James Cameron: Before Avatar.....a curious boy
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James Cameron is arguing two main points throughout his talk 1) the importance of imagination and 2) the importance of taking risks to inspire the audience and give advice.
His argument relies primarily on pathos, he uses anecdotes from his own life to capture his audience and make them feel connected to him as the speaker. He uses a small amount of humor but his speech isn't overwhelmingly funny, which makes it light and enjoyable but also serious in driving home his two main points. Cameron is a well-known and successful film maker making his advice not only reputable, but also coveted by many.
Imagination
James Cameron begins his talk by describing himself as a young boy. He discusses his childhood obsession with science fiction novels and how that motivated him in every aspect of his life. The creativity and imagination that those novels spurred in him drove him to be not only a scientist, but also a great film maker and movie director.
His imagination allowed him to make movies that broke boundaries and used new technology, such as Avatar.
It also led him to deep sea diving, which influenced his movies and played on his science fiction fantasies from his childhood.
Risk-Taking
When Cameron first imagined the movie Avatar, with its layers of CG, he was told it would be impossible and had to shelf the idea. However, after years of waiting and developing new technology he was finally able to create the world he had seen in his head so long before. The movie broke boundaries with the technology used and the way that Cameron was able to create a world that was completely imagined, yet, also completely realistic.
When he was only 15, Cameron decided he wanted to be a diver (the closest he could get to science fiction-like space travel was exploring the ocean with it's alien-like creatures). However, he lived a good 600 miles from the nearest ocean. But, he didn't let this small inconvenience stop him. He was scuba certified and continues diving today. He even made dives for the filming of the movie Titanic, combining his love of the ocean and film-making.
I chose this talk because I knew of James Cameron and I've seen the movie Avatar a million times. My brother had told me about how his original idea for the movie had had to be shelved for many years and I was interested in what Cameron would have to say about the movie and his successful career. After watching this talk, I think that Cameron's two main arguments are actually very relevant to me personally. I, like him, have always loved reading, especially as a kid. Also like him, those books influenced my interests in many ways. I had a huge imagination growing up and as a dancer and an artist (sort of), imagination is a very important part of my life. Risk-taking, also plays into those two aspects.
I like how you commented on Cameron's simmilarities as a child to an adult. I think that most people do not realize how simmilar their profesions are to their childhood ambitions. I also thought it was interesting to see how he got his inspiration from Avatar from his own childhood life. I think he is so sucessful because of how true he is to himself and what he is passionate about.
ReplyDeleteI think it's really interesting that Cameron wanted to be a diver as a kid. For me, this connects a lot of the events in Avatar to the sights and alien world under the water. I also like how this talk connects to his personal life and childhood dreams, because I think this relates closely to the work he does as an adult. It shows how childhood dreams are more than abstract realities, but can be brought to life. I liked the TED talk and I think his use of pathos to convey the personal message is extremely effective.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you divided you blog into sections of his main points; imagination and risk taking. By doing this, it made it easier to follow and was interesting to see the similarities and differences that the two held. I also liked how you talked about Cameron's childhood in relation to his life today, as it was cool to hear the similarities. Do you think that most stories use pathos more than logos and ethos? What affect and why might pathos have on the audience that makes it so powerful when telling a story?
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to storytelling, I think that pathos is much more common. Most stories (other than the theme or message they are trying to get across) don't usually have a strong argument that they are trying to persuade the audience. And because of this logos and ethos aren't as necessary. Especially ethos, because I don't usually think about the author's expertise when I here a story (unless I'm analyzing the text). Logos is also less important because, like I already said, stories aren't always persuasive meaning the author doesn't need logos to support his/her argument. However, emotion is always present stories because it draws in the audience and allows them to connect with the story being told. No story would be remotely entertaining without some sort of emotional appeal among characters and to the audience. This is why pathos is so much more common than the other two.
DeleteI agree with Malin that pathos is the most common tactic in storytelling and is very effective in keeping the audience intrigued. It is a way to play towards the viewer/listener's innate emotions. However, I think the best types of stories are those that use logos, or things that could logically happen. I enjoy movies and books that might be insane, but have a chance of actually occurring in the real world. A scary movie with a far-out plot might hook me, but a scary movie that could ACTUALLY happen leaves me with an even greater (meaning larger, definitely not better) emotional response. Great job with the post Malin!
DeleteLove the organization of your post- great take on the talk!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! After reading about how influential Cameron's childhood is on his career and hobbies as an adult, I felt so inspired. Usually, I feel like kids try out a bunch of activities and hobbies when they're young and settle on something when they're older, but it sounds like in Cameron's case, he knew all along. I think it's incredible how Cameron continued to push to do the things he loved although they were a little out of reach (the distance from an ocean for scuba diving and the lack of technology for Avatar). I think in this TED Talk, Cameron really focused on letting the audience know who he was and his background. This goes along with pathos, like you said, because the audience feels as if they have a connection to the speaker. Good job!
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