i’m an elderly man from the age of steam”

Answer 14

hyperbole
- emotive language
- mocking himself
- reference to industrial revolution
- reader might feel bad for him

Question 15

“just like church and state”

Answer 15

simile
- condescending tone, self deprecating
- poking fun at religion; controversial

Question 16

“minuscule fraction of readers”

Answer 16

mathematical lexis
- mocking the fact he doesn’t reach many people

Question 17

“i’d say Twitter’s better for back and forth discussion anyway”

Answer 17

neologism
- mocking how people complain on Twitter and criticising them
- aggressive tone

Question 18

“yelling out the window at passersby is another option”

Answer 18

satirical tone
- hypocritical
- aware of what he’s doing
- criticising people who complain on social media

Question 19

“the ugly bitch, boo, go home bitch go home”

Answer 19

profanity
- being more colloquial
- making fun of women
- deliberately using words we’re familiar with

Question 20

“who needs to see typed applause accompanying an article? it’s just weird. i don’t get it”

Answer 20

rhetorical question
- mocking his own readership and himself

Question 21

“i fail to see the point of roughly 98% of human communication”

Answer 21

mathematical lexis
- ironic
- his job is communication
- pessimistic

Question 22

“which is a foldable thing made of paper, containing words and pictures”

Answer 22

satirical
- mocking younger generation

Question 23

“now get out”

Answer 23

imperative
- ends it before the reader can
- sneering at audience
- puts an end to conversational tone