How does Brian Reed use imagery and figurative language (metaphor, simile, personification) in S-town? And/Or how would you apply it to S-town?
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Introduction to English Studies
Instructor: Mat Wenzel, MFA, M.Ed.
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There's an overarching metaphor established in the first episode about the broken clock that plays out as a great allegory for Woodstock and other towns like it. Where something has gone wrong but it keeps going without anyone noticing because it's all seemingly fine on the surface. Even the title of the show has the casual use of calling Woodstock the Shit Town is hyperbolic but not far from it being true.
Brian Reed does a great job at keeping us the listener equipped with a good visual and explanation on what he sees. He does a pretty good job at describing the people he meets in John's life or describing the town and parts of the town as he finds new parts of it. We're kind of living through him and this is clear when someone will be talking to him and he'll tune them out to let us hear his thoughts on them or what they're saying. His description of John was perfect and it made me laugh so hard the first time I heard it.
Brian Reed uses imagery very much throughout the podcast. With this being a podcast, he must rely on that to inform and instruct the readers on what is occurring. He uses the maze as a source of imagery as well as what John and all of his friends look like (tattoo, toothless, etc). Metaphors are also being discussed to talk about clocks, sundials, etc.
I think Brian Reed uses imagery well enough in S-Town to where the listener is able to visualize what is going on in the episode. His use of figurative language is I think what made this podcast so successful because he describes this average small town in rural alabama and is able to paint this story into something that is seemingly more complicated and interesting than its reality.
Brian Reed takes a very dramatized approach to telling the story of S Town. He uses imagery to his advantage through the use of audio clips from his actual experiences. The sounds of Tyler's tattoo parlor, John's dogs barking or the squeak of a screened door all help the audience to feel more engaged in the story. Figurative language appears in the podcast through John and the other citizens of Bibb County's descriptions of their town and neighbors.