1.1: Charlie Brooker – ‘Too much talk for one planet: why I’m reducing my word emissions’ Flashcards
What is the audience?
Audience: left wing (as it’s from the Guardian), fans of Charlie Brooker, comedy fans, educated audience, newspaper readers.
What is the purpose?
Purpose: to inspire, change views and persuade, as well as raise awareness, express an opinion, amuse, satirise conventions and entertain
What is the genre?
Genre: Newspaper article - follows conventions such as a heading, tagline, etc.
What is the context?
Charlie Brooker: Satirist and broadcaster who wrote a regular column in the Guardian until 2010. He’s also a self-proclaimed misanthrope (someone who dislikes humankind and society). The text is a critique of social media.
Voice: self-deprecating
Brooker’s voice is incredibly self-deprecating. He uses humour to criticise himself such as “Roughly two people noticed its absence” about his column. This use of self-deprecation immediately draws the reader in and avoids arrogance, building a connection between reader and writer so they may heed more of the text.
Voice: satirical
Brooker’s voice is incredibly satirical, which aligns with the content of text. The use of hyperboles such as “there’ll be 86 outraged columns, 95 despairing blogs” inflates the absurdity of social media, creating a very satirical and critical voice. The use of humour (mostly the self-deprecating kind) also aids this, with “I am an elderly man from the age of steam”.
Voice: informal
There is constant use of contractions, direct address (e.g. “Here, have a full stop) and humour. This absence of formality helps to build a connection with the reader and engage them further.
THE EXTENDED METAPHOR AND SEMANTIC FIELD OF POLLUTION
why I’m reducing my word emissions”
“it’s a vast cloud of blah”
“Events and noise, events and noise”
“I started to view myself as yet another factory mindlessly pumping carbon dioxide into a toxic sky”
“Reader comments from part of the overall wordstorm described above”
“I’m reducing my carbon emissions”
- There is an extended metaphor present, where Brooker describes social media as pollution.
- The use of this metaphor/comparison emphasises the message that he is trying to get across, as climate change is an imminent issue that most people, particularly Guardian readers, treat with a lot of importance.
- It makes this perhaps trivial complaint seem urgent.
EXTENDED METAPHOR: “why I’m reducing my word emissions”
- use of rhetorical question - emphasises and draws readers in.
EXTENDED METAPHOR: “I started to view myself as yet another factory mindlessly pumping carbon dioxide into a toxic sky”
- dehumanises those writing with comparison to a “factory”
- “a toxic sky” - the sky is already toxic. “Toxic” obviously connotes illness and danger almost, once again perhaps hyperbolic but either way lending to the satire. “Toxic” can also refer to poison or an emotional toxicity, perhaps alluding to the scope of the issue with this general adjective.
- Adverb “mindlessly” - suggests the conversation is idle. Another criticism
EXTENDED METAPHOR: “Reader comments from part of the overall wordstorm described above”
- “storm” - an uncontrollable force of nature. Connotations of a lack of control. Storms are symbolic of change. Perhaps emphasises need to change?
- “wordstorm” - neologism
- “part of” - they are only one of many contributing factors. Emphasises scale of this issue, which further reinforces the criticism Brooker is trying to make
“It’s been overwhelmed by the amount of jabber in the world - it’s a vast cloud of blah”
- Dynamic verb “overwhelmed” also holds connotations of being absolutely swamped in the issue, making this perhaps hyperbolic and exaggerative, which reinforces the satire, as well as draws readers in.
- The use of the adjective “vast” had the same effect.
- Using the metaphor “cloud” for this jabber continues the extended metaphor of pollution.
- “jabber” has perhaps negative connotations, as it is typically associated with talking about idle things as opposed to “speaking” for example. This kicks off the satire of this “jabber” as it is immediately presented in a negative light to readers.
- “amount”, “vast”, “world” - all linking to this idea of too much.
“Eagle-eyed readers may have spotted I haven’t been writing in this column for a while.”
- The use of ‘eagle-eyed’ suggests his absence wasn’t noteworthy, which immediately establishes this self-deprecating tone, instantly connecting with readers, and also reinforced this idea of “too much talk for one planet”.
- The use of colloquial contractions once again does this, as well as the continuous present, suggesting it is an imminent situation.
“I was all set to write to their letters page to whine in the most pompous manner imaginable, something I’ve always wanted to do, when I figured I might as well respond here instead, for money”
- “whine” - animalistic and dehumanising. Social media is causing a loss of humanity.
- “most pompous” - use of superlative emphasises the adjective. “Pompous” has powerful connotations of wealth and class, a stark contrast to how Brooker has characterised himself, thereby a clear mockery once again of the satirical nature.
- “might as well” - the use of the conditional verb “might” reinforces his lack of commitment to this article, which is self-deprecating and also aligns with his criticisms of the “vast cloud of blah”. This presents him as a reliable source, making his article more coherent.
- The unnecessary use of the comma before “for money” separated the statement (parenthesis), continuing on with this humorous tone.
“you’re a human being with free will who can stop reading at any time. Here, have a full stop. And another. And another.”
- use of direct address. Continues to build relationship with the reader as well as stays true to the message he is conveying.
“If a weatherman misreads the national mood and cheerfully sieg-heils on BBC Breakfast at 8:45am, there’ll be 86 outraged columns, 95 despairing blogs, half a million wry tweets and a rib-tickling pass-the-parcel Photoshop meme about it circulating by lunch time.”
- The use of statistics (whether real or not) makes it appear full proof and trust worthy.
- Hyperbolic with the use of exaggerated quantitative language.
- The use of epithets/attributive adjectives before every noun.
- “pass-the-parcel” - a game played at kids’ parties. Suggests the entire thing is childish.
- “Outraged” + “despairing” - very hyperbolic. Both incredibly strong emotions, paired with very trivial things. Once again emphasises ridiculous nature and reinforces the satire.
“just like the church and state”
- more or less a reference to history. Emphasises Brooker’s age. Continue this pattern of self-deprecation.
“I’m sitting grumpily in a spaceship with my arms folded, wearing a stovepipe hat. Ridiculous.”
- Juxtaposition of ‘spaceship’ and ‘stovepipe’ hat emphasises the criticism of how out of place Brooker feels.
- Spaceship = new and forward ideas or the future. Stovepipe hat = tradition and the comfort it holds.
- Short sentence of ‘ridiculous’. Naturally, this emphasises his opinion.
“I’m selfishly uninterested in conducting any kind of meaningful dialogue with humankind in general.”
- Separates himself from “humankind”, which is alienating. Maybe a suggestion that technology is making humans lose their humanity.
- “conducting” - connotations of a planned performance almost. He doesn’t naturally feel at ease with “humankind”.
He compares Twitter to “Yelling out of the window at a passerby is another option”
- Applies the concept of Twitter to real life, which gives a new perspective on the whole issue.
- Comedic again.
- Comparison of real life and social media creates a stark contrast, reinforcing the point he is making.
“Who needs to see typed applause accompanying an article?”
- Rhetorical question. Makes the answer seem obvious to readers.
- Verb “accompanying” - creates the idea that comments have nothing really to do with the success of the articles, as “accompanying” suggests simply a tag on/surplus.
- “Needs” - connotation of necessities such as water or food. Suggest that people are ridiculous for wanting that they don’t need.
- “typed applause” - separates it from real applause, once again emphasising contrast of real life vs social media.
“and in the newspaper, which is a foldable thing made of paper, containing words and pictures, which catches fire easily and is sometimes left on trains.”
- “foldable thing” - fricative alliteration. “Thing” gives it little to no value.
- “Word and pictures” - a purposefully oversimplified explanation of newspapers, once again reducing their value.
- “catches fire easily” - again, reduces value. Also, reminds us how fickle words are and how quickly forgotten they can be. Fire imagery may go back to an extended metaphor of climate change. Fire is also uncontrollable, like the loss of words.
- “is sometimes left on trains” - temporal deixis creates uncertainty and lack of commitment (again reducing value). Words are forgotten.
