https://www.ted.com/talks/naomi_mcdougall_jones_what_it_s_like_to_be_a_woman_in_hollywood
I watched the Naomi McDougall Jones Ted Talk, entitled, "What it's like to be a woman in Hollywood." The topic within her talk is the sexism within Hollywood today and what she has done to address/fight it. Her overall argument is that only one perspective, primarily being male, is being told within the film industry and that it needs to be opened up to show all perspectives, specifically being woman. Naomi begins her talk discussing her childhood and how she got into the movie industry as an actress. Naomi began to take note of how sexist and basic the roles offered for woman were and wanted to address and fight the issue. But time and time again, whether it was male producers or female producers, people did not believe that change could occur within the industry. She then goes in to her main argument, as to discuss the real issues within Hollywood. Following, she goes and discusses her 4 point plan/argument, first starting off with addressing the profitability of woman directors. She then goes into her plan, the first point being watch movies by female filmmakers. The second step in her plan is to make movies. The third step is to invest in other female filmmakers. The fourth step is to disrupt through business, as in disrupting the current system to make a change while also gaining money. She concludes her Ted Talk by saying that this doesn't only pertain to the film industry, but to the entire world.
Naomi McDougall Jones was able to capture the audience's undivided attention through the combined use of ethos, logos, and pathos. Within ethos, being the idea of creditability, Naomi has an extremely creditable argument, being that she has experienced the industry and the issues within it firsthand, making her have a more in depth understanding of the problems within it and what needs to be done. Jones is able to use a wide amount of logos within her argument and Ted Talk, as she incorporated a large amount of statistical evidence in showing how female films were profitable compared to male driven films. While there was a level of bias within her argument, she created her argument around the premise that she is a woman and that she knows what needs to be done. Lastly, Jones was able to use pathos specifically at the end of her Ted Talk, when tying in all of her talking points together. With this, she was able to talk about how young girls should have role models and see who they want to become on the screen and how young boys should be able to identify with females role models. While I do believe that pathos is not the best technique when creating a good argument, it is very good for getting a point across to an audience, something that Jones exhibits very nicely.
I chose this Ted Talk for a variety of reasons. For one, I am an IB Film student at Millbrook and throughout the course I have seen a wide variety of films, majority of which have been male-dominated. I have an understanding just from watching the movies in that class, that there needs to be a change within the industry, being all aspects of it. I personally had the experience to be a director in my IB film last year and I know first hand the difficulties of what it means to be taken seriously and get the job done. I empathize with directors on a high level than me, and what it means for them for their vision to not be taken seriously. Another reason I chose this Ted Talk was because of all of the recent sexual harassment scandals within Hollywood. If woman are given the platform they deserve, major change will occur, as seen by the #MeToo along with all of the other feminist movements. Within Hollywood, woman should be seen as complete equals and should be given the chance to have a creative voice. Lastly, as a feminist and as a female, I felt very moved and motivated during the course of the Ted Talk to evoke change within not only my community, but as a world, being able to be a voice of change within the world.
I watched the Naomi McDougall Jones Ted Talk, entitled, "What it's like to be a woman in Hollywood." The topic within her talk is the sexism within Hollywood today and what she has done to address/fight it. Her overall argument is that only one perspective, primarily being male, is being told within the film industry and that it needs to be opened up to show all perspectives, specifically being woman. Naomi begins her talk discussing her childhood and how she got into the movie industry as an actress. Naomi began to take note of how sexist and basic the roles offered for woman were and wanted to address and fight the issue. But time and time again, whether it was male producers or female producers, people did not believe that change could occur within the industry. She then goes in to her main argument, as to discuss the real issues within Hollywood. Following, she goes and discusses her 4 point plan/argument, first starting off with addressing the profitability of woman directors. She then goes into her plan, the first point being watch movies by female filmmakers. The second step in her plan is to make movies. The third step is to invest in other female filmmakers. The fourth step is to disrupt through business, as in disrupting the current system to make a change while also gaining money. She concludes her Ted Talk by saying that this doesn't only pertain to the film industry, but to the entire world.
Naomi McDougall Jones was able to capture the audience's undivided attention through the combined use of ethos, logos, and pathos. Within ethos, being the idea of creditability, Naomi has an extremely creditable argument, being that she has experienced the industry and the issues within it firsthand, making her have a more in depth understanding of the problems within it and what needs to be done. Jones is able to use a wide amount of logos within her argument and Ted Talk, as she incorporated a large amount of statistical evidence in showing how female films were profitable compared to male driven films. While there was a level of bias within her argument, she created her argument around the premise that she is a woman and that she knows what needs to be done. Lastly, Jones was able to use pathos specifically at the end of her Ted Talk, when tying in all of her talking points together. With this, she was able to talk about how young girls should have role models and see who they want to become on the screen and how young boys should be able to identify with females role models. While I do believe that pathos is not the best technique when creating a good argument, it is very good for getting a point across to an audience, something that Jones exhibits very nicely.
I chose this Ted Talk for a variety of reasons. For one, I am an IB Film student at Millbrook and throughout the course I have seen a wide variety of films, majority of which have been male-dominated. I have an understanding just from watching the movies in that class, that there needs to be a change within the industry, being all aspects of it. I personally had the experience to be a director in my IB film last year and I know first hand the difficulties of what it means to be taken seriously and get the job done. I empathize with directors on a high level than me, and what it means for them for their vision to not be taken seriously. Another reason I chose this Ted Talk was because of all of the recent sexual harassment scandals within Hollywood. If woman are given the platform they deserve, major change will occur, as seen by the #MeToo along with all of the other feminist movements. Within Hollywood, woman should be seen as complete equals and should be given the chance to have a creative voice. Lastly, as a feminist and as a female, I felt very moved and motivated during the course of the Ted Talk to evoke change within not only my community, but as a world, being able to be a voice of change within the world.
I thought your blog post/the TED talk was really interesting! It's definitely apparent how the issue of sexism continues to persist throughout Hollywood and I thought Naomi's plan seemed like a good way to try to put an end to it. Additionally, your analysis of her use of ethos, pathos, and logos, was spot on! Great job!! :)
ReplyDeleteThis issue is not only significant in Hollywood but worldwide. Having those that have statuses and a voice is very important to try to stop it. This gives insight that sexism happens everywhere and no woman is "safe". Raising awareness and prevention should be key when dealing with topics such as these. Involving ethos, logos, and pathos in your analysis was excellent and gave me more perspective!!
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