A good rant is cathartic. Ranting is what keeps me sane.
- Rick Mercer
We all like to rant every now and then. Or maybe a lot. Either way, ranting can be a great way to communicate your frustration (or passion) about a given issue. A rant is an opinionated speech that usually expresses a position. Good ones are usually witty, humourous, and entertaining and are designed to leave a lasting impression about the topic.
Have a topic you feel like ranting about? Great! CREATE has a stage (or soapbox) for you!
Clear structure
Intro - Captures attention and quickly establishes the topic of the rant.
Middle - Provides challenging statements which help the listener/viewer recognize the main point(s) of the rant...the "AHA!" moment.
End - Wraps up with a statement that leaves the listener/viewer with deeper understanding of the topic.
- May contain a summary with a catchy final statement.
- The catch should include content but could also be a facial expression, movement, or gesture.
- May also suggest what people should do about the topic (a call to action).
Current Topic - Topics are normally something most people can relate to - event sin the media, human behaviour, new fads are all hot topics.
Your topic should not:
- be threatening
- include profanity
- seriously harm an individual or organization
(Thanks to Gr 9 Rant Assignment for proving some of this info!)
There are a bunch of examples of Rick Mercer ranting about a range of topics. Check them out. Go to YouTube and search for 'Rick Mercer Rants'. Some good ones include the one on Nestlé Water, Distracted Driving, Daylight Savings Time, and Organ Donation.
It is a good idea to write your rant out first. It is going to be short, so you want to organize your ideas into something comprehensible.
WikiHow actually has a great little 'How to Write a Rant' article. We feel that writing it all out again would be foolish. Just check out the site.
OK - you have watched some rants, considered your topic, wrote out a nice little rant, and have practiced in front of your very forgiving cat. Time to get it ready for CREATE!
- Students will pre-record their Rant, then upload it to VIUTube, then send the VIUTube link to CREATE@viu.ca by March 30
- Links to your rant will be hosted on the CREATE website and public voting will be available from April 8-11. The top three Rants after the public voting session will then be considered by a team of ranting experts who will choose the strongest rant
- Rant is between 90-120 seconds in length
- Background/props etc. are up to you
- The point of the Rant is for it to be Fun and Informative
- Language must be for a general audience - but keep it clean!
- Make sure you are not speaking so fast that no one can understand you
All rants will be considered by the public and will have an online public voting platform. The three rants with the most public votes will then be considered by a panel of ranting experts and the top rant will emerge.
Best Rant-like-Rick: $250 (if 10+ entries) $100 (if <10)
There are also a number of other awards you may be considered for.