Question 2

Audience Fallacy- When an author or person makes an assertion as to what the audience feels about a certain text. The assertion could be about what the audience will think, how they will react, or what they believe. (See figure 1). If I were to assert that the audience would want to go running after this or believe that running will relive their stress, I would be creating audience fallacies. I can’t know if the audience will want or believe any of those things.

The reason that audience fallacies should be avoided is that the asserter cannot know how a single viewer will react. Leading to a larger problem, that there are multiple viewers to each text. The asserter cannot know how everyone will react to the text. Each viewer will react differently due to different cultural upbringings and places in society. Assertions about how an entire audience will react are impossible to figure and narrow down.

Authorial Fallacy- an assertion about what the creator was intending to do with their text. The assertion could also be what the creator wants the audience to think, feel, and believe. In the case of figure one, an assertion such as Asics wants to make people go run would be an authorial fallacy.

Authorial fallacies should be avoided because an asserter cannot know the intentions of an author of a text. I can never know what Jeep was actually intending with its Grand Cherokee ad that I analyzed.

Both fallacies should be avoided. Problems arise when an asserter makes these fallacies because a Lacanian triangle has to be assembled. The asserter has to construct what he THINKS the author or audience is in order to make such broad assertions. The diversity of an audience makes this impossible and an asserter can never know the intentions of a company. The asserter can never touch either “reality” and has to make one, enter the fallacy. Also any points made based of these fallacies are moot points because I could construct any Audience or Author I want an base any points I want off of those constructions, or visa-versa build an Audience or Author off of my points and purpose.