Commentary on 'Gods Among #5' Article

The ‘Gods Among Us’ article I have written is mainly targeted at the readers of Empire magazine, with the main purpose to persuade the readers that Jennifer Lawrence is a ‘god among us.’ This is because many people who read the magazine will be aware of who Jennifer Lawrence, or maybe will recognize her from a movie. However they might not agree with my point of view, which is why I have used literary and language techniques such as simile’s and metaphors to convince them. Due to the fact that the article can be accessed online another purpose of the article is to entertain people who already like Jennifer Lawrence and just like reading articles about her.

One way I have tried to persuade the reader is by creating a list of the movies that Jennifer Lawrence has starred in; ‘X-Men… The Silver Linings Playbook… Winter Bone.’ The list has several purposes; one of them is to show the readers that Jennifer Lawrence can play a variety of roles and because of this people will be able to see that she is in fact talented. The list also connotes that Jennifer Lawrence is very hard working and dedicated to her job; this will make her seem more likable to the readers and helps me convince them of her talent. Another purpose of the list is to create a connection between the reader and Jennifer Lawrence; most people who read Empire will be into films and will most likely have watched a film that Jennifer Lawrence has starred in. However they might not have realised who she was, and so by providing a list of the most popular movies she’s been in they’ll recognise who she is. This then creates a connection between the person and Jennifer Lawrence, creating more interest for the reader which forces them to read more of the article.

Using the interest created from the opening paragraphs I then use metaphors to try and convince them of my point of view. The style model I based this article on also used metaphors; ‘this is a cat so cool’ is just one example. I therefore used this technique in my writing an example of this is when  I state that Jennifer Lawrence is ‘the sun, a dazzling ball of talent.’ This metaphor suggests that Hollywood needs Jennifer Lawrence just as much as we need the sun, it can also work as a pun. This is because the sun is a huge star in our galaxy, and in terms of film and the media Jennifer Lawrence is a huge star. This creates a light hearted humour in the article, making the reader feel relaxed making it easier for me as the writer to persuade them. I then extended the metaphor by describing Jennifer Lawrence as a ‘dazzling ball of talent.’ I have used the adjective ‘dazzling’ to carry on theme of Jennifer Lawrence of being a star; it also suggests that Jennifer Lawrence is extremely beautiful. In addition to this the adjective can be placed in the lexical field of stars, which further emphasizes my point on just how brilliant Jennifer Lawrence is. Other words that belong in the lexical field of stars that I have used throughout this article are; ‘shine’ and ‘brighter.’ The style model that I used also used lexical fields to get their point across; however instead of using the lexical field of gods I used the lexical field of stars.

 Another technique that Simon Braund uses in his ‘God’s Among Us’ article is contrasting Paul Newman to other celebrities, and so I also used this technique in my writing. For my article I contrasted Jennifer Lawrence to Jennifer Aniston, this is because Jennifer Aniston is a very well known superstar and a celebrity that I feel all my target audience will know. One way I have contrasted them us by comparing how many awards Jennifer Lawrence has won in comparison with Jennifer Aniston; Lawrence… won 99… whilst Aniston has only won 28.’ This shows that although Aniston has been in the industry twice as long as Lawrence, she hasn’t won as many awards and maybe therefore isn’t as talented as Lawrence is. By using factual information to compare the two actresses I have solidified my opinion that Lawrence is a better actress, it also makes my point more valid. Moreover it will make the reader realize that Jennifer Lawrence is actually a great actress, this is because it is hard to argue with facts. I then compared Jennifer Lawrence to even more successful actresses like Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts; I chose to compare her to these two actresses because in the world of film they are thought of being at the top. By comparing Jennifer Lawrence to two of the top actresses currently, it makes it seem like she could also be one of the most successful actresses of our time. 

Gods Among Us #5

Move over Jennifer Aniston and make room for the new blonde bombshell that’s taking Hollywood by storm. With her easy going attitude, carefree personality and sparkling smile it’s no wonder that she’s got the entire media fixated on her every move. Being a celebrity is no easy feat but Jennifer Lawrence makes it seem so effortless, almost as if she was born to be on a red carpet.
Many people will know her as the Girl on Fire a.ka. Katniss Everdeen, or maybe as Mystique the blue skinned, yellow eyed villain in X-Men, or the recently widowed Tiffany Maxwell in The Silver Linings Playbook, or maybe you know her from her breakthrough role as Ree Dolly in Winter Bone. Because not only is Jennifer Lawrence incredibly beautiful she is also extremely talented, a quick at her filmography will prove this. An actresses’ or actor’s talent is not measured by the amount of awards they have, if this however was the standard at which we judge someone’s stardom then Jennifer Lawrence would without a doubt would win the title of best female actress of the century by a landslide. At the young age of 24 Lawrence has been nominated for 103 awards in total, and out of these nominations she has won 99 of them. Whilst actresses like Jennifer Aniston have only been nominated for 88 awards and won 28 of them, despite the fact Aniston has been in the industry twice as long as Jennifer Lawrence has. Of course many would argue that Lawrence can’t compare to the brilliance of actresses like Meryl Streep or Julia Roberts, and although no-one can deny the star quality that both actresses hold I believe when given time Lawrence can amount if not surpass their brilliance.

Jennifer Lawrence is the modern Hepburn. A brave statement that I’m sure many would disagree with. Audrey Hepburn everyone would agree revolutionised film and fashion, which is probably why she holds the title of being the third greatest screen legend of all time by the American Film Institute. I am in no position to dispute this, even if I were in a position to do so I wouldn’t because no-one with a sane mind can deny the star quality that Hepburn had. However it is with the standard that Hepburn has set, that I say my previous statement. In an industry so saturated with talent and star quality it is hard to shine brighter than the rest, Lawrence however accomplishes this task with great ease. In the world of Hollywood Jennifer Lawrence would be the sun, a dazzling ball of talent, which actresses like Jennifer Aniston circle around.

Many people revere celebrities as some kind of celestial beings, forgetting the fact that just like everyone else on planet earth they are also human. Jennifer Lawrence however is the exception to that rule, because along with her beauty and looks, she is also witty, kind and humble. In my opinion Jennifer Lawrence is more perfect than Aphrodite, which leads me to the conclusion that she is not human but actually a goddess among us.

The Hardest thing in life? Forget working 9-5, try having siblings

(An Excerpt) 

The hardest thing in life in my opinion is having brothers and sisters, and before you start lecturing me about the struggles of giving birth or having a 9-5 job, then I would kindly remind you to cast your mind back (and for some it may be a struggle, I know) to when you were 16 and had to baby sit your siblings. For those unlucky enough to have had this experience; I’m sure we can happily or lamentably agree in this case that it is probably the worst night of a person’s existence right? For those rare and lucky few out there who have never had to endure this kind of torture, you’re all probably sat there peacefully drinking your cup of tea and judging me. I would however like to point out that, that very course of action would not be possible for me. Not the judging part, that’s just human nature, I mean the peacefully drinking part. Because the thing with having siblings is that peace and quiet becomes a far flung fantasy. Even sitting down becomes a chore because they’ve either occupied the sofa, managing to stretch out their miniature frames to hog every square inch of it, or it’s littered with toys which then requires effort to move them. That’s bearable of course; I mean I’m not some spoilt upper class girl.  But Friday nights spent babysitting is when the real torture begins.

The thing with little kids is that they’re smart. Like Fantastic Mr. Fox Smart, which is just a nice way of saying their sneaky and sly. Because if were really honest Mr. Fox is a bit of a dick, I mean since when was stealing from hard working farmers commendable? And yes I know he did it to feed his family and the farmers weren’t all that nice, but that doesn’t make stealing from them acceptable. And why does he have to eat turkey and goose anyway? All the other foxes seem to survive perfectly fine without having the need to raid a farmhouse. And don’t even get me started on the fact that if he just ate squirrels or whatever average foxes eat, the farmers wouldn’t have felt the need to destroy the surrounding hills looking for him. And a good example of my siblings’ being sly is when I’m babysitting them, and it’s the start of the night. My parents are putting on their shoes and coats and reminding them that I’m in charge and that they should always listen to their older sister. And of course like any good parents, my mum and dad are always sceptical about leaving all 3 of us alone and so before they leave they always ask my siblings to repeat what they have said. And do you know what they do? They actually repeat my parent’s instructions word for word, like they were actually listening; they even had the audacity to reassure my parents that everything will be fine. And just like all parents they fall for it, because how could you not believe such angelic faces? So my parents leave the house, guilt free, and their minds at ease. The first hour of babysitting is endurable but that’s only because they’re entertained by the Television and the tablets, and when I say tablets I mean the electronic device not drugs. After 8 o’clock or so it’s a different story because all the kid appropriate programmes have finished and it’s around this point that they start to get restless, and so they try to entertain themselves. And for some reason their imagination seems to be heightened during the night and they start spouting crazy ideas like; ‘Hey Sam can we go for a midnight walk,’ ‘Can we build a den?’ ‘Can we make some cookies for mum and dad for when they get back?’ or ‘Hey Sam can we please build a rocket ship to the moon so that we can see if it’s really made of cheese?’ As a responsible baby sitter I of course have to say no, and that’s when they start whining and whinging and crying and throwing tantrums, and start demanding that they want mum and dad back. And it is usually around this point that the house phones rings, as if my mum has some sort of secret radar that tells her when were fighting. It’s always my sister that gets to the phone first, and do you know what she does? She re-assures my mum that everything is fine and that yes she’s behaving herself and yes she’ll go to bed soon and no Sam doesn’t want to talk, and then she hangs up the phone with massive smile on her face. 

Style Model: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/11/want-to-silence-a-two-year-old-charlie-brooker