Comparative Analysis
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Transcript of Comparative Analysis
Peng 1
Lin Peng
ENC 3351
Deborah Weaver
May 27, 2013
Award-winning culinary publications such as Saveur, Bon Appétit, and Chow all share a
common ground that enables them to gain and maintain its recognitions. Their award-winning
recognitions are often established through their rhetorical situations. Therefore, in this paper, we
will compare and contrast the rhetorical situations of these three publications: Saveur, Bon
Appétit, and Chow.
Every rhetorical situation starts out with a subject matter or a problem because without
the problem, the situation would not exist in the first place. Although, the subject matter of
Saveur, Bon Appétit, and Chow target the same problem—food, the three publications vary
differently in the motivation behind the discourse. The motivation behind Saveur is about the
experience of world food; the motivation behind Bon Appétit is about the food lifestyle; the
motivation behind Chow is about smart, local food and smart cooking. According to Saveur,
“The publication emphasizes heritage and tradition, home cooking and real food, evoking flavors
from around the world” (“Welcome to SAVEUR”). Therefore, the problem Saveur targets is
based upon the relationship between culinary and travel. In other word, Saveur fills in the gap
between the culinary world and the world of travelers, which may include heritage, tradition,
cultures, and environments in which different flavor of dishes are created. The publication style
of Saveur, including the delivery of information, level of lexis, the pictures and videos, and the
individual sections can be categorized as authentic, luxurious, or elegant. Yet, many of the same
style also apply to Bon Appétit: Classy, trendy, and elegant. However, the distinct feature that
Peng 2
sets Bon Appétit apart from Saveur is that Bon Appétit is the only food lifestyle publication on
the market ("Bon Appétit | Condé Nast”). The problem Bon Appétit targets is, current and stylish
lifestyle through the lens of food from cooking in, dining out, culture, travel, entertainment,
shopping, and design (“Bon Appétit | Condé Nast”). Examples of life through the lens of food
from Bon Appétit may include cleansing diet, the Foodist blog, home entertaining tips, or trendy
buys. Although, Bon Appétit and Saveur offer the same category of “travel,” the category is
different in both publications. Bon Appétit offers a one-page travel guide with a segment of
favorite picks along with a small section of where to stay—while Saveur offers more than just a
travel guide in the chosen destination. In addition to where to eat, Saveur also offers culinary
articles regarding to the travel destination. This all relate back to the motivation of each
publication. The main, direct focus of Saveur is culinary-travel while the main, direct focus of
Bon Appétit is culinary-lifestyle. On the other side of the spectrum, Chow mainly targets smart
and easy food recipes, featuring entertaining videos, stories, and discussions about food and
cooking. Although, the style of the publication, itself is not the most classy, elegant, or luxurious,
Chow is the ideal discourse community for culinary amateurs to aspiring culinary connoisseurs.
The main motivation behind Chow is to allow the flow of information with its viewers, readers,
writers, and bloggers by providing a place, a community where similar minded people can
participate in the public discussion. As a result, Saveur, Bon Appétit, and Chow all have a
different motivational purpose behind their publication in order to fill in the “gap” to reach to
their viewers and readers. In the next paragraph, we will delve deeper into the influences of the
publication including the discourse community.
Peng 3
The subject matter of Saveur, Bon Appétit, and Chow is the same, but each publication
consists of its own uniquely shaped discourse community. It is shaped both by the publication
and its viewers and readers or audience. To begin with, we will dissect the discourse community
individually by publication from the demographic of target audience to the values of the
audience. An audience demographic snapshot of the publication, Saveur, includes more females
(63%) than males (37%) with the median age of 48 (Cohen). The majority of Saveur’s audience
is passionate about travel, either engage in travel readings or the activity, itself. According to
Cohen, Saveur readers are 87% more likely to own a valid passport and 3 times as likely to have
travelled internationally, and 42% traveled domestically (Cohen). Based upon the statistics, it
can be concluded that Saveur’s major audience are self-sufficient, frequent travelers who are
passionate about the combination of travelling and food. On the other hand, the demographics of
Bon Appétit’s viewers and readers are also mostly females (73%) with the median age of 4; at
least 50% have graduated from college; 57% are employed full-time ("Bon Appétit Web Media
Kit”). Statistically, in comparison of Saveur and Bon Appétit, both are mostly targeted toward
self-sufficient or self-sustainable viewers/readers who have a full-time employment. In other
word, both are reserved for more upper-class or high-class audience. In contrast, Chow is open
for anyone who is interested in locally, homemade style food. The viewers and readers of Chow
have less high-class demands compared with Bon Appétit and Saveur. Evidently, the audience of
each publication shares a set of unique demographic background and values, which in turn
shapes the discourse community. The last paragraph will briefly analyze the discourse
community of each publication.
Peng 4
The viewers and readers of Saveur, Bon Appétit, and Chow have come together in
forming a type of discourse community created by each publication. The discourse community of
each publication is separated by the values the viewers, readers, bloggers, and writers hold in
sharing a common goal. Saveur emphasizes different cultural cooking and food from worldwide
from America to Europe to Asia; Bon Appétit focuses on trendy and stylish food locally and
worldly; Chow focuses on viewers and readers discussions of mostly local or homemade food. In
turn, the values each publication holds also indicate their holistic goals between the relationships
with their target audience.
Peng 5
Works Cited
"Bon Appétit | Condé Nast." Condé Nast. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2013.
<http://www.condenast.com/brands/bon-appetit>.
"Bon Appétit Web Media Kit." Condé Nast. Condé Nast, n.d. Web. 27 May 2013.
<http://www.condenast.com/brands/bon-appetit/media-kit/web>.
<INPUT TYPE=\Cohen, Kristin. Saveur 2013 Advertising Media Kit. Saveur, n.d. Web.
27 May 2013.
<http://travel.bonniercorp.com/SAV/1.GeneralResources/MediaKit_SAV_13.pdf
>.
"Welcome to SAVEUR." SAVEUR. BONNIER Coporation, 22 Apr. 2011. Web. 27 May
2013. <http://www.saveur.com/article/kitchen/about-SAVEUR>.