Critical Analysis Of The MythBusters Episode “Octopus Pregnancy” To Evaluate The Effectiveness Of The Hosts’ Speech
What comes to your mind when you hear the word “myth”? Of course, gods and goddesses will usually come to your mind like Bathala (Philippine Mythology god) or Zeus (god of lightning in Greek Mythology). According to Collins English Dictionary, a myth is a well-known story which was made up in the past to explain natural events or to justify religious beliefs or social customs. A TV Show in Discovery Channel hosted by Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage named “MYTHBUSTERS” features different kinds of myths all over the world and their goal is to prove that their chosen myth to feature is not true. The show once featured a myth about octopus pregnancy where in a female was said to have swallowed an octopus egg and it lived in her stomach. It was said to be a myth from medieval period. Our goal is to determine if the speech of the hosts is effective enough to prove to the viewers their stand in a certain myth.
The speakers’ goal is mainly to educate the audience about the mystery behind the myth, ‘‘Octopus Pregnancy’’, which was based to a story of a woman who claimed to swallow and gave birth to an octopus after diving six months before and to prove to the audience and persuade them that octopus pregnancy is impossible to happen. The speaker also wants to entertain the audience because their primary goal is to catch the audience’s attention. They were the right people to do those research and experiments because they were certified scientists they’re professionals. Considering they both have about 30 years of background work in special effects, they are pretty good at what they do. In less than 10 minutes, the myth was explained thoroughly but concise. They showed the audience different experts and scientist to prove the audience that the myth about octopus pregnancy is impossible. The speakers have successfully delivered their main goal to the audience. From the title of the show itself, the myth was busted.
The speech took place in Monterey Bay Aquarium, which aired on January 2004, as the 2nd episode of its 2nd season. They went to different places, like the aquarium and a university in San Francisco wherein they talked to a professor of pathology. From children up to adults are fit to watch the show because they used the simplest way to relay their message to the audience. Since the series is aired on Discovery Channel, it can be viewed in a worldwide scale, thus ranging the number of audience to millions of people. Anyone with a television and internet access could observe their experiment or research. Back in the earlier years, this episode of MythBusters can only be watched through television or DVDs, but now that the internet is advanced, and everyone can now share videos, the episode can now be watched anytime by anyone for free.
The opening of the speech was very catchy because they chose a very extraordinary topic. They also started by introducing the background story of the said myth. One of the speakers told a story of a woman who claimed to give birth to an octopus after swallowing an egg of one six months when she was diving. They also used strong visuals where in there were videos of octopus and woman diving in the ocean. When you make a presentation about a certain topic, you must start it in a solid, clear and interesting to keep the audience hanging and giving attention until the presentation ends. That is what they did. They clearly stated that their goal is to really prove that the myth is untrue. With a strange story told at the beginning, the presented myth will definitely be memorable for the audience. The speakers clearly made the episode memorable.
The presentation was actually very straight forward and detailed. All the stories and facts were relevant to the main goal/objective. The entire presentation focused mainly on arguments. They debunked the myth through applying science about eggs and how it won’t survive inside a human body. Since the introduction of the topic, the speakers already suggest that the myth was fake, so throughout the presentation, interviews to experts and scientist were only the support for the argument that the myth cannot be real. No concrete symbols nor metaphors were used because they are straight to the point and their arguments. The speech was organized logically with scientific facts. Their arguments were becoming more solid as the episode goes on. It is also very easy to follow because they used simple language and not the complicated scientific terms. How the hosts of the show used transition was very smooth. Changing argument or topic from one to another did not show lapses and they justifies each other.
The show was concluded concisely. They concluded that the myth was busted. It was memorable because the goal was fulfilled. They ended it with a very simple statement, so the viewers will easily understand. There was no call-to-action in the show since the topic, octopus pregnancy, does not need urgent actions or countermeasure because it is not actually considered as a problem in the society.
In terms of the delivery of the speaker, they are very outstanding. They look enthusiastic in the show because it seems that they really know what they do, and they are happy with it. There wasn’t any audience interaction. They were focused on their objective and they just stated facts, but no interaction whatsoever with the audience. It was also a factor that the video was recorded that’s why audience’s interaction was not that ideal to do. The message of the story is You and We focused because they aimed to discover together with the audience the truth about the octopus pregnancy myth. Not only doing by themselves but with the audience also.
Humor was also observed in the delivery of the host. The way they talk looks like they are a very jolly person. They also talk in a not so serious manner and they also aimed to entertain the audience by making them laugh. The humor they used was safe because it was not surpassing the limits or there was no green joke used so it was appropriate even with children watching. Appropriate pauses between punch lines, phrases and words were also observed by the hosts or speaker. They were easily understood because of it and their words were clear because of the pauses. All of these are very relevant because if these were used, it will attract more viewers and the audience will definitely enjoy it more. It will add flavor in a dull ambiance.
Visual aids were very appropriate with the topic and also excellent in timing with the topic being introduced. There weren’t that much visual aids used because they were talking about facts and didn’t need any visual aids but when there is one, they made sure that it will make the show better. All cases used a visual aid and it was timed very well with the speaker’s words. It helped the audience picture the situation more and imagine it. We think they added a little bit of energy to the presentation for the audience to enjoy what they were doing and so that the audience won’t get easily bored. The speakers were very concise and can be easily understood by the audience because they used simple language as we said earlier which not very scientific which was more understood by the viewers. I think there’s no need for an additional visual aid because it was already delivered clearly with only a few visual aids.
In terms of speakers’ posture, they are very confident and maintained a good posture. The gesture they used are very natural and does not seem to be scripted. They only do what is relevant with the actions they do. The speakers don’t have distractive mannerism and eye contact with the audience were also observed. It seems that they really want to connect with the audience. As part of the audience, we felt connected to them and we felt that they were talking to us.
The speakers’ voices were also clear and easily heard. They give stresses to words that gives the way they speak variation which is better in terms of their delivery. The way they talk was slow enough to be understandable.
They used an appropriate language allowing all types of viewers understand them also adding that they used English Language which is very understandable all over the world. They speak clearly with correct articulation which made them easily understood. Technical jargons or unnecessary complex words were avoided especially in terms of Science. They made sure that the words can be easily understood even with children so it as simple as possible. Use of rhetorical devices were not that focused in the show.
All in all, we can say that the speakers effectively relayed their message to their audience. They achieved their goal of proving that the octopus pregnancy cannot happen in this world through solid and reliable evidences. From the way the speakers delivered their speech up to the message they gave the viewers were excellent, easily understood and can really persuade the people watching.
