Article Analysis
This Page will consist of analysis of various forms of media from Salon.
Grammys are a nationally recognized awards given to those chosen by voting members of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) based on quality and style, or so they say. Lubet argues that while the NARAS claims they award Grammys based on the excellence and quality of the music, it seems that the voters make their decisions based of the sales and popularity of the artists and the music, and also in the voters' own interests.
Lubet wrote this article, first and foremost because of the timing. This article was written on the same day as the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, which took place later in the evening the article was published. The timing of the article was key and expressed the concern voiced by many people. The article is organized with a critical tone speckled with appeals of ethos and logos. Lubet creates a critical tone Lubet calls Grammy voters "self-interested" and claims that they would vote in a way that would financially benefit them, which based off of what I learned in our Wealth without Work Unit, is a very common trait among humans. The author criticizes through his appeal to ethos by comparing the Grammy selection process to that of the Pulitzer Prize which sets a better benchmark for awarding based on quality alone. Lubet points out this difference of the selection process to give an example of what the Grammys can strive for and to also give an example of an award that truly awards based on quality rather than one that only claims to do so. Lubet appeals to logos by using evidence from prior years where the more popular artists have come out with shiny new trophies. He draws upon the example of the sales of 2016's best album winner, Taylor Swift, who sold over 5 million copies of her award winning album by July 5, 2015. He gives this example just to emphasize his point in regards to the more popular artist winning Grammys as opposed to the more deserving ones. Overall, the article did not seem like an attack on the Grammy voting process but more like soft criticism that needs to be considered. Lubet supported the argument with abundant evidence and gave readers a benchmark comparison for what the ideal Grammy selection process should look like.
0 Comments
|
Archives
May 2017
Categories |