Journal #4

Place and scene are both important aspects of everyday writing. Various places and scenes create various environments, which play a significant role in how the audience will react to a certain piece. In Jennifer H. Edbauer’s “(Meta)Physical Graffiti: ‘Getting Up’ As Affective Writing Model,” the notion that every individual experiences an intense meaning when they encounter a certain image is reverberated throughout the article. At an initial level, there is an obvious meaning that connects the individual to the image. However, on another level, there is “an affective intensity to text and image that is not exhausted in signification.” In other words, the place or scene in which a piece of everyday writing is taking place can greatly affect the reaction of the audience by taking into account the surroundings and time. Edbauer relates an example from her personal life of the statement “ZEPPELIN ROCKS!!!” written in yellow paint on the “Venting Wall” designated for the 9/11 tragedy throughout the article. The audience’s reaction to this particular image hinted at the image’s inappropriateness in regards to its place and scene. Furthermore, place and scene can aid a writer in the circulation of their ideas. Edbauer provides an example in the article of the tag “Half Dead,” which she originally saw in the streets of Austin in the summer of 2002 and later saw in the streets of San Francisco in the fall of 2003. The tagger’s range “not only shows how much he or she can get seen, but it also reflects an ability to generate an experience of impact.” Thus, an expansive place and scene of an individual writer’s pieces achieves both an impact on a wide audience and an extensive circulation of ideas.