A Multimodal Analysis on Rick Singer from Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal

Anastasya Chandraputri Sethio; Aylanda Hidayati Dwi Nugroho

doi:10.9744/katakita.11.3.360-367

A Multimodal Analysis on Rick Singer from Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal

Anastasya Chandraputri Sethio^(1*), Aylanda Hidayati Dwi Nugroho⁽²⁾,

(1) Petra Christian University
(2) Petra Christian University
(*) Corresponding Author

Abstract

Multimodal communication employs multiple semiotic modes to convey meaning. Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal is a documentary about Rick Singer, an education entrepreneur who committed the bribes. This study analyzed his representation through the oral and visual modes and was aimed at showing how multimodality could help reveal particular character representations. This study applies multimodal theory (Kress & Leeuwen, 2006) and semiotic modes (Chia & Chan, 2017). The oral monologues and dialogues, and the visuals of people, objects, and places were scrutinized to observe how Rick Singer was depicted. As a result, he was seen being portrayed as a wealthy and successful entrepreneur with many high-ranking connections, who strategically manipulated his clients and his university partners in a clever scheming maneuver. The interplay of both the oral and visual modes has resulted in a relatively complete picture of the main actor of this documentary.

Keywords

crime documentary, multimodality, oral mode, representation, visual mode.

Full Text:

PDF

References

Aufderheide, P. (2007). Documentary film: A very short introduction (1st ed.). Oxford University Press.

Bruzzi, S. (2020). Documentary. In Agnew, V., Lamb, J. R., & Tomann, J (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Reenactment Studies. Routledge eBooks. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429445637

Bull, G., & Anstey, M. (2019). Elaborating multiliteracies through multimodal texts: Changing classroom practices and developing teacher pedagogies (1st ed.). Routledge.

Chia, A., & Chan, C. (2017). Re-defining ‘reading’ in the 21st century: Accessing multimodal texts. Beyond Words, 5(2), 98-105. http://jurnal.wima.ac.id/index.php/BW/article/view/1590/1477

Goldberg, M. (2021). 'Operation Varsity Blues' review: Perhaps the real scam is the college admissions system. Collider. https://collider.com/operation-varsity-blues-netflix-documentary-college-admissions-scandal/

IMDb.com. (2021). Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal. IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14111734/

Nichols, B. (2017). Introduction to documentary, Third Edition (3rd ed). Amsterdam University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt2005t6j

Kress, G., & Leeuwen, V. T. (2006). Reading images: The grammar of visual design (2nd ed.). Routledge.

Smith, C. (Director). (2021). Operation varsity blues: The college admissions scandal. Netflix. https://www.netflix.com/us/title/81130691?s=i&trkid=13747225&vlang=en&clip=81230917

DOI: https://doi.org/10.9744/katakita.11.3.360-367