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Audio Reflection

I was very surprised when I listened to the audio version of "Future Ex Buys Pajamas" because the tone that I had when reading the essay was vastly different from hearing it read aloud. First of all, the voice was much darker. It almost reminded me of a black-and-white film where they have a grainy, harsh narrator describing what characters are doing. When I was reading to myself, I found the piece to be deep and insightful when highlighting the differences between cultures and victimizing women for being too overexposed. When I listened to it though, I think he's trying to be more ironic, attempting to show that the fact that the narrator thinks that it is worrisome that women secretly find relief in pajamas and comforters is ridiculous. The narrator is so focused on his manhood that he can't recognize that women might find dressing in lingerie as freeing. I think that tone is an important aspect that radio can give us that text can't, or rather, it's more difficult to spot.  I also thought it was effective that he added in music and put a filter over his voice to make it sound more muddled. It further shows how distance the speaker is from bottom issue in the story: that the speaker values his own beliefs over those that differ from him.

I think the Ira Glass was also significant because he explains how storytelling works in broadcasting, but he explains in a way that is more attention grabbing than if he would've written it. For instance, he says a story must be told in a sequence of events and that there must be a building of tension of some kind. Similarly, he goes through step by step of storytelling by also building a kind of suspense. He pauses and emphasizes certain words. His tone also shows that he is fully invested into what he is saying, which makes me want to pay attention more. I think the stress placed on certain words and the way a story is told orally also has an effect on people's reactions.

Both of these audio texts make me wonder if all stories would be interpreted differently if they were spoken aloud. Throughout this project, I will be interested in how my essay or story will change once I turn it into an audio file.

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