J.J. Abrams gave the TED Talk titled "The mystery box" in March 2007. In this TED Talk, Abrams draws attention to a literal box he has from when he was a child called the Magic Mystery Box. The box itself is not the entire topic of the talk, but rather what the box represents. Abrams starts the talk with a joke, meant to relax the audience and to start with a humorous tone. From there, Abrams goes into how he decided on a topic to give his talk about.
What's the topic? Mystery. Why mystery? Well, Abrams says that so many of the TV shows and films he works on deal with some sort of mystery. He has always been drawn to mystery ever since he was little, which he attributes to his grandfather. His grandfather used to deconstruct technology so Abrams could see the inner workings. He also brought Abrams to a little magic shop where he bought the Mystery Magic Box.
Films are full of mystery boxes. Abrams uses examples such as E.T. and Star Wars to show that movies always have mystery boxes. Every time a mystery gets solved, a new one appears. Abrams then talks how available technology is in the modern world. Now, anyone can make a high quality movie with equipment that you can buy over the counter. Abrams encourages people to make movies simply because they can. The Talk ends with Abrams saying that the box still remains unopened in memory of his grandfather.
The overall purpose of this TED Talk is to encourage people to make movies. This is shown by Abrams addressing how technology is available to almost everyone. He uses his own stories to show how you can still make great movies without great technology. Ethos is used simply through who he is. He has written, directed, and produced TV shows and movies such as Lost, Star Trek, and the newest Star Wars movie. At one point, Abrams almost starts to cry, which shows pathos. This might not have been intentional, but it did show how much Abrams actually cares about this subject. Through this, the audience gets more involved and they care more, as well.
The first thing that caused me to pick this talk was the word "mystery". I love a good mystery, so I already wanted to watch it. The next thing I noticed, however, was that the Talk was given by J.J. Abrams. As someone who loves both Star Trek and Star Wars, I immediately clicked on the video. As Abrams described how mystery boxes are in every movie, I found myself thinking of films I had seen and how I could point out mystery boxes in them. I also realized that stories in general have mystery boxes, not just movies. In Macbeth, you hear about Macbeth from the witches, yet you don't know who Macbeth is, which is a mystery. This trend continues throughout all of the stories we have read in class, whether they have been mystery or not. Overall, I was very glad I picked this talk as I was able to connect it to class, but also to movies that I love.
Be sure you're thinking about rhetorical devices and strategies (specifically ethos, logos, and pathos) and how those connect to purpose, intention, and effect (both little picture and big picture)!
ReplyDeleteHey Amy! I really liked reading your post, even though it could have used some more discussion of ethos, pathos, and logos, because it made me interested enough in the talk to watch it myself! I thought it was rather cool that you connected simply the descriptive word "mystery" back to the literature we have read in our own English class. I think that maybe o make this post even better you could have included specifics about when you have noticed a "mystery box" in films, and discussed why you think Abrams might be trying to convince people to make films of their own. That being said, I still really liked your post, but it left me with one VERY important question: If you had to choose Star Trek or Star Wars, which would you choose? ( There is a war between the two 'fandoms' and I need answers :) )
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