Analysis of Emma Stone as the Interview Essay Example for Free

Analysis of Emma Stone as the Interview Essay Introduction My first transcript is an interview on the Ellen show between Ellen Lee DeGeneres and Emma Stone. It was in April 2012 and The Ellen show is a very casual chat. The transcript I’ve taken is from about half way through the interview so they’re already in full conversation. My second transcript is from the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Emma Stone, this interview was from June 2012. The Tonight Show is a much more formal interview. The final transcript is with Glamour. com and the interviewer is Jenn Selby. Emma Stone and her boyfriend Andrew Garfield are in this interview and the presence of her partner definitely make the interview very different from the other two. All three of the interviews are to promote the film ‘The Amazing Spider Man’ which both Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield star in. I will be looking at Emma Stone’s role as the interviewee. Analysis Emma reacts differently in each interview. On both the Ellen Show and The Tonight Show Emma as the less authority speak compared to the interviewer. Jay Leno is quite a lot older than Emma Stone so Jay has the authority within this interview. He uses closed questions which allow him to keep control over the conversation for example he asks ‘Do um people recognise you’ when asking about her new fame however he also asked ‘how long will you keep it blonde for’ when questioning her new blonde hair style, which on the surface may look like a very closed question, but it causes Emma to talk about how long she’s going to be starring in the Spider Man films and whether there will be more than one. She answers, ‘well you know oh it’s kinda there are a few Spider Men’ which hints that there may be more than one film. He also uses initiators such as ’so’ and ’well’ to show that he is about to speak which again sho ws his power in the conversation. Ellen DeGeneres also uses closed questions, she could be criticised for being a bad interviewer, however in this case she is definitely controlling the topic of conversation. Ellen ask â€Å"Who’s a better kisser?’ and â€Å"How old are you?†. Closed questions cause Emma to respond quite minimally which shows a lack of power. In all of the interviews Emma is very polite and passively allows other to speak. The interviewers all take advantage of this and keep control by talking over her frequently. Ellen often interrupts Emma when she starts to talk. ‘Emma *shakes her head* mm nope (3) nope nope (.) I’m not scared of spiders now// what have you got Ellen // nope //you’re not scared of spiders okay because spiders’ This is done by interviewers when they want the most attention within the interview. Also in the Glamour interview Andrew talks over her and corrects what she is saying. ‘Emma – um he he’s a football player so his heroes were always guys on the I mean American football so on the American football// field so he// didn’t grow up reading comic books no I’m totally kidding he was of course excited but it was you know he he is a footballer yeah Andrew // American soccer//.’ this shows that Andrew feels he has a higher status than her as he feels the need to correct what she is saying, this could be due to him being a more famous actor and also the fact that he is the male. On the other hand in the Glamour interview Andrew talks a lot and is very complimentary of his girlfriend and co-worker Emma. He talks a lot about how ‘she’s such a great actress’ and that ‘you get lost in what she’s doing and you have to follow and try and keep up’. In this interview Emma ‘*shuffles awkwardly* and ‘*tuts*’ at his compliments. In the Jay Leno interview he uses expressive utterances and compliments her a lot. He says ‘you look lovely wow’ the use of the adjective ‘lovely’ is very complimentary and Emma responds by just sighing. It is clear that the relationship status of Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield effects the interview. Emma’s paralinguistic features in this interview show her feelings. She spends a lot of the time smiling at Andrew as he speaks very pleasantly about the film and the roles they both play. She also plays with her sleeves/hands a lot which could show how she feels uncomfortable and embarrassed around him. Each time Andrew stops speaking she smiles as if to agree what he is saying, t his is very polite behaviour. Emma Stone is often a loud and quirky person, contrastingly in this interview she is very reserved and quiet, this interview was done when Emma and Andrew first revealed they were in a relationship and this is most likely why Emma behaves so out of character as she is nervous. When the interviewer asks ‘Jenn – um the chemistry between you guys in this movie I is pretty electric not going to lie there are points um in the film where we kinda feel like we shouldn’t be watching//’ Emma looks down at her hands very shyly and then looks to Andrew as if to encourage him to answer this question. The first and only question Emma answers is a question about her younger brother’s reactions to the film, she says ‘Emma – that he’s not really into those types of movies *all laugh* Emma – um he he’s a football player so his heroes were always guys on the I mean American football so on the American football// field so he didn’t grow up reading comic books no I’m totally kidding he was of course excited but it was you know he he is a footballer yeah’ She uses the filler ‘um’ and recycles a lot with her speech most likely due to her being nervous, ‘he he is a footballer’. Also she has a false start and has to correct herself ‘his heroes were always guys on the I mean American football so on the American football’. The Ellen Show interview is very informal. This is for a lot of reasons; Ellen and Emma are both female so this may make them feel more comfortable with each other. They talk about very typically female topics such as kissing. Also the Ellen Show interviews are always very casual and fun. Emma has appeared in interviews with Ellen before so this could be another reason for why they are so comfortable with each other. The lack of low frequency words also create a casual atmosphere, even the topics of conversations are very informal and nothing serious is spoke about in the interview. Slang is an area of vocabulary which reflects a person’s age and the use of colloquial language such as ‘kinda’ and ‘stuff like that’ help to bring the interviewer to the same level as the audience and Emma, it causes everyone to feel at ease with each other. On the other hand in the Tonight Show interview the impact of gender roles cause a much more formal environment. Jay uses a lot of adjectives such as ‘beautiful’, ‘lovely’ and ‘talented’ to describe Emma Stone. He also supports what she is saying a lot by saying ‘yeah’ when she is talking to make her talk more. Jay changes the topic of conversation a lot within this interview. He changes the topic from her appearance to The Amazing Spider Man film, and then from the film to jokes about his own appearance. Men and women differ in their use of questions and this is evident in this interview. Jay Leno asks closed questions which are clear requests for information. He asks her ‘Do people recognize you?’ and ‘so how long will you keep will you keep it blonde?’ Jay interrupts and speaks over Emma a lot which shows him maintaining control over the conversation. ‘Emma – I love you *laughs* oh that’s nice//so nice// Jay- // well let me// see this is all new the blonde Emma- Yes I know//(.) I’m very Swedish today// Jay //wow // it looks good its looks good’ This show that Jay is trying to keep the attention and power more on him rather than his guest, which many interviewers do such as Jonathon Ross and Alan Carr. Conclusion Overall I can tell from these interviews alone that Emma Stone behaves differently in different circumstances; depending on a lot of features. Each interview definitely meets its purpose to entertain and inform but in very different ways, the Tonight show interview is entertaining and later in the interview informative, it is however obviously scripted and the gender differences create a very different atmosphere to the Ellen Show interview. This interview is again informative and definitely entertaining, the atmosphere is much more casual and relaxed and this calm atmosphere lets Emma relax and behave much more naturally. Finally the Glamour interview is very informative and even though it is a much more structured and scripted interview it is still entertaining. The relationship status of Andrew and Emma cause the interview to be slightly more awkward and one sided towards Andrew however this is helpful to show how Emma behaves in unfamiliar situations. It is obvious that she is uncomfortable with her new fame and in the other interviews she also denies compliments and becomes awkward. The Amazing Spider Man is the first huge film she has been in and she plays the female lead, this causes her to be very unfamiliar with fame and this is most likely the cause of her reactions. All of the evidence shows this and her anxieties about her and Andrews first interview together as a couple are especially emphasised. Also how she may be feeling slightly self conscious as she is around her boyfriend in this more formal environment.